Day 2: Berchtesgaden & Obersalzburg, Germany

(Click on the colored links and they will give you cool information about that place).

Jeffrey's comments are in black, Josie's are in purple. Sorry for those of you who are colorblind. don't worry, it won't make a difference. Other than you might think Jeff is a little feminine sometimes with his wording and interests...

Day 2

Before we left on our trip, I researched different things we could see around the main stopping points, and found out that we would be very close to some pretty significant WWII sites. I have always been fascinated with the history of WWII and so I planned to see as many sites as we could fit in--we even saw a couple we didn't know about.
 
Our plan for the day was to leave Salzburg, Austria and drive to Berchtesgaden, Germany. Then we would drive to Oberammergau, Germany to stay the night.

This morning we left the Booze Snooze Hotel in Salzburg and headed for Berchtesgaden at the southern tip of Germany. Berchtesgaden is a small town with a river running through the middle of it. It flows from Lake Konigsee, which is just up the canyon. The water is a teal color, and pictures just don't do it justice.

The river that runs through Berchtesgaden.

The drive to Berchtesgaden only took about 20 minutes, but it was probably one of the prettiest drives I've ever been on. The mountains shoot up on each side and the trees, fog, mist, and teal river made me keep saying "wow!" I guess us little Idahoans have a penchant for mountains.

We kept pulling over to the side of the road to take pictures. People were honking at me when I took this one.

Berchtesgaden is on the way to Obersalzburg—the area just up the mountain where Hitler lived, and the Nazi regime mountain headquarters were. I was so excited to see these sites, that when we got to Berchtesgaden I just kept driving, turned left, and up the mountain we went.

Almost immediately, the road inclines and starts winding itself up the mountainside. After several "closed eye turns" (for Josie) and low gear revving, we came to the visitor's center, or Documentation Center. The view was very limited with the fog, so pictures didn't show anything, but we could see enough to know that on a clear day, the view would be amazing.

We walked to a nearby museum and found that they only accepted EURO, which we didn't have. So back to the car and down the mountain we went in search of an ATM.

We searched around Berchtesgaden for an ATM and after asking several people and visiting two different tourist information buildings, we found one. I got my first look at EUROS. They are very small bills, almost like monopoly money.

Since we were in the town, we decided to look around at the shops and old churches and have lunch. I could tell that the town had probably looked the same for the last 100 years. I always try to envision these towns without the cars and people, and it's fun to imagine what they would look like.

The roundabout in the middle of town with the river running through the middle of it.

We ended up eating Hungarian Goulash soup....yes we know. "You had Hungarian food, in Germany? And you live in Hungary?" But we love our goulash soup, and it didn't disappoint.
The churches were open to the public, and even a cat that followed us around. The woodwork was all original--which I love--including the pews, and the floor, etc.

The churches in Germany are a ton smaller than the ones in France and Italy. They are more rustic, which is cool. But many of them only have medieval art (which is kind of disturbing and ugly, in my opinion). I'd much prefer idealized statues and paintings...is that wicked of me? This was one of the nicer ones, though.

Where's Josie?

Me paying my respects, by taking pictures.

Cool door in Berchtesgaden

Center square in Berchtesgaden

This in May 1945, in the same square as the picture above this one, against the left wall.

Fountain in Berchtesgaden

1945 Troops surrounding that same fountain.

Same fountain, to the right.

This is Gene Kelly filming a movie in Berchtesgaden in the early 1950's. They also shot some scenes at the Berghof (Hitler's home that you'll see underneath) before it was demolished.

After we explored the town, got an ice cream for me and a pastry for Josie, we went for round 2 of exploring the mountainside. This time up the mountain, instead of going straight to the museum, we drove straight to where Hitler's house, The Berghof, had been. We found a place to park on the side of the road and started to look around.

In the early 1930's, Hitler purchased the Hotel Zum Turken with earnings from his book, Mein Kampf. Just next to the Hotel, he purchased a home and had it extensively remodeled into a mansion which he named, "The Berghof."

The Berghof being remodeled. Notice an entrance to the bunker on the bottom left.

The same entrance as we saw it.

Those that lived in this area were bought out at discounted prices, or threatened until they left. Hitler's inner circle built homes around his. SS baracks and guard shacks were built, and a bunker system linking them all was constructed to make a Nazi headquarter on the mountain.

Further up the mountain is Hitler's Eagle's Nest, which is a mountain retreat that was gifted to Hitler for his 50th birthday. It is still in the same condition it was 70 years ago, and can only be reached by a mountainside tunnel which leads to an elevator shaft that up to the home. Unfortunately, the Eagle's Nest was stilled closed for the season when we visited, but the view and pictures are definitely worth looking up.

On April 25, 1945, the British bombed the Berghof, Hotel Zum Turken, SS baracks, and other homes in the area. These buildings were badly damaged, but still remained intact. Hitler was living in Berlin at the time and was not present for the bombings, however, just 5 days later on April 30th, Hitler killed himself. In early May 1945, US troops arrived to find the Berghof damaged, looted, and smoldering from being set on fire by the SS troops (Hitler's orders).

An aerial view of the bombing of the Berghof (center) and the Hotel Zum Turken (left). You can see the craters scattered around the site from the impact of the bombs. Notice the retaining wall at the back of the mansion...

A bomb crater still above the Berghof site.

The same bomb crater.

The structures remained until 1952 when the Bavarian government demolished the remaining structure of the Berghof to hinder would be sight-seers from coming. (Didn't stop us). Today, all that remains of his house are the entrances to the two driveways, the back retaining wall, and some pipes here and there sticking out of the ground.

The Berghof in its prime.

Propaganda photo from in front of the Berghof.

Visitors at the Berghof trying to get a glimpse of Hitler

After the bombings

I took this picture to show what the site looks like today.

Me standing at the back entrance of the Berghof.

Josie taking a picture of the back retaining wall of the site.

The arrow points right to where Josie is standing in the above picture.

Josie and I walked around the site and I took a piece of the retaining wall as a memento of some sort. Maybe I'll use it in a fireside one day about building on solid foundations....I probably won't bring up Hitler's house in a fireside, but I have a piece of the wall anyways. The only marker on the site is a sign that has recently been added that explains what used to be there.

Hitler hosted several famous figures at the Berghof including Neville Chamberlein, Benito Mussolini, General Von Stauffenberg (person who carried out operation Valyrie), the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, and several other kings, dignitaries, and the like.

This video shows one of the meetings of Hitler and Mussolini at the Berghof starting at the 5:25 mark.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZH-CJechOJ4

We hiked a little up the mountain and found two entrances to the bunker system build into the mountain side. They are closed up with dirt, but I had read that other parts are accessible from the Hotel Zum Turken, which still stands. So we walked up the mountain and back around to our car, parked in the back of the Hotel.

Above the site.

Just a pretty forest shot.

Johann Brahms stayed at this hotel...

The Hotel Zum Turken with SS troops.

Josie in front of the Hotel as it looks today.

We were the only ones around the site, except for a lady and two kids that passed by on a walk, and it was nice to be able to explore on our own. At the Hotel, the back door was open, and there was a sign that said something about the Bunker, so we walked in and there was a lady behind a half glass window. I asked her if this is where we can tour the tunnels and bunkers and luckily she spoke English and said that it was. She explained that it was a self-guided tour and that for 3 EURO each, we could go down into the tunnels. We talked with her for a few minutes, and I noticed that she had a small box of pins on her desk. I know that Josie likes collecting pins, so I asked how much for the pins, and she said that we could just have whatever we wanted. We picked out three, gave her a few EURO for her help and started our tour.

You start by going down two flights of spiral staircases and then down about 100 steps to the tunnels beneath.

This is the spiral staircase that leads from the Hotel to the start of the tunnels.

The same spot as it looked before.

We were the only people in the whole tunnel system and it was very damp, cold, quiet, and eerie. Luckily they were partially lit. After the first 100 steps, we thought that the tunnels would stop, but they kept turning and then there would be another room and then more stairs down. Josie kept saying, "What if we can't find our way back out?" I assured her that we would.

The same room as the picture above. The gated room to the left is where Hitler kept his watch dogs.

Each doorway had German words explaining what that room was used for and we later learned what some of the rooms were.

The part of the tunnel that led to the Berghof, was bricked off, but the writing on the wall let us know that through that wall was where the tunnel connected under the Berghof. Crazy to think that unknown to the rest of the world, Hitler used to walk through these tunnels. I told Josie, "Even today, how many people know that Hitler had secret tunnels under his house." I certainly didn't.

The hallway that leads to the entrance that connects to the Berghof. It is bricked off now.

Explaining that this is where Hitler, his mistress, and his doctor had rooms and tunnels underneath his house.

We found our way back out of the tunnels and walked just down from the Berghof and Hotel on a walking path. Hitler used to take a daily walk to a little teahouse in the woods, about 20 minutes away. We walked on part of the trail, and came to what is now a golf course. The teahouse was also destroyed by the government and I wasn't sure where it once was, so we stopped at the golf course and just admired the view. Really pretty golf course.

Tunnel emergency exit from the walking path just below the Berghof.

Hitler used to walk straight across what is now a golf course, to his tea house every afternoon.

Next, we finally went to the museum. The museum explained the history of the sites and the Nazi regime in general. We had an English audio tour and it was somewhat interesting. The last part of the tour led to even more tunnels, more extensive and bigger than the others, under what used to be the SS baracks. We walked around these tunnels with a few other people and saw where there used to be underground living quarters, offices, piping, etc.

The look on her face depicts her feelings about the tunnels very well.

An office in the tunnels for Hitlers inner circle.

Then

Now

 It was fascinating how many man hours it must have taken to construct all of these complexes, tunnels, houses, etc. I really wish the Bristish hadn't bombed it all, but oh well.

After the museum, we drove a little further up the mountain towards the Eagle's Nest entrance, stopped at a lookout point high about Berchtesgaden, took some pictures, and turned around. I loved touring the mountain and seeing the sites, as you can probably tell by this novel that you have had to endure, but I found it all very interesting.

We left Berchtesgaden, drove to the tip of Lake Konigsee, it was raining at this point, ate at McDonalds, and headed for Oberammergau, Germany to prepare for Castle day tomorrow.

Josie: Our next stop was a hotel in Oberammergau, a few hours away. Jeff went 120 mph on the Autobahn (every boy’s dream). He followed the Audi that took off right as they passed the sign with three black stripes on it. There were more amazing German farms and rainstorms. We went past a tulip field and Jeff pulled over to take a picture. He came and got me after a second, and led me to a table beside the field. It had little knives on it. Jeff took one, dropped a euro into a container, and we picked our own tulips. We put them in a water bottle, and kept them with us for the rest of the trip:) When they bloomed they were huge! Left them in Salzburg...The forests were so thick and dark—the trees were such a deep green that they looked black; a perfect forest for Hansel and Gretel to get lost in. It made those old stories even more real, with the gingerbread houses and everything!

Tulip field on the way to Oberammergau

Josie with her fresh tulips.

Well, we were almost to Oberammergau and it was to the point where we could barely see, but it wasn’t all the way dark yet. We saw the silhouettes of the mountain range surrounding us and we couldn’t help but “ooo” and “ahh” at the beauty of it all! We tried to keep taking pictures, but that was pointless since it was so dark. It’s one of those experiences that you can’t do any of it justice. 

We had the address of our hotel, but that was it. Good thing it was a small town. We asked for directions at a gas station (I'm glad Jeff isn’t one of “those guys” who won’t ask for information!:) and found the street. We went down a dirt road and I thought I saw a sign with our hotel’s name on it. Jeff didn’t believe me—or didn’t want to—it was outside of the town and up a dirt road. And after last night’s hotel…we were nervous to find what this one was like. But we found it. Knocked on the door, no answer. We finally got the number to call, and an old man said he’d be there in a second.

He gave us a couple of maps, took a highlighter, and marked every place we should visit while we were there—told us what is was, why it was famous, how long it would take, he made a route…he knew everything. His grandparents bought the place and made a hotel out of it. His dad had it, and now it was his. He’s been there all his life, probably. He was funny and very friendly--told us flat out that we were stupid for staying just one night. We said we’d reconsider.

Up we went over creaky stairs, into a tiny room. It was old, but so rustic and clean! It had a balcony. We were so excited that Jeff booked the room for the next night. It was a great little surprise. After a little more research, he discovered that Bob Hope had stayed there before, which made me happy. I don't think Jeff knows who that is, yet...don't worry though, I'll teach him. I did some homework and we went to bed.