Report - Leopold Fortress, France - October 2017

[The_Raw]

How odd, I was literally here on Friday! It is a great place.

Did you make it to the Eastern fighting block with the turrets on top?

Nah I don't think so mate, ran out of time before I'd seen the whole place unfortunately

 

[TheTimeChamber]

That is a shame, the turrets were alongside the murals in terms of coolness.

Did you make it to any others in the area? Verdun was well worth it too as it had a tonne of battle damage

 

[Johnny Thunderdrone]

woow man amazing

 

[The_Raw]

That is a shame, the turrets were alongside the murals in terms of coolness.

Did you make it to any others in the area? Verdun was well worth it too as it had a tonne of battle damage

Did jeanne d'arc which was a bit disappointing, and checked a load of maginot stuff

 

[TheTimeChamber]

Did jeanne d'arc which was a bit disappointing, and checked a load of maginot stuff

That's a shame, we did a few plus a bunch of Gros Ouvrages. There is only so much tunnel and fort you can take before you get bored lol. Look forward to more of your photos.

These were the turrets:

 

[The Franconian]

pic 5 + 25
"Saufst, stirbst, saufst nit, stirbst a, also gsuffa" (Bavarian dialect)
= "you booze, you die, you don't booze, you die too, so booze"
-
pic 25 right
"Los der Mooth nit sinke : los mer lever noch ein drinke" (rhineland dialect I think, Dusseldorf; Cologne or so)
"do not let sink (lose) courage, better let's have another booze."
-
dialect, very difficult for a non native german speaker
pic 25: electric goes over the writing, so it came later, I think

 

[The Lone Ranger]

Stunning looking fort and excellent photos too

Good to see the Germans had a sense of humour with their graffiti, the windows with a sea view being my favourite

 

[The Franconian]

the seaview yes, great.
nice report Mr. Raw
-
pic 4:
"Münchner Kindl in Kamerun"
"Münchner Kindl" = munich child, symbol for Munich ( https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Münchner_Kindl )
maybe it means a pub too.
The Stein (Krug) in his hands shows "HB" for "Hofbräu" Munich and he got a big radish in his hand,
eaten normally at beerfest with salt and bread.
The boy is wearing a turban;
this plays in Kamerun, Deutsch Westafrika ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_South_West_Africa ).
I think that is what the Münchner Kindl looking like there
-
+ "Mensch, ärgere dich nicht" = don't get angry ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mensch_ärgere_dich_nicht )
-
pic 26: "Wer zankt oder hetzt, wird an die Luft gesetzt"
who quarrels or verbal offends will be set to fresh air
hetzen here is permanently talking against someone, fresh air is the air outside.
offenders will be kicked out, I would say
-
pic 27 right:
"Alte Taler, junge Weiber, sind die besten Zeitvertreiber"
My say: good money and young young girls, time goes by like nothing
-
"Old money, young women are the best pastimes" they say: http://www.germansteins.com/beer-stein-translations/

 

[The_Raw]

Thanks @The Franconian, much better than Google translate!

 

[The_Raw]

That's a shame, we did a few plus a bunch of Gros Ouvrages. There is only so much tunnel and fort you can take before you get bored lol. Look forward to more of your photos.

​

I've posted quite a few bits from this trip and the previous trip if you fancy a look mate; Brehain, Rochonvillers, Latiremont, Mont des Welches, and Hobling - think that's most of them​

 

[wellingtonian]

Amazingly clean given it's history. Very interesting report as ever mate

 

[Bugsuperstar]

What a place! Great shots mate.

 

[Old enough to know better]

Managed a solo trip into the fort late May this year. Loved it Was in an hour and a half on my own but batteries started to give out. Going back later this year for another go, obviously missed quite a lot. Great photos, put mine to shame.

 

[freshwateriow]

Managed a solo trip into the fort late May this year. Loved it Was in an hour and a half on my own but batteries started to give out. Going back later this year for another go, obviously missed quite a lot. Great photos, put mine to shame.

Did you ever get back to the Fortress? Looks like a good explore

 

[Old enough to know better]

Did you ever get back to the Fortress? Looks like a good explore

Yes, I was in there on my own for nearly 3 hours in late May. I'll post some picyures when I've got time. It's an absolute 'must visit'. Another fort about 2 miles away is open to public on weekends. Check out 'group fortification Yser'.