A Well Kept Man

A coworker of Alli's was describing an area to the west of Lausanne which used to serve as a military fortification during the Second World War to impede the progress of the Germans across Europe. He indicated that it isn't very easy to find, but if one looks hard enough you can find it. As my darling wife is not present (due to business travel), I vowed that I would locate this former defensive line near the town of Gland (sounds like lawn, as in Glawn...never mind).
After doing my preliminary research on the internet I was able to locate the area using global positioning coordinates and Jane, my trusty guide. My first stop was the Toblerone line, a roughly 10 km stretch of concrete barriers jutting out from the ground. In case you are wondering, yes, they are named after the candy. They wind through farmer's fields and are mostly covered by vegetation today...apparently they are deemed an eyesore to the cows so the farmers let trees and shrubs grow around them as to avoid conflict.

The real reason I came to check this out (aside from needing to get out of the apartment) is the building in this picture. This 'Villa Rose' doesn't appear to be anything out of the ordinary. In fact, it's right next to the road so you can't miss it. Now, to the untrained eye this building looks just like any other building here in Switzerland. In fact, I went looking for this building about a month ago and never found it (I actually drove by it about six times, it's that ordinary). But this time I managed to find my target.

Now folks may wonder what is so special about this building. At the risk of boring you with a lame guessing game, I'll just tell you. Before I do I encourage you to look at the closeup of the window. See anything weird? Those with a keen eye will notice that the curtains are painted! In fact, there is no window. This building was a secret military building that housed soldiers from the Swiss military. It housed some machine guns as well as soldiers who would camp out here for months at a time during the war. The walls are 2.5 meters thick (that's 8 feet!!) and there's even a hole in the bathroom wall for lobbing a grenade on unsuspecting intruders.

Unfortunately visitors are not allowed to tour the building, but I was at least able to snap a picture or two before being chased away by a black van (just kidding, they don't use vans in Europe). There is a second building approximately 400 meters away from this one, but it was on private property so I was unable to get close enough to get a decent photo. Either way, it was kind of fun to hunt down this unique Swiss secret.

Many have read or heard about the well-prepared nature of the Swiss people. Whether it be secret mountain fortresses, underground tunnels, or vast stockpiles of water and food, the Swiss share a paranoia that enables them to at least appear to be one of the most collectively prepared group of people. I haven't really stumbled across any of the secret military tunnels into the sides of mountains, nor have I noticed explosive charges on the overpasses that could shut down the nation's highways within minutes, but our apartment sits atop a unique structure that all apartments and home across this interesting country require... a bomb shelter.

Every Swiss basement is required to shelter the occupants of the edifice in the event of a chemical, biological, or nuclear event that would render the normal living conditions inhospitable. The first door is approximately 35 cm (~14 inches) and looks more like a bank vault door. It is made of lead. Once inside this door, you are in an airlock which contains a simple sign in French, which indicates that you must rinse off for at least 7 minutes before entering the next door. I assume there is some sort of water supply to this airlock which is covered by the boxes behind this door, but I can't see it. The boxes contain dry toilets and bed frames (cots) that are to be used in the case of an extended stay in the room below.

The next door is almost identical to the first, although it has a giant bolt and wrench to enable the door to be locked from the inside. I am guessing this is to keep the zombies out after the apocalypse. Once inside the roughly 2 feet of concrete and lead, you come to a hallway with wooden rooms that make me think I am a termite inside an over-sized piece of IKEA furniture. Each room belongs to an apartment above, ours in number 12 (in case something happens while you are here visiting, please calmly make your way to this spot where we will let you in. If we seem hungry for brains, don't let us in.)

It is rather dimly lit and cozy down here, and the air smells eerily clean (one can assume there is a filtration system in place to make sure we aren't breathing the same air as the zombies). Most everyone uses these rooms for storage, although there is supposed to be non-perishable food and water to feed you and your family for a specified amount of time (by the way they make great wine storage facilities). Hopefully we will never have to use this room for anything more than just hiding our ski gear and luggage, but should Switzerland accidentally find itself in the path of a weapon of mass destruction, rest assured that Alli and I (as well as our visitors) will be safe and thirsty (unless I put some water down there).