On our way to Denmark
Everything has been great here in Norway, but time to move on to Denmark. The drive today will be along the southern coast from Oslo to Kristiansand where we catch the Fjordline ferry for a 3+hr ride to Hirtshal, Denmark. The ferry is a massive catamaran that holds 170 cars and 650 people and serves a nice buffet lunch / dinner. Best part, wine is included with the buffet!! Too bad we still have a bit of a drive after we land, drinking will have to wait.
Perfect day for a drive, great weather, 700 and clear skies, and being Saturday, not a lot of traffic. Collette is really anxious to get to Kristiansand. Not only do we get a ferry ride and a buffet lunch, but we also get to see the Kristiansand Cannon Museum, the Kroodden Battery. Built in 1940-1941 as part of Hitler’s Atlantic Wall, this battery has the second largest land cannon from WW2. The largest was the Schwerer Gustav cannon. This rail-mounted cannon had a crew of 250, fired a shell weighing 7 tons a distance of 30 miles! It was deployed as part of Operation Barbarossa with it’s only known action resulting in the destruction of an ammunition bunker 98’ below the ground! It is the largest, rifled caliber weapon ever used in combat.
But we’re here to see the second largest caliber weapon fired in WW2, the 38cm SK C/34 Bismarck Class cannon. Yep, this cannon was originally intended to be installed on a battleship as a set, twin configuration, in six places. If this is the second largest land cannon, how in the world do you put 12 of them on a single ship? Anyway, the cannon at Fort Movik (renamed after WW2) came about after the Allies sank the battleship that was to be its home. And since Hitler had his fingers crossed, there was no need to deliver this cannon to the Soviet Union as one of the six he sold them. Besides, they were now his enemy.
38cm SK C/34 Bismarck Class cannon
Original camouflage paint
Munitions door and trolley tracks
View from top of bunker
Camouflage “tree” frames
Observation / Fire Control bunker
Additional 38cm SK C/34 cannon mount
Kristiansand, as part of the Atlantic Wall, had a sister installation located in Denmark to help protect the Skagerrak strait. The Hanstholm Battery will be our site tomorrow.
Finished up with our WW2 site and made it to the ferry station with plenty of time. Loading was quick and easy so off to the buffet. Pretty good spread, but a bit eclectic. The entrée offering included chicken a-la-king in a pastry shell, pork with cabbage, potatoes with gravy, and tamale pie. The cold plate included salmon, salmon salad (huh?), scrambled eggs, hard-boiled eggs, green salad, and my favorite, pickled herring! The desert selection included rhubarb cake, cream puffs, cookies, and some other sugary treats that were heavily guarded by a rather large woman.
The buffet cold selection table
The buffet hot selection and drink table
Desert table with guard
Da haut raud
Collette’s meal
Dan’s meal
Our desert
The ride was uneventful, fortunately, so once we docked, off to Hanstholm for the night. It’s a hotel for tonight giving the little woman a day off from cooking. Tomorrow we’ll visit the Hanstholm fortress and the location of 4-38cm cannons. The Hanstholm Battery was a major installation with more than 30 bunkers, anti-aircraft guns, coastal cannons, searchlights, and over 4,000 German troops. But that’s tomorrow……………..
Great history. Thanks for sharing.
You know, this area and Hanstholm has tons of bunkers but it doesn’t have the emotion of Normandy. Great artifacts and lots to see but it just doesn’t have the same feel. Still, really cool places to visit. Thanks for the comment, amigo.