Julie was even more convinced that the decision to leave yesterday was the right one, as this morning was equally misty and I would NOT have been happy to be in Fehmarn for yet another day! However once breakfast and showers and washing (2 loads) were done, the sun was shining brightly and after lunch, we set off to look for the main tourist interest in this region, the Cold War Museum called Langelandsfort. According to Google it was situated some 40 minutes’ walk away so we decided to do just that, rather than undergo the hassle of getting the bikes out.

It was pleasant walking along the A305 through rolling Danish country – the fields are so healthy looking and the crops seemed perfect. There were few cars, despite it being the main road out of Bagenkop, so it genuinely was a pleasant walk. After about 30 minutes, Google took us off the main road and onto a smaller lane, a lane which led us eventually into a military looking complex, deserted but with a sign saying, we think, ‘Home Guard’ and then on to a high wire fence blocking the road, which continued beyond. It would have been a pain to retrace our steps and find an alternative route so instead, I Iooked for a way over or through the fence and about 80 metres to the right I found a double-padlocked gate BUT the padlocks, whilst locked on a stout chain, could be passed, chain & all through the gate’s fastening mechanism, thereby affording us access to the other side. Result!

Once back on the road, we exited the woods that we had been in and entered open country and round the next corner was one of the most incongruous sights, a submarine in the field! We were taken completely by surprise, we had no expectation of such a thing but we assumed that this was one of the museum’s exhibits and we had got into the complex through the back door. Beyond the submarine were three large hangar-style buildings which we assumed housed the remainder of the exhibits and we entered the first of these, to find ourselves looking at a complete WW2 minesweeper, floating in its own little dug out pond. We were quite surprised to see this, especially when added to the initial shock of the submarine but as we read the information boards, it started to become clear. The Soviet bloc was frighteningly close to poor little Denmark and we forget just how near we came to war during the 50’s and 60’s. Many hundreds of mines had been laid around the coast, both by Denmark and the NATO forces and of course, there were zillions left over after WW2, so that a fleet of minesweepers, including the Askø, floating here in her retirement, were a vital component in Denmark’s defence.  Mines and a fully trained miltia, ready to pick up arms should an invasion occur, was part of Denmark’s defence strategy. During the second world war, there were numerous resistance groups in Denmark, all with different affiliations, including communist affiliated  groups. Once the war was over, if I read the board successfully, these people were merged into a Home Guard and it was this that costituted such an important element in the defence strategy, one that thankfully never had to be used.

In the next building the first thing we saw was the sharp end of a Mig 23, of all things. To be specific, it was a Mig 23 MF010 ‘’Flogger B’’, a very successful and competent aircraft, capable of Mach 2.2 and as such, a force to be reckoned with. Several hundred of these machines were in deployment at the peak of the Cold War and the thought, if one was a young NATO pilot, of have having to come up against as capable an aircraft as this is quite a chilling one. Again, thankfully, it never happened.

The third building housed another aircraft, this time one of ‘ours’ a Swedish Saab fighter bomber called the F-35 ‘Draken’ A005, the first supersonic aircraft to be deployed in Western Europe and as such, presumably would have been up against the Mig 23, which was almost 600MPH faster!  Hopefully the F-35 could corner quicker or something, else it wouldn’t be a fair fight, it would seem – but in war I guess, that is the point? I mean who wants a fair fight, you just want to dispose of the enemy as easily and quickly as you can, I would imagine. I have included a photo or two of these aircraft but here are some URL’s if you’re interested :-

https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&channel=trow&q=mig+23

The last building was a little different, in that it gave, by an array of pictures, an overview of some of the key moments during the decades of the cold war, starting from 1945 and up to the 1990’s. There were also numerous information boards telling the story of the Home Guard but as there wasn’t an English translation, we didn’t learn much and so we left to visit the exhibit that first caught out attention, the good ship Springeren, plonked as she was in a Danish meadow. Again, ships such as the Springeren were deployed as part of Denmark’s and indeed NATO’s defence, as they spent their time shadowing Soviet vessel movements. Ironically, as you need a minimum of 20m of water in which to safely dive a submarine, large areas of Danish waters precluded this activity so the subs would have to remain on the surface a great deal of the time. Once again we were allowed free access into the sub – this is not the first time that we have been in one but it doesn’t get any better – horrible, claustrophobic things they are. I marvel at the stoicism of submariners, I certainly wouldn’t wish to have been one.

Our free tour at an end, we walked back to the boat, very pleased to have seen the museum and had at least an inclining of what it must have been like living in those times, so close to an aggressor. We are so lucky to be an island nation, situated at the far end of Europe – as we know, our geographical location has saved our bacon on several occasions.