Atlantikwall - European Road Trip day 9

Just west of Ostend (but not as far west as Westende) is a lovely stretch of Atlantikwall.  

Next door is a German coastal battery dating from the Great War but when we visited it was being renovated.  Which gives me an excuse to go back...

Unlike many such lumps of Atlantikwall, this one is well preserved (one careful owner, never assaulted) and still fitted out with many of the original toys.  Like this rather nice PAK40.  

I'll let the photos do most of the talking.

Read all of this - it's worth it!

A very dangerous thing.  And a big bomb.

There is a good display of beach obstacles.

A Belgian gun - under new management as a 12cm K370(b).  Actually it's a replica but it looks good.

A 105mm U-Boat gun.

Several of the bunkers contain these well-equipped mannequins.  In some museums these can be rather cringe-worthy but here they are very well done.  I think the chap second in from the left looks a lot like Martin R.

This was the Commandant's house - very nice too!

After a couple of hours it was time to fill up with relatively cheap Belgian diesel and head back to Zeebrugge for the ferry.  Three miles short of the terminal the mileage for the trip hit 1,000.

Coming soon - the Command Bus tours the Netherlands...