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25-09-2023, 07:11
Visit the Shut up about Barclay Perkins site (http://barclayperkins.blogspot.com/2023/09/fortress.html)
Something seems to have gone wrong with the air-conditioning overnight. As in, switching totally off. I’m rolling in a bath of my own sweat by the time morning rolls around.
I’ve felt better in the morning. Maybe a coffee will wake me up. Though cooling down is what I really need.
“A coffee might perk me up.”
“It couldn’t make you look much worse.”
“Thanks.” The air-conditioning is starting to kick in, thankfully.
We have a wander to National Square, where there are pavement cafes. We park our arses in a random one, Ruzica. After a while, a waiter appears and tells us the table we chose, out of the couple of dozen empty ones, is reserved.
“That was weird.” I tell Dolores, as we move to the next table. “But I don’t really give a fuck which table we sit at.”
The coffee is nice, but much smaller than yesterday’s latte.
Feeling a little perked, we start making our way towards this morning’s destination: the fortress. It looks dead impressive on the internet. My only fear is that we’ll have to walk up a dirty great hill to get to it.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdMq0YgSGpQM9vRO54MKnSoJHcM3bZApp8FvRI2iSekA HmhyXNaySqaboxuS8mehGvv3HA9iAYPeKtKUWGfQHk8UOlrLzb 9pI2zwmKNwkqlT-fkwt62OIUSWKsm44_MJd2s2kAdvUO4VIVDvED3_KdbX3T1MPPa DxJSt8mQNUMLj-fkgoffh4EfU1KbeY/w640-h528/Trolleybus.jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdMq0YgSGpQM9vRO54MKnSoJHcM3bZApp8FvRI2iSekA HmhyXNaySqaboxuS8mehGvv3HA9iAYPeKtKUWGfQHk8UOlrLzb 9pI2zwmKNwkqlT-fkwt62OIUSWKsm44_MJd2s2kAdvUO4VIVDvED3_KdbX3T1MPPa DxJSt8mQNUMLj-fkgoffh4EfU1KbeY/s3468/Trolleybus.jpg)
We know we’re just about there when we come to a tramline. On the other side of it, the fortress park begins.
“They only seem to have a couple of tram lines. I wonder why that is?” I ask Dolores.
“No idea. Maybe they replaced them with trolleybuses.”
That would make sense. There are a whole load of trolleybus lines.
My dirty great hill fears prove unfounded. That’s the day’s first win. We wander around for a bit looking for the fortress entrance. Watching where other people are headed and follow them seems a good ploy. And it works.
We first come to a couple of massive bastions. Obviously, part of a later phase of the complex. Between that and the oldest part of the fortress there’s a deep gully. Which must be part of the military museum as it’s full of tanks and artillery pieces.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdxRCtkQuNw450QXOMHYDmWOgNnpc4Rk8T7lD7KTrh_B 7YIlMuJ32Fvg6QmB44W9L__2CoM1jNFuVfsAp9UbkYV6UdLFPh W6TXvuzgJXgdIMJKdXG-PW2lRpaF3ITEYQNd2gHFUR-XxFOyYBx5dtJwy9_rpC4amY-m2H_fDMml5QyOtg8IxWF406y9Azs/w640-h480/Panzer_IV.jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdxRCtkQuNw450QXOMHYDmWOgNnpc4Rk8T7lD7KTrh_B 7YIlMuJ32Fvg6QmB44W9L__2CoM1jNFuVfsAp9UbkYV6UdLFPh W6TXvuzgJXgdIMJKdXG-PW2lRpaF3ITEYQNd2gHFUR-XxFOyYBx5dtJwy9_rpC4amY-m2H_fDMml5QyOtg8IxWF406y9Azs/s4000/Panzer_IV.jpg)
“Oh, look.” I say, “tanks.”
“I suppose you want to go and look at them?”
“Yes, please.”
I send the kids a picture of a tank. “It’s so great having broadband. I can keep the kids up to date with what we’re doing.”
“Like what you’re eating? I’m sure they’re fascinated by that.”
“Well, they both like bacon?”
“That doesn’t mean they want you to send them photos of it.”
“Anyway, it was a tank photo. That’ll definitely interest Andrew.”
“And Alexei?”
“I bet that’s an Ausführung H.” I say, pointing at a Panzer IV. And trying to distract Dolores.
“Very interesting, whatever that means.” Dolores replies, apathetically. She’s not really digging the tanks.
There’s quite a good selection of them. Looking very much like what was left here at the end of the war. Being mostly either German, Italian or Russian. They don’t all look in the greatest of condition. Some lack tracks.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPcM6ytgMGxjz3FMPSDzfUiDODXcRMOupOAR_dh7bsTR vBBuierD1r_BMAaxslp29CxEWE9MfZDlpKnckziw1owwsUoQtc FAMDZj7dHD6jk9Lcx00lIo-2CQuYr0gpKfqklc5su98VrshOBk78tYoyMrpkAutv-GUTHPVXk5_BkTuM4r5kU0HnKNIC-eI/w640-h388/Fortress_view.jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPcM6ytgMGxjz3FMPSDzfUiDODXcRMOupOAR_dh7bsTR vBBuierD1r_BMAaxslp29CxEWE9MfZDlpKnckziw1owwsUoQtc FAMDZj7dHD6jk9Lcx00lIo-2CQuYr0gpKfqklc5su98VrshOBk78tYoyMrpkAutv-GUTHPVXk5_BkTuM4r5kU0HnKNIC-eI/s3707/Fortress_view.jpg)
At the end of where the tanks are displayed is an outer wall of the fortress. There’s a slightly scary sign that proclaims “Danger of death”. That seems a bit extreme. Until we get to the very edge: there’s a 50-metre drop and no fence.
Dolores takes a few photos. I keep well clear of the edge. My balance isn’t the greatest. One stumble and I’d be fucked.
We finish in the oldest part. Which is mostly just a big open space with the occasional small building. Some people are sitting with their legs dangling over the wall on the Danube side. We go up there to have a look.
There’s an even bigger drop here. And no railing. But no death warning, either. I can’t look when a young daredevil climbs up on it and walks to the edge. How irresponsible.
After a quick sit down and a piss in the toilets, we start to make our way back.
More... (http://barclayperkins.blogspot.com/2023/09/fortress.html)
Something seems to have gone wrong with the air-conditioning overnight. As in, switching totally off. I’m rolling in a bath of my own sweat by the time morning rolls around.
I’ve felt better in the morning. Maybe a coffee will wake me up. Though cooling down is what I really need.
“A coffee might perk me up.”
“It couldn’t make you look much worse.”
“Thanks.” The air-conditioning is starting to kick in, thankfully.
We have a wander to National Square, where there are pavement cafes. We park our arses in a random one, Ruzica. After a while, a waiter appears and tells us the table we chose, out of the couple of dozen empty ones, is reserved.
“That was weird.” I tell Dolores, as we move to the next table. “But I don’t really give a fuck which table we sit at.”
The coffee is nice, but much smaller than yesterday’s latte.
Feeling a little perked, we start making our way towards this morning’s destination: the fortress. It looks dead impressive on the internet. My only fear is that we’ll have to walk up a dirty great hill to get to it.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdMq0YgSGpQM9vRO54MKnSoJHcM3bZApp8FvRI2iSekA HmhyXNaySqaboxuS8mehGvv3HA9iAYPeKtKUWGfQHk8UOlrLzb 9pI2zwmKNwkqlT-fkwt62OIUSWKsm44_MJd2s2kAdvUO4VIVDvED3_KdbX3T1MPPa DxJSt8mQNUMLj-fkgoffh4EfU1KbeY/w640-h528/Trolleybus.jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdMq0YgSGpQM9vRO54MKnSoJHcM3bZApp8FvRI2iSekA HmhyXNaySqaboxuS8mehGvv3HA9iAYPeKtKUWGfQHk8UOlrLzb 9pI2zwmKNwkqlT-fkwt62OIUSWKsm44_MJd2s2kAdvUO4VIVDvED3_KdbX3T1MPPa DxJSt8mQNUMLj-fkgoffh4EfU1KbeY/s3468/Trolleybus.jpg)
We know we’re just about there when we come to a tramline. On the other side of it, the fortress park begins.
“They only seem to have a couple of tram lines. I wonder why that is?” I ask Dolores.
“No idea. Maybe they replaced them with trolleybuses.”
That would make sense. There are a whole load of trolleybus lines.
My dirty great hill fears prove unfounded. That’s the day’s first win. We wander around for a bit looking for the fortress entrance. Watching where other people are headed and follow them seems a good ploy. And it works.
We first come to a couple of massive bastions. Obviously, part of a later phase of the complex. Between that and the oldest part of the fortress there’s a deep gully. Which must be part of the military museum as it’s full of tanks and artillery pieces.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdxRCtkQuNw450QXOMHYDmWOgNnpc4Rk8T7lD7KTrh_B 7YIlMuJ32Fvg6QmB44W9L__2CoM1jNFuVfsAp9UbkYV6UdLFPh W6TXvuzgJXgdIMJKdXG-PW2lRpaF3ITEYQNd2gHFUR-XxFOyYBx5dtJwy9_rpC4amY-m2H_fDMml5QyOtg8IxWF406y9Azs/w640-h480/Panzer_IV.jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdxRCtkQuNw450QXOMHYDmWOgNnpc4Rk8T7lD7KTrh_B 7YIlMuJ32Fvg6QmB44W9L__2CoM1jNFuVfsAp9UbkYV6UdLFPh W6TXvuzgJXgdIMJKdXG-PW2lRpaF3ITEYQNd2gHFUR-XxFOyYBx5dtJwy9_rpC4amY-m2H_fDMml5QyOtg8IxWF406y9Azs/s4000/Panzer_IV.jpg)
“Oh, look.” I say, “tanks.”
“I suppose you want to go and look at them?”
“Yes, please.”
I send the kids a picture of a tank. “It’s so great having broadband. I can keep the kids up to date with what we’re doing.”
“Like what you’re eating? I’m sure they’re fascinated by that.”
“Well, they both like bacon?”
“That doesn’t mean they want you to send them photos of it.”
“Anyway, it was a tank photo. That’ll definitely interest Andrew.”
“And Alexei?”
“I bet that’s an Ausführung H.” I say, pointing at a Panzer IV. And trying to distract Dolores.
“Very interesting, whatever that means.” Dolores replies, apathetically. She’s not really digging the tanks.
There’s quite a good selection of them. Looking very much like what was left here at the end of the war. Being mostly either German, Italian or Russian. They don’t all look in the greatest of condition. Some lack tracks.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPcM6ytgMGxjz3FMPSDzfUiDODXcRMOupOAR_dh7bsTR vBBuierD1r_BMAaxslp29CxEWE9MfZDlpKnckziw1owwsUoQtc FAMDZj7dHD6jk9Lcx00lIo-2CQuYr0gpKfqklc5su98VrshOBk78tYoyMrpkAutv-GUTHPVXk5_BkTuM4r5kU0HnKNIC-eI/w640-h388/Fortress_view.jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPcM6ytgMGxjz3FMPSDzfUiDODXcRMOupOAR_dh7bsTR vBBuierD1r_BMAaxslp29CxEWE9MfZDlpKnckziw1owwsUoQtc FAMDZj7dHD6jk9Lcx00lIo-2CQuYr0gpKfqklc5su98VrshOBk78tYoyMrpkAutv-GUTHPVXk5_BkTuM4r5kU0HnKNIC-eI/s3707/Fortress_view.jpg)
At the end of where the tanks are displayed is an outer wall of the fortress. There’s a slightly scary sign that proclaims “Danger of death”. That seems a bit extreme. Until we get to the very edge: there’s a 50-metre drop and no fence.
Dolores takes a few photos. I keep well clear of the edge. My balance isn’t the greatest. One stumble and I’d be fucked.
We finish in the oldest part. Which is mostly just a big open space with the occasional small building. Some people are sitting with their legs dangling over the wall on the Danube side. We go up there to have a look.
There’s an even bigger drop here. And no railing. But no death warning, either. I can’t look when a young daredevil climbs up on it and walks to the edge. How irresponsible.
After a quick sit down and a piss in the toilets, we start to make our way back.
More... (http://barclayperkins.blogspot.com/2023/09/fortress.html)