A few weeks ago, David and I visited the small island of Pampus, a fortress created in the 19th century to defend against German ships that, it later turned out, never proved to be a threat anyway. This fort never saw real action, just thousands of extremely bored soldiers. The island has a caretaker who lives there with his family; the tour and cafe staff are all volunteers. And even though the building is crumbling, it’s clear it was originally built to last.
