Berchtesgaden - Arts & Entertainment - Day Trips
If you're in the Salzburg area, you'd be silly not to visit the Eagle's Nest. Also known as Kehlsteinhaus, the Eagle's nest is a chalet style building built by the Nazi's and given to Hitler for his 50th birthday. The walk up will take you about 3 hours (but you can also take a bus which is a 20 minute ride) and the scenery is phenomenal. We took the bus up and walked down (be careful, signage is pretty poor - we got lost and it ended up taking some time to get back to the car park!). The final passage up to the nest is truly awesome - a 140m brass lift which goes straight up through the mountain.
I must admit, the Kehlsteinhaus itself was slightly disappointing. I expected a lot more information and history - Who built it? Why was it built? Was this really Hitler's secret hideout or did he only visit this place 8-10 times? What happened once the Allied forces captured the place? Not even a morsel of this information was available. It's basically a chalet style beer garden. In the end, we managed to corner an independent English speaking guide who gave us a bit more insight. It's definitely worth checking out the huge fireplace next to the dining area (apparently a gift from Mussolini). He also mentioned that the Kehlsteinhaus is on the same mountain as the Berghof (Hitler's home for much of the WWII). We went looking for it, but couldn't find.
I guess (understandably) there are just some things the German Tourist Board don't want to shout about, so my recommendation to inquisitive travelers like myself or historians would be to research heavily before you set off up the mountain.
Check out my review of Kehlsteinhaus (The Eagle's Nest) - I am ahunter - on Qype
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