This was a 13 hour day. We departed the hotel at 7:00 to take a train toward Austria to Berchtesgaden, Germany, about 2.5 hours away. We had one change to make at Freilassing that was a tight 6 minutes. Having checked the on-line schedule several times we knew we were supposed to arrive on Platform 2 and depart from Platform 1. But we didn’t know if we would have to make the trek down through the tunnel under the tracks and back up or just step across a Platform. Six minutes should be plenty of time, but you never know what might happen…
Because of the holiday, kids were out of school, college students were out of college, and workers were out of work, so the trains were filled with hikers and bikers and celebrators in addition to tourists. One of the stops beyond Freilassing has great trails and it was a beautiful day, so many were headed there.
We arrived in Freilassing 2 minutes late which cut our transfer time to 4 minutes. When we stepped off the train we realized we were on Platform 2 and would have to go under so started for the stairs. But wait!! The stairs were blocked for construction! We looked around for other stairs and there were none – and no elevator!! How were we to get from 2 to 1?! Suddenly, in unison like a flock of birds, the hikers and bikers started running from Platform 2 to Platform 3 away from the station! What was happening? We stepped over to look and our train was parked at Platform 3 but further down the track! What was it doing down there?!
We figured we were down to 2 minutes, but also knew it would take time for even those young things to all get on the train – and you can’t just give up – so we took off as quickly as we could. By the time we arrived the last biker was lifting his bike inside and we made it! Thank you, God, for hikers and bikers!
The rest of the trip was uneventful and steady enough to use the WC on board. I only mention it because of the lighted buttons that made using the WC feel like an electronic adventure!
When we arrived in Berchtesgaden we scouted out the location and fees for the local bus that would take us about 15 minutes away to Obersalzburg for the tour. We had about 1.5 hours, so walked in the crisp alpine air and looked for a place for lunch.
We had dreams of a good lunch with veggies and salads and planned to eat our leftover sandwiches on the train back to Munich that night. But with the time we had and the distance to possible restaurants, we decided to eat at a spot we had passed that was closer to the train/bus station.
The little shop was cute and eclectic. When I spoke to the guy who ran it and asked if they were open for lunch, he said yes, but the menu was in German and they were not a restaurant, snacks only! Pick a seat and order at the counter.
We have learned that “snacks” means something different – something more – than it does to us. We thinks chips or a piece of fruit, they seem to think of something less than meat and potatoes. When I asked a question about the menu he said to look at the pictures and pointed at a couple who was eating and said to ask them if it was good, and reminded me they were not a restaurant! We talked to the folks, looked at the menu, and ended up pointing at two pictures and sharing. Genny kept saying he wasn’t unfriendly, it was just his way, and by the time we left he was smiling and laughing. And the food was DELICIOUS!
After lunch – excuse me – snacks, we walked back to the bus station, bought round-trip tickets when we got on board, and rode up to Obersalzburg where we would start our tour.
Prior to 1933 Obersalzburg was a mountain community of farm houses and guest houses sitting at about 1200 feet on the mountainside above the town of Berchtesgaden, about 20 miles from Salzburg, Austria. It was a popular vacation area for many famous people of the day including Sigmund Freud, Johannes Brahms, and Bavarian Royalty.
Hitler, who was actually born in Austria-Hungary, visited a friend there in 1923 when he was released from prison after attempting an uprising against the government (where he wrote the first volume of “Mein Kampf” – My Struggle), he rented a small farmhouse that was situated up the hillside from the yellow sign in the picture below.
In 1933, after Hitler had been named Chancellor, he bought the farmhouse and named it the “Berghof” (Mountain Farm) in an effort to appear humble and modest to the people. He had it remodeled into a large, luxurious mountain chalet with a spectacular view all the way to Salzburg, Austria, including the nearly 1000 year old Hohensalzburg fortress above the town. I did not, however, hear Maria singing “The hills are alive…” or see children swinging from trees in their clothes made of curtains.
Obersalzburg was developed into the second seat of Government after Berlin, and Hitler spent more time at the Berghof than any other single location. He hosted dignitaries and politicians there and Eva Braun spent even more time there than Hitler. Part of a concrete wall that supported the back of the house is still there, with what was the front driveway remaining visible.
We boarded a bus that took us around the area with a guide pointing out the locations of former SS Officers and Nazis such as Herman Goering, Albert Speer, and Martin Borman – personal secretary to Hitler and the one tasked with the building of the Obersalzburg facilities, most of which have been destroyed.
A few facilities and even houses of other Nazi officials and supporters who lived in the area remain, including the underground tunnel and bunker system that started as air raid shelters. Sites are still visible that were barracks for soldiers and living quarters for workers who built the facilities – on land confiscated or forcibly sold for pennies to the Reich.
A hotel next door to the Berghof that had been in operation since 1630 was confiscated for housing Hitler’s Security Service. The hotel, badly damaged during an allied bombing campaign, was returned to the family after the war. They rebuilt it and it operated until 2020 when it was sold. It is still there, not operating, but still sitting above the bunkers that connected to the Berghof.
Nearly all of the buildings used by the Nazis have been destroyed, but much of the bunker system remains, some of which is under the hotel and other privately owned land.
After the war, the U.S. military occupied much of the area until the late 1990’s when it was returned to Germany.
There is a Documentation Center that sits atop bunkers that were dug in the 1930’s. The center and bunkers only reopened a few days ago after renovations and we were not able to go there because of the size of our tour group. But I spoke with a man who had been on his own, and if you ever have the opportunity to go, be sure to see them both.
It is hard to describe the feelings that arise as we walk where Hitler would have walked and think about what and who he led.
I’ll stop this episode here and will add the Eagle’s Nest portion shortly.
Thanks again for rambling along with us.