It's a glorious and sunny Sunday afternoon. We park the car in Stansstad and set out for a little walk along the lake. About a kilometre into our stroll, we come to an innocent looking wooden shed with a Nidwaldner Museum sign. Hmmmmm.. "What kinda museum could that tiny shed possibly be?" I wonder out loud..

Lukas tells me... It's not common knowledge that some of the towering cliffs along this idyllic shore road are not real! It's an artful camouflage... behind hides "Fortress Fürigen" built in the middle of WWII (1941/42). The Swiss military leadership fearing the inevitable invasion of the German Armed Forces, built many bunkers in the more defensible Alpine area, the Reduit. The plan was to give up the plains in the face of an attack and retreat into these fortresses. Fürigen was one of the many bunkers built for this purpose. Due to tensions between Eastern and Western Europe, the importance of the fortress remained intact until the 1980s. With the end of the Cold War, the army was reformed and many of the bunkers shut down. This bunker was given a second life and turned into a museum in the 1990s. 

Once inside the slightly chilly bunker, one gets an insight into everyday life of the men who served in Fürigen.. A 200 meter long tunnel system leads into the interior of the mountain. One finds a fully equipped labyrinth with cannon stands and machine guns, offices, bedrooms, kitchen, sickbay with operating room. As we step out into the fresh air again, i feel that those of us born after WWII have so much to be thankful for.. fresh air and food for starters..

We continue our walk along the peaceful lake to Kehrsiten, pausing to admire a Magnolia in full-bloom; watching the lake through a wooden frame and of course.. enjoying a Flammkuchen !!!