bunkery ostwall

09/08/2023

Pleased to report a dry night in bed. No, incontinence or roof leaks despite the heavy rain. Perhaps yesterday’s leak was the heavy downpour combined with driving, forcing the rain under the lipped roof light. Will need sorting, but possibly be able to be left till Jez on return to the UK.

I took C for her morning walk, discovering some of the above ground bunkers. Poland seems to be like Slovakia … you pay an entrance then share the cost of the guide by the number of people. Tickets £14.50, but the English speaking guide would have been an extra £35. So we booked onto the 11.00 Polish tour, with no guide cost as over 10 people. On my morning walk, I’d spotted audio guide numbers … downloaded the free app.

Obviously, the guide gave a lot more info than the audio guide, but he answered some of our questions in very good English. A few facts:

1. The German army was restricted to 100,000 men post WWI, leaving them vulnerable. Poland was a threat as their army was over 1 million.

2. Germany had to design a defensive strategy. A series of underground tunnels just inside the Polish German border running from the coast north south. Workers from Germany were paid 3x normal wages and could complete a bunker in 2.5 months. The tunnels were worked on for only 2.5 years. Very impressive project management. However, they were never completed as Germany’s strategy became offensive …

3. The middle section, where we were is 32km long. A narrow gauge railway was installed with 14 stations. These are alphabetically named … I’d gone looking for Heinrich on my morning walk as I spotted an ‘attraction’ on the map. No wonder I couldn’t find it, it was underground. Most of this section is now occupied by central Europe’s largest bat colony. Apparently, they are not in this tourist section as they need access to water during hibernation, and this part is dry.

*Overground bunkers, ventilation shaft and* *flame* *thrower.* *Damage* *to the* *left side* *from* *Russian* *guns.*

*The tourist entrance. Fortunately the 5 metre* *pit* *immediately* *through the door had* *been* *filled in.*

*Some room mock ups as they* *were never* *fitted out.*

*The electric cabling and pipes were laid under the floors*

*We climbed down these (and up) adjacent to an unfinished lift* shaft.

*Poland is purple. The red line are* *the tunnel* *defences.*

*During WW2 Daimler* *Benz* *moved* *aircraft* *engine* *repair* *here.*

*We must’ve walked over easily over a* km *each way along this dead straight tunnel.*

Enough. We found it fascinating and can’t believe it only received one line in only one of our guide books. Thank goodness for Atlas Obscura, where I’d found it.

After lunch, it was a short hop to see Jesus

*The view from his feet, confirmed the area is very flat. Apparently there was a public outcry when radio mast were placed in the crown.*

I’m trying to find things to look at to break up the driving. Zagan was attractive and it had a Lidl … not seen any large supermarkets yet.

*Corrie phot bombing the Planets in Zagan*

*A socialite lived here and entertained the likes of Verdi and Liszt, so the th*eatrical *faces above the* *windows are appropriate.*

*Confused as to why Lidl has Greek edition toilet roll.* *Most places in Greece don’t* *even allow paper down* *the pan.*

Our overnight is outside Stalag Luft III, famous for the Great Escape. A small camper has arrived and erected a tent for the 3 teenage children … wild camping seems to be accepted. I had a conversation with a local. Not really a conversation, as my German is sehr schlecht, but it was better than his.

06-8/08/2023

Farewell to Woodlands Farm in Chichester … until the end of Sept. Do hope the British start camping again … soon. The site was spectacularly empty. Dropped the aging UK car at the Aged Ps. Had a shower, ‘cos we could and we don’t know where our next water will come from, and off we went.

First stop was another huge lunch with Mel, Ian and Jimmy in Rustington. Even got a quick hello and goodbye with Ruth and Brian. Sober to Dover lunch for me as the driver. Actually, Le Shuttle, due to the recent rebrand, but sober and Dover almost rhyme. Le Shuttle even managed to put us on an early train. We promptly did our traditional tunnel crossing decamp to bed for a nanny nap! Quiet night at Bergues, about 40 mins into France.

*0830 on Monday we* *were* *at Leclerc* *to stock* *up on box* *wine. Not* *sure,* *given* *how far* *north* *PELL* *is,* *how good the wine* *is. I’m* *sure* *we’ll* *sample some of the Polish* *vodka at some point.*

Monday and Tuesday were planned to be driving days. However, we made such good progress, that we ate up 749km, leaving only 292km for the morrow. Out came the guide books … what could I put in for the next afternoon en route? Lagow became our destination. A castle and pretty village on a slip of land between two lakes.

*3 pages on a spreadsheet* *of most of the places we’d like to see on this trip. I have put on some xxx OR yyy … in 6.5 weeks will only scratch the surface*.

A quick soup lunch and then J joined me for a quick wander to the castle, now a hotel, and a view of the lake. Corrie and I continued up the other side of the lake. We followed a Nordic walking trail for about 11km. Good after such a long drive and so many calories imbibed.

*Lake view. Qu*ite a few *trees* *down, so I was* *over and under. Corrie mostly* *under.*

*The return walk was through a village. 3 linear ponds. Modern play ground. Old renovat*ed houses with immaculate *gardens.*

Only a short drive, we thought, to the Bunkery Ostwall museum (love the name) we plan to visit tomorrow. I’d read that most roads are dodgy and we’ve experienced the tarmac turned into crazy paving. Our 2 sat navs are programmed to avoid unpaved roads. I guess they count century old cobbles as paved.

*2nd* *gear and wind* wipers deployed. *Fortunately* *little oncoming traffic.*

The ticket office for tomorrow was shut, but the kooky cafe had an English speaker. First tour at 10. And, of course, we can sleep in the car park. Though not sure how much sleep J will get. He discovered a wet duvet … on his side. The roof light, which was replaced about 2 years ago, is leaking. Duvet drying on the dash board in intermittent sun.

Clune Gap Years

A journal and reflections of our motorhome travels

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PELL. Here We Come