Ok. so this trip to Germany was very last minute. I got a flight on Etihad direct to Munich where Thomas picked me up in the early morning hours. The air was damp and chilly like early spring or late fall in Ohio. It was an indication of the weather I'd be experiencing all week. I hopped in his BMW where we cruised the autobahn all the way back down to his hometown of Traunstein in southern Bavaria on the Austrian border.
Our first sightseeing stop was Obersalzburg Documentation. It is a museum in the mountainside retreat situated above the market town of Berchtesgaden in Bavaria. The museum teaches visitors about Hitler's summer house, Berghof, and the nearby Eagle's Nest and how he became a "pop star" of sorts and expanded his Third Reich across Europe. According to the site's brochure: "It was here where important political decisions were made about such things as peace, war and the Holocaust. Propaganda utilized the grandiose mountain panorama effectively to portray Hitler as a politician close to the people, a friend of children and nature, a good neighbor, a great statesaman and a solid visionary."
Berghof was the most widely known of Hitler's headquarters, but it was damaged by British aerial bombs and finally demolished by the Bavarian government as they feared the ruins would become a neo-Nazi shrine. The only thing remaining is The Eagle's Nest and the underground bunker complex that we were able to tour.
Hitler and Eva Braun at Berghof
Next we headed to Königssee (King's Lake) which is located in southeast Bavaria near the border of Austria. It is Germany's third deepest lake formed by glaciers during the lastice age . It is known as the cleanest lake in Germany so only electric or man-powered boats have been permitted since 1909. another reason for its popularity is the position of the lake surrounded by sheer rock walls creates and echo, which is known for its clarity. As we were walking around the lake we could hear the occasional trumpeting of a horn which has become a tradition to display the echo.
Unfortunately, the weather was not cooperative that day so we were unable to see St. Bartholomä, a famous pilgrimage church, that is located across the lake and can only be reached by boat or a long hike across the surrounding mountains -unless you dare cross the ice in winter like one motorist did in his VW Beetle in 1964. His car was found in 1997 at a depth of about 100m (300ft.)
Boathouses on Königssee
You can see St. Bartholomä waaayyy out there.
Our first sightseeing stop was Obersalzburg Documentation. It is a museum in the mountainside retreat situated above the market town of Berchtesgaden in Bavaria. The museum teaches visitors about Hitler's summer house, Berghof, and the nearby Eagle's Nest and how he became a "pop star" of sorts and expanded his Third Reich across Europe. According to the site's brochure: "It was here where important political decisions were made about such things as peace, war and the Holocaust. Propaganda utilized the grandiose mountain panorama effectively to portray Hitler as a politician close to the people, a friend of children and nature, a good neighbor, a great statesaman and a solid visionary."
Berghof was the most widely known of Hitler's headquarters, but it was damaged by British aerial bombs and finally demolished by the Bavarian government as they feared the ruins would become a neo-Nazi shrine. The only thing remaining is The Eagle's Nest and the underground bunker complex that we were able to tour.
Hitler and Eva Braun at BerghofNext we headed to Königssee (King's Lake) which is located in southeast Bavaria near the border of Austria. It is Germany's third deepest lake formed by glaciers during the last
Unfortunately, the weather was not cooperative that day so we were unable to see St. Bartholomä, a famous pilgrimage church, that is located across the lake and can only be reached by boat or a long hike across the surrounding mountains -unless you dare cross the ice in winter like one motorist did in his VW Beetle in 1964. His car was found in 1997 at a depth of about 100m (300ft.)
Boathouses on Königssee
You can see St. Bartholomä waaayyy out there.
Adelholzener is one of the oldest spas in Bavaria. Its history can be traced back as far as 286 BC by the Roman faith preacher St Primus. Fast-forward to 1907 when the Congregation of the Sisters of Mercy acquired Bad (bath) Adelholzen and constructed a sister home. In 1919 the first electric bottling plant was built. Today, it is the market leader for bottled water, spritzers, mineral water and diet sodas in Bavaria.
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