Back to Bavaria

Today's outing was all about history, specifically Adolf Hitler's connection to the area prior to and during World War II. Our tour included visits to complex underground bunkers as well as the Eagle's Nest, a retreat built by the Nazi party as a 50th birthday gift to Hitler.

Before the tour started, we had time to kill in the town of Berchtesgaden. We ducked into a grocery store for some fruit. Luckily, around the corner Bill found a handy fountain to wash his apple.

Hitler spent as much as half the year here. He had the town's train station enlarged to impress his visitors with a large fancy mural that still dominates the interior.

We saw a checkpoint used by the Nazis to screen those who wanted to go up the mountain towards the Eagle's Nest.

The road doesn't go all the way up to the Eagle's Nest; where it stops, you enter a tunnel which leads to a bronze-lined elevator which whisks you to the top. In the photo of the tunnel entrance below, you can see the Eagle's Nest all the way on top. The building is hard to see, but it's directly above the center of the tunnel.

Here's the interior of the tunnel, still in pristine condition.

Partially because it blends in so well with the granite mountain surrounding it, the building was not damaged during the Allied bombing raids in April 1945. The Eagle's Nest appears today much as it did when Hitler used it to entertain his guests. Hitler used it as a tea room; today it's a restaurant with al fresco dining.

Views are magnificent. Although you can't tell from the photos, we could see all the way to the Salzburg castle that we visited yesterday!

Just as interesting as the Eagle's Nest, was the vast underground bunker system. The bunkers were stripped of anything useful after the bombing when the Allied forces told the locals to take whatever they needed from the abandoned tunnels. 

The graffiti on the wall below is from the French forces who were the first into the bunkers after the bombing. They wrote their initials, the date (May 5, 1945), and their outfit's symbol (looks like an equal sign with a vertical line through it.)

I have to admit, it was Bill who really wanted to do this tour, but I am SO glad he chose it. Our guide made the history come alive, and made this a very interesting, enjoyable day.