We started the morning very quietly, as our first destination of the day, the Diefenbunker, did not open until 11:00 a.m. Breakfast in the hotel was too expensive for us, so we went to Starbucks across the street.
Diefenbunker
The route to the Diefenbunker in Carp led us through beautiful landscapes. You wouldn't expect to find a Cold War bunker here. The name Diefenbunker was derived from the name of then-Canadian Prime Minister John Diefenbaker. There are actually seven bunkers, but the largest in Carp has been opened to the public as a museum.
We booked a small group tour with just four other people and a really great guide. Everyone was very open-minded, and it turned out to be a lot of fun. We entered the bunker through an inconspicuous metal warehouse, which led into a long tunnel. This tunnel was designed to dampen the shock wave in the event of an explosion.
We walked the path someone contaminated after a nuclear attack would take. First, through a large, heavy steel door in the airlock, then through the shower in their clothes, and then they had to undress completely. Of course, we walked the path without water and with our clothes on. ;) Afterwards, we visited the medical station.
The bunker has a total of four levels, all of which can be visited. However, you'll need plenty of time for this, as there's so much to see. At the very bottom is a sort of bunker within a bunker, a safe measuring approximately 20 m x 20 m x 6 m, which was supposed to hold the Bank of Canada's gold reserves in case of emergency. However, these never arrived there, and it would have taken far too long to transport them there in an emergency.
Are you still looking for a suitable hotel in Ottawa?
You can find a hotel to suit your budget via various online travel agencies such as Agoda, Booking.com, ebookers.com, Expedia, Hotels.com, lastminute.com, otel.com or Venere.com.
The third level houses all the facilities, cafeteria, and lounge. One floor above were the government facilities, meeting rooms, and the CBS Radio studio with an emergency channel. The tour is highly recommended! Ours lasted two hours, and we didn't even see everything. So plan on spending plenty of time!
