Toblerones

I know what you are thinking, but you are wrong. This is not about chocolate, much as I would like it to be. The Toblerones were constructed in the 1930s as a line of defence against possible invasion, and derived its name from the triangular shape of the concrete anti-tank barriers that were part of the fortifications.

It is a beautiful walk, by streams and woods, and the trail snakes among the Toberlones. It is an interesting juxtaposition of mother nature and mankind and human nature. It makes for a very thoughful walk.

The toblerones stretch for about 10 kilometers (six miles) from the foorhills of the Juras down to the lake shore. In all about 3,000 of them were erected, 1 every meter. A formidable barrier.

This is Villa Verte, one of two fortresses along the route, built in 1940, with false windows and 2.5 meter (7 feet) thick walls. The ground floor consisted of several gun emplacements, while the basement was the sleeping and the eating quarters of the troops serving there. They could remain in the villa for periods of several weeks cut off from the outside world, apart from by military telephone