Sunday, December 17, 2006
Hitler’s Hideout
After visiting the Salzbergwerk in Berchtesgaden, I headed to another nearby renowned site -- the Kehlsteinhaus, often called the Eagle’s Nest. If you’ve seen the movie, “Band of Brothers,” you may recognize it as Hitler’s Hideout that Easy Company was purported to have secured toward the end of World War II. Hitler used it as a diplomatic retreat on top of the Kehlstein Mountain. On a clear day, you can see a spectacular view of the Austrian and Bavarian Alps. On a not-so-clear day, you can’t. Unfortunately, I was there on one of the latter types of days.
To get to the Eagle’s Nest, we took a bus ride from Obersalzberg-Hintereck up Germany’s highest (and very steep and windy) mountain road, then walked through a tunnel (kinda reminded me of a mini-version of the blast tunnel going into Cheyenne Mountain in Colorado Springs since it’s dug out of the mountain-rock) to get to Hitler’s original brass elevator (through the doors in this domed room) that lifted us to the Eagle’s Nest. If you look closely at the photo below of the tunnel, you can see the Eagle's Nest roof peering over the mountaintop.
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The Eagle’s Nest itself is rather small, and today is a restaurant. When we went inside for lunch, the waiter directed us to a table by the window because he said it had the best view. Unfortunately, it was so foggy that the window originally appeared to be a smoky-window with no view. It wasn’t until I got right next to the window and peered out that I noticed the brick ledge outside...and nothing more. It was a total white-out! During lunch, there were a few minor breaks in the clouds that allowed us a glimpse of the scenery below...but not much.
After lunch, we walked around, trying to stay warm and dry. My jacket didn’t do much to keep me warm, and my umbrella did even less to keep me dry.
This is one of the better views I had of the mountain behind the Eagle’s Nest...
...and of the nearby drop-off.
This is one of the villages below...again, it was a rare glimpse through the clouds.
Off in the distance, I could see the Gipfelkreuz, the Summit Cross, but it was too cold to venture the short distance to get a closer (and most likely, nonexistent) look at the Kneifelspitze below.
This was the best view I had the entire afternoon of the valley below. I’d like to head back one day (with better weather) for what I expect is a spectacular view of the Alpine National Park below, with its majestic mountains, crystal clear lakes and unspoiled nature reserve, as well as the nearby charming villages dotting the landscape.
To get to the Eagle’s Nest, we took a bus ride from Obersalzberg-Hintereck up Germany’s highest (and very steep and windy) mountain road, then walked through a tunnel (kinda reminded me of a mini-version of the blast tunnel going into Cheyenne Mountain in Colorado Springs since it’s dug out of the mountain-rock) to get to Hitler’s original brass elevator (through the doors in this domed room) that lifted us to the Eagle’s Nest. If you look closely at the photo below of the tunnel, you can see the Eagle's Nest roof peering over the mountaintop.
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The Eagle’s Nest itself is rather small, and today is a restaurant. When we went inside for lunch, the waiter directed us to a table by the window because he said it had the best view. Unfortunately, it was so foggy that the window originally appeared to be a smoky-window with no view. It wasn’t until I got right next to the window and peered out that I noticed the brick ledge outside...and nothing more. It was a total white-out! During lunch, there were a few minor breaks in the clouds that allowed us a glimpse of the scenery below...but not much.
After lunch, we walked around, trying to stay warm and dry. My jacket didn’t do much to keep me warm, and my umbrella did even less to keep me dry.
This is one of the better views I had of the mountain behind the Eagle’s Nest......and of the nearby drop-off.
This is one of the villages below...again, it was a rare glimpse through the clouds.
Off in the distance, I could see the Gipfelkreuz, the Summit Cross, but it was too cold to venture the short distance to get a closer (and most likely, nonexistent) look at the Kneifelspitze below.
This was the best view I had the entire afternoon of the valley below. I’d like to head back one day (with better weather) for what I expect is a spectacular view of the Alpine National Park below, with its majestic mountains, crystal clear lakes and unspoiled nature reserve, as well as the nearby charming villages dotting the landscape.
