Underground, part III - over ground

From the parking lot the fort really looks like an old-fashioned castle, don´t you think? One gets that same feeling as if one was standing in front of the Tower of London or some other such structure. Except this one is is blasted out of the granit with dynamite and made from the material at hand, the ground, literally.

The view from the top, to the south (yes, that is South River down there) is nothing but spectacular. From some of the forts you can see all the way to Luleå, or so they say.

They had a couple of military vehicles on display and the children made the most of it.

We then walked all around the fort, where a number of trenches was dug into the mountain, like huge motes, only not filled with water, but rubble from the blastings.

There were lots of old abutments where there had been masts of different kinds, radio, radar, whatnot.

A loophole facing the direction of the great Enemy on the eastern border.

When I took this I was aware of the colour of the photographer´s jacket and the discarded fueltank. I did not see the man standing in the trench above us, though. What are the odds that he would be wearing that exact nuance?

It was rather difficult to walk down here, the rubble and the barbed wire, still there in some places (though I think it´s been cleared out for the most part), made you realize that trying to take the fort by trying to storm it on foot or any kind of wheeled vehicle would be pretty hard.

The top of the fort is covered in concrete that has been coted with tar. We were not allowed to go to the very top, but in the distance you can see one guy standing there, to the irritation of some visitors. When I pointed out that he had some advanced camera gear with him and was most probably a professional photographer, the grumbles seemed to wane.

A last look at the place before we got back to the car. All in all, it was a very nice visit, and perfect weather to do it, really. It would have been much less rewarding to walk around it if the rain had been pouring down.

As we left, we saw what I think is the last bit of snow from this winter. When did I say this was? Oh yeah, the 26th of May...