Monday, November 29, 2010

Lovely & lonely benches #19

The Kehlsteinhaus (in English-speaking countries also known as the Eagle's Nest) is a chalet-style building which when built was an extension of the Obersalzberg complex erected by the Nazis in the mountains above Berchtesgaden. The Kehlsteinhaus was intended as a 50th birthday present for Adolf Hitler. Nicknamed Eagle's Nest by a French diplomat, it was meant to be a retreat for Hitler and place for him to entertain visiting dignitaries.
-From wiki
The Eagle’s Nest itself is now pretty much just a cafe/restaurant - most of the artifacts from the 40s are long gone - but the view from the mountain is absolutely spectacular.

The Eagle's Nest lies in the mountains above Berchtesgaden in the southeastern corner of Germany.  Berchtesgaden!!!... A place full of WW2 history. This small town is located in the Bavarian Alps, surrounded by Austria on three sides. It is regarded as the most beautiful place in Germany. (Is that true? I will tell if have chance to visit more places in Germany… )  The town was a favorite of Hitler's, and during the mid 30's he and the nazi party bought up much of the real-estate. By the beginning of WW2, only Nazi Party members were allowed to live in the area. End of the war, the Allied Forces bombed the place to nothing. The British hit everything but The Eagle's Nest.  Everything associated with Hitler was burned to the ground in Germany, however, The Eagle's Nest was spared. So we have the chance to visit this beautiful place today. We have no time to visit the old town but only the “Eagle’s Nest”, It took about an hour from Salzburg to Berchtesgaden, it is just over the border inside Germany.
Entrance to tunnel which leads to the elevator up to the Eagle's Nest
To build such a building on top of the mountain, the Germans had to first build a road, cut tunnels through the mountain, and eventually install a 124-meter (that’s over 400 feet!) tall private elevator that would take guests up to the house itself. Now tourist can no longer drive up the road - it’s just too steep and twisty, we have to take the special arranged buses (which can take up 40 or 50 people at a time ) up and down the mountain, and the buses have to be specially made with extra-strong brakes. The buses stop at the bottom of the elevator.

The day our tour visited The Eagle's Nest was raining and cold, we took the local tour bus to go up. The road to go up to the mountain is one lane,  it is straight down, a little hard to look out the window. Though it was foggy but It is so AWESOME up there!!  I absolutely loved it, the feeling of standing on top of the mountain!  Once you are at the Eagle's Nest, it's all about impressive views of the stunning Alp, but most of the pictures I have taken at the Eagle’s Nest are benches, benches, and more benches!
Sitting here at the top of the Bavarian Alps, I see nothing but fog

…and the lovely and lonely benches
(Continued tomorrow)
Some views nearby the last bench
My benches collection are here.

2 comments:

Sylvia K said...

Oh, what memories your photos/post brought back! My husband was stationed in Germany in the late 60s and we made several trips to Berchtesgaden! Such a gorgeous place as well as having a lot of history. Your photos are terrific! Hope you have a great week!

Sylvia

Barb said...

I love your misty photos! I'm not sure I'd want to ride the buses up the steep, twisty road though. I'm glad you were brave enough to go.