Eis-Graben

The adventure that began way back on August 26th in Hamburg is now rapidly approaching its conclusion. Tomorrow morning, I will begin the complex series of trains, planes and taxis that will (hopefully) get me from Salzburg back to Melbourne. Although I am looking forward to being back on home soil, it is hard not to feel a little daunted by the ordeal of the next three days.

Today was my last full day in Salzburg. The glimpses of the surrounding mountains that I sometimes saw between the clouds and drizzle suggested that this really would be a beautiful place on a clear day. Unfortunately, the drizzle has persisted almost nonstop since I arrived, so I will leave feeling a little unfulfilled. The advance weather forecast promises that much better and warmer weather is on its way, and it will probably arrive just as my train is pulling away from the Salzburg Station.

As I mentioned previously, my main reason for coming to Salzburg was not to do the Sound of Music Tour, it was to travel high into the nearby Bavarian Alps to see the famous Eagles Nest. A couple of days ago we were informed that the road from Berchtesgaden to Eagles Nest was blocked by a vast quantity of snow that had slid down the mountain and destroyed some of the avalanche barriers in the process. I was told today that it is unlikely that the road will be reopened before the end of the season.

If I was not going to be able to reach the top of the mountain, I decided to at least catch a bus to the Bavarian Town of Berchtesgaden instead. So that is what I did. For a few hours I joined a group of bus tourists and travelled over the German border into Bavaria,

There is no doubt that the town of Berchtesgaden is extremely picturesque. Even in such gloomy weather, the alpine houses looked like they had been lifted from picture postcards. In spite of the natural beauty of the place, this area has a dark wartime history, with many of the nazi regime owning large holiday homes here.

The railway station, built during nazi times, still bears the unmistakable hallmarks of their overstated architecture. You can still see the poles where the swastikas were displayed outside the main entrance.

Although we could not climb the alpine road to the Eagles Nest, we did take an alternate route to the famous Kings Lake. Surrounded by snowcapped peaks, the water in the lake is crystal clear and supposedly safe to drink. Only electric powered boats are allowed on the lake, to prevent pollution of the waters.

On the way back to Salzburg, the bus stopped next to one of the most beautiful little cemeteries I have ever seen. The graves were lovingly maintained, and many had tiny glowing lanterns on them. However, even here there was a dark side as well. As I was wandering the graves, I discovered a large number of memorials for nazi soldiers who had been killed in the war. Each one was proudly photographed in their German army uniforms.

I am now back in the hotel, sorting my luggage for tomorrow's journeys. In the morning, I first catch a train back to Vienna, then travel direct to Vienna airport to catch a late-night flight to Copenhagen. On Sunday I climb on another flight to fly to Singapore, before finally catching the final flight to Melbourne.Read more