Bunkermuseum Hirtshals - Denmark

Bunker museum at Hirtshals

The bunker is build in the 2 world war to be used by the German troops, for the 10. batteri. it was build in the summer 1942, and it is made so you can come into the bunker and get e sense of how was the life for the soldiers living and working there, they have many of the original furnitures and things so it is really autenthic. The aim for this bunker was to protect the Harbour that was very important for the German since they used it for shipping materials to Norway. when it was on it's highest 200 men was working at the Bunker, protecting the Harbour. During the war the GErman soldiers placed around 25.000 landmines around the Bunker for protection, after the war, captured German soldiers was used to clear the minefields, which was a dangeours job. You can walk around and see some of the Bunker for free, but to get a really good feeling of the life there, you should get on one of the guided tours, it cost aronud 40 dKr per. adult, and the tour will bring you into some of the locked rooms, which include the hospital and the kitchen.

 This is the entry to one of the free places you can see

 Inside th bunker, you can see the bunk beds

 The table for eating or maybe playing cards

 There used to be 105mm canons (Schneider Le Creuset 1913), among other things

The lighthouse next to the bunker, there is a small cafe so if you think it is cold and windy you can go here and get warmed by a nice coffee.

Merida - Venezuela

Merida - Venezuela 2015

Merida is one of the most secure city in Venezuela to visit as a tourist, it is surrounded bi mountains and is aronud 1650 meter above sea level.

The closest airport is around 1,5 hours drive away depending on traffic, and off course your driving style. it is called ElVigia and it is only one hour flight from Caracas, whne you arrive to El Vigia (VIG) there will be taxis waiting outside the terminal

This is a photo of one of the bigger roads in Merida, my experience is that traffic is not so rough as in other latin city's

 The view from the start of the cable car, it is a one hour tour to the top, with four stops underways,which are called:
Estación Barinitas (1.577 m)
Estación La Montaña (2.436 m)
Estación La Aguada (3.452 m)
Estación Loma Redonda (4.045 m)
Estación Pico Espejo (4.765 m)
It is a good advice to bring a warm jacket, because it is cold on the top (4765 meter), the cable car was closed for renovation while I was there, but it used to be open from 8 in the morning until 11 or 12 at night, depending on season

This is the view from the start of the cable car, there is a stair going down to this village, and people are using it for running, try to stand there and see the brave people comming up completly tired, and also enjoy the view.

A hotel and restaurant next to the place called "Plaza las heriona" which is a must-visit place in Merida, it is placed 5 blocks from the Plaza Bolivar and has a small local market, ice cream shops,  fountain, and is just a nice place to hang out, and again Merida is one of the safest town so I felt very safe walking around in the center of Merida as a european turist.

This is some of the food you can get i Merida, chicken fast food, that is done in a big grill in the restaurant, it is really juicy and delicius and cheap :-)

 If you like handcrafted things you need to visit the "mercado principal de Merida" which i placed at Av. Las Americas, it is a market placed with everything, from food to art to furnitures, to clothes, it is i different floors and is normally full of people, so be aware of pick pockets, there are also some restaurants at this places which are good, but there can be long lines.
The different small shops might have the same things but at different prices, so take your time and walk aronud to explore and get a feeling of the local market. 

 

Inside a local bus in Merida, it is a funny experience to take the busses, is feels like the y stop where and when they want, and each driver has his own disoc in the bus, so you can listen to loud vallenato styled music, which is part of the experience

And yet another bus, is is a very cheap way of getting aronud in the city, and there are busses all over the place, so it is just a matter of getting the right line, and again the price is very low.

 Some busses are more decorated than others, this one looks almost new

When you get around in Merida, or in Venezuela in general, you will see long lines in front of the banks and supermakeds, these people are standing in line to buy milk, because of the politicat situation in the country all the basic things are hard to get, and very limited, so when the rumors is out that a supermarked has milk, soap, toiletpapaer or similair basic needs, ther will be long lines, sometimes people stand in lines for hours, just to be able to buy to liter of milk, if you get into a supermarked you will propably see many empty selfs, but don't take any photo there, while I was there some turists got arested for taking photos of the half empty self in a supermarked, guess the goverment dosen't want the world to see the situation in the country :-(

Venezuela - Changing flight at Caracas airport to Merida

Venezuela - Changing flight in Caracas airport

The tour to Merida is a bit tricky since you have to change flight i Caracas airport, and there are some things you need to beaware of, you have to change to the national terminal, and that can be a bit risky if you land late at night, but most european flight will arrive around 3.30 pm so there is no problem, and here is how I did.

After leaving the aircraft you pass through a passport and immigration control where they will ask you a few questions, its like when one is traveling to the US.
Then you get your luggage, it takes some time before it comes maybe it is a way to tell you that things take a bit extra time iVenezuela, or in south america in general :-)

When you have your luggage you go through another security, where the scan you luggage, and you have to hand in a formular that you filled in at the flight, and right after you exit this, you turn to your left, where the sign says Connection or national flight, there is a long corridor to the national terminal, where some of the airlines has a check-in.
Some airlines charge you an fee which you need to pay when checking in your luggage, so make sure you have some bolivar, if not it's a good idea to have some dollars or euro, and change them, it is very expensive to change at the official banks, but try to change somewhere else, I was lucky to change 10 euro with the person who pack luggage into plastic (they are all around in the airports) and with that money I could pay the fee, and have a big dinner in the airport and still have money left.

And after that you are in the national terminal, if you have a long waitting there are restaurants and a few shops, I was able to connect to the free wifi in the eating area, and yoo will feel safe sitting there and waiting.