We headed on to Berchtesgaden, which was back in Germany. Berchtesgaden is the home to Germany’s only Alpine National Park and it’s famous Königsee. Also, nearby is Obersalzberg, the town that the Nazi’s took over for Hilter’s mountain retreat. We were staying up the mountain again traveling on these paved one”ish” lane roads. Still wondering if the GPS was taking us in the right direction or if Google had decided a hiking trail would get us there faster. Well, it was the right way and got to our hotel and we were pleasantly surprised there was also a small village there. We asked the desk clerk for a dinner recommendation and he suggested the restaurant across the street, the Holzkafer. It was excellent and probably the best meal we had so far on this trip.
The next morning, we went to the National Park. It is the location of the Königsee. A beautiful glacial lake with the Alps towering on its banks. We got our tickets to take a boat ride across the lake and do some short walks around. We were even treated to a trumpet performance by the first mate when we reached the echo area of the lake, quite impressive. They do allow swimming in designated areas of the lake, but the water seemed a bit too cold for us. We reached the far side of the lake just as it began to rain. The rain was internment which allowed us to walk to the Obersee. The Obersee is a much smaller lake within the park. There are many hiking trails, which would be great to explore, if we come back one of these days.
Next up was Eagle’s Nest (Kehlsteinhaus). This area was part of a complex for the Third Reich and where Hitler had a home. After the war most of the buildings were bombed by the Allies with the exception of the tea house on top of the mountain. Today it’s a restaurant that is run seasonally. You must park and take one of the buses to the top of the mountain. The ride to the top is not for the faint of heart. Will made the ride up and immediately took the next bus back down. Once you’re dropped off by the bus you walk through a tunnel to reach the golden elevator. Yes, the same elevator that used to transport Hitler. They do have a few pictures on one side explaining some of the history of Eagle’s Nest and what the building was used for. The views were excellent the day we were there.
At the bottom of the mountain is the Document Museum. We didn’t have time after visiting Eagle’s Nest, but we made a stop there the next morning. The museum was really interesting. The documents are all in German, but we got the English audio guide. It really does a nice job of explaining the different exhibits. There is also a film that is shown talking about how Hitler took over the town of Obersalzberg and how people worshiped Hitler as if he was a deity. The film has English subtitles and we all found it really interesting.