Making memories

Friday 11/05/2018 Karma Bavaria Schliersee Room 210 (9 SZ)l

Off on a road trip to the Eagles Nest Hitlers getaway place on top of a very high mountain... 6,000 ft up, the info about it all is below.. the drive over was very pretty, on the Hwy most of the way but into smaller villages as we went along closer to our destination. What I did find was their roof line for some reason not sure why had changed in shape, design and what it as made from.... plus the different steeples around the valleys as we drive along were so ornate and so different... some were tall and thin with designs inside the tall section, others were bulbous and fat making them look so different yet again... I really don’t know why they are so different if it’s a tradition, a meaning or just purely from a design perspective.

We made it to our destination and thank goodness we did get there early as honestly by the time we left there were 100’s of people getting off numerous buses! There were only 2 buses up the mountain when we went up, by the time we were heading away there were at least 10... John read they put through over 3,000 people a day in the summer period, in winter you can’t access it due to the amount of snow. Anyways we got our tickets had to wait for enough to go, then up, up, up we went and no views for us today as the clouds and fog were too thick. But when they did part and watching this occur in itself was unreal.... the views of the mountains were just unreal... the constant swirling and movement of the clouds was as fast as you looking at one spot turn you back for a second and it was gone. Up on the mountain was in a way a bit disappointing as it was only one building which I didn’t realise and all it is, is the Tea House of Hitlers day but now a restaurant, and do they pump out meals... my goodness unreal how early everyone has a beer and a big meal... but as we were hungry and it was morning tea time we decided to have something different, plus the fact the weather although it wasn’t freezing looked like it should be from the heavy fog... as it cleared it was actually hot but while the fog was there it was cold, crazy.... anyway we ordered heavier food than we would normally. John had a weaner and potato salad, I had a thing called a cheese Dumpling and vegetable soup 🍲 .... was it different to say the least, but extremely tasty and flavoursome, I fact both our meals were simple but the flavours were amazing.

So having eaten, we climbed around the huge slab of snow in the middle of the open air restaurant and headed up the hill to see the views, that we couldn’t see due to the clouds... but every so often when they did part it was breath taking... just every so often a little gap would appear and you could see just how high up we were...

There was even a guy in amongst the fog playing his piano accordion crazy but the Germans loved it! I actually run into and I did run into her another Aussie couple... it was so good to hear our native tongue in amongst love the German tongue. After a while it gets a bit much nit knowing what is being said around you... even though it’s none of our business, it’s actually comforting knowing others around you speak the same language... crazy as it seems...

John had found the sunroom in the building that had a wall of info on the place, he had a good read of that I looked around to see what else we could do but there was nothing, so after our time up there amongst the snow and mountains and there really wasn’t anything else to do or see, so we decided to hear back down.
The Road is quite narrow, so the buses have it timed that at a certain spot the ones coming down , pull into a sure section and wait for the buses going up to go by, otherwise we would never fit....
Back down we could have gone to the achieve centre where there was lots of paperwork from WWII but as we had planned to go the Salt mine we thought it best to keep going...

Info on the Eagles Nest!
The Kehlsteinhaus (known as the Eagle's Nest in English-speaking countries) is a Third Reich-era building erected atop the summit of the Kehlstein, a rocky outcrop that rises above the Obersalzberg near the town of Berchtesgaden. It was used exclusively by members of the Nazi Party for government and social meetings. It was visited on 14 documented instances by Adolf Hitler, who disliked the location due to his fear of heights, the risk of bad weather, and the thin mountain air. Today it is open seasonally as a restaurant, beer garden, and tourist site. The Kehlsteinhaus sits on a ridge atop the Kehlstein, a 1,834 m (6,017 ft) subpeak of the Hoher Göll that rises above the town of Berchtesgaden. It was commissioned by Martin Bormann in the summer of 1937. Paid for by the Nazi Party, it was completed in 13 months. Hitler first visited on September 16, 1938, and returned on April 20, 1939, for its formal presentation as a gift for his fiftieth birthday. A 4 m (13 ft) wide approach road climbs 800 m (2,600 ft) over 6.5 km (4.0 mi). Costing RM 30 million to build (about 150 million inflation-adjusted euros in 2007), it includes five tunnels but only one hairpin turn. From a large car park, a 124 m (407 ft) entry tunnel leads to an ornate elevator that ascends the final 124 m (407 ft) to the building. Its car is surfaced with polished brass, Venetian mirrors, and green leather. Construction of the entire project cost the lives of 12 workers. The building's main reception room is dominated by a fireplace of red Italian marble presented by Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, which was damaged by Allied soldiers chipping off pieces to take home as souvenirs. Much of the furniture was designed by Paul László. The building had a completely electric appliance kitchen, which was unusual in 1937, but was never used to cook meals; instead meals were prepared in town and taken to the kitchen on the mountain top to be reheated. The building also has heated floors, with heating required for at least two days prior in order for the temperature to be comfortable enough for visitors. There are two ways to approach and enter the building: the road and the Kehlsteinhaus elevator. Hitler did not trust the elevator, continually expressed his reservations of its safety, and disliked using it; his biggest fear was that the elevator's winch mechanism on the roof would attract a lightning strike. (Bormann took great pains to never mention the two serious lightning strikes that occurred during construction.)
The Kehlsteinhaus lies several miles directly above the Berghof. In a rare diplomatic engagement, Hitler received departing French ambassador André François-Poncet on October 18, 1938, here. A wedding reception for Eva Braun's sister Gretl was held there following her June 3, 1944, marriage to Hermann Fegelein. While Hitler more often than not left the entertaining duties to others, he believed the house presented an excellent opportunity to entertain important and impressionable guests. Referred to as the "D-Haus", short for "Diplomatic Reception Haus", the Kehlsteinhaus is often conflated with the Mooslahnerkopf tea house at the Berghof, which Hitler visited daily after lunch.The teahouse was demolished by the Bavarian government after the war!

So back down the mountain we ended up coming into the Salt Mine via the NAV but good on her she bought us in the wrong way, we nearly drove into the area where all the people were a no car area, good on her... you should have seen people looking at us.. anyway we eventually found where we were to be even if we did go via the Austfhart instead of the Ehnfhart.... trust us... so parked up safely we headed across the bridge we drove over that I think was only for pedestrians ha ha.... the colour of the water is mint green so pretty... it comes from the melted snow so very clear as well... into buy our tickets and fortunately no waiting as the tour was about to start.. well timed again by accident. Must have been the Nav bringing us in the wrong way, the right way was so much longer to access, so there you go! Anyway taken through to a room where we all had to put overalls on! Mine the crotch ended up half way down my legs making it hard to walk, but I survived... this tour once we got going was unreal, you were a very long way under the ground, but it felt safe... The tour was all in German but they gave us an English commentary that you held to your ear to hear the story as we went... it worked out just fine. We started on miners' train too us 650 meters (2,133 feet) into the mountain underground, it went pretty fast felt like we were in a time machine of futuristic movie in a way... finishing where a gigantic salt cathedral...... then once off we walked from one cavern to another, from here to a spectacular miner's slide that awaited us... and on 2 occasions we had to slide down the shute that was used to send equipment up or down between levels... so much fun... as you can see from my face I looked petrified to start with, because the fall is quite steep and you get up one heck of a speed but once you stop quickly the nerves also settle quickly, the 2nd slide I enjoyed so much more... shame they don’t take the pic on the 2nd slide when you know what to expect... but then they wouldn’t capture such classic looks like mine turned out would they?

The equipment used in the older days was unreal, as it was salt which the corrosion causes so much damage the had to design equipment that would breakdown over time from corrosion. Hence the big boiler made from bronze looks unreal and how it was engineered was also unreal... those Germans know how to design long last equipment for sure! Our last aha moment was when we got to the settling room, which has water and salt or brine soaking for up to 30 years it was so interesting the reflection of the roof was mirrored in the water, so pretty yet errie.. they put on a light show here but in all honesty all they needed was the views of the reflective waters... so our time came to an end, it really was a brilliant tour, worth doing it and to be honest not a huge number of people were there after lunch so a good time to come... by the time we came out most of the clouds were gone so the views fro. Above at the Eagles Nest would have been unreal. We were meant to just be there when we did...what a great day...

The chronicle of salt mining in Berchtesgaden goes back to the 12th century. In 1193, the salt mining starts on the Tuval near Schellenberg. In 1194, salt mining is mentioned on the Gollnbach in Berchtesgaden. In 1517, the Petersberg gallery is struck, thereby founding the Salt Mine Berchtesgaden by Prince-Provost Gregor. The brine created here is initially channelled to the Schellenberg Salt Works. In 1564, the Frauenreuth Salt Works initiates operations in Berchtesgaden. Berchtesgaden remains an independent Prince-Provostry until 1803. By means of the Final Act of the Vienna Congress on 9 June 1815 and the Munich Agreement of 1816, it finally falls to Bavaria. Salt mining and salt works are integrated into the Königliche General-Bergwerks- und Salinenadministration (Royal General Mine and Salt Refinery Administration) in Munich. Reichenbach builds the brine pipeline to Bad Reichenhall In 1816, the Royal Bavarian Salt Refinery Council, Georg von Reichenbach, receives the commission from King Max 1st and his minister, Count Montgelas, to plan and build the brine pipeline from Berchtesgaden to Bad Reichenhall. On 22 December 1817, the first Berchtesgaden brine already runs in the wooden “deicheln” (wooden pipes) to Bad Reichenhall. The brilliant designer overcame 29 km of length and significant differences in altitude with water column lifting machines. This machine – the Reichenbach Pump – is regarded as an ingenious design of its time and pumps the brine 356 metres uphill at Ilsank. This brine pipeline remains in constant operation until 19 February 1927 – a master feat, which still does just as much credit to the inventor now, as it did then. Today, one of the 14-ton bronze pumps can be seen in the Salt Mine, while others are in the Old Salt Works in Bad Reichenhall and in the Deutsches Museum in Munich. The course of the brine pipeline can be followed on the beautiful hiking path from Berchtesgaden to Ramsau.

Our trip home was non eventful, scenery as spectacular as in the way over, probably more so as we can see more mountains than on the way over....... back to have heated up microwave pizza, never the same as when you get it... we had a great day worth the trip to get there....En savoir plus