With all this driving we have been doing and listening to German radio, I have recently found my new favorite song titled "Rollercoaster", which very much suites our adventures thus far. As a side note and since my German is no bueno, I pulled the lyrics off a website, so I don't know if this even makes sense. Anywho, we spent the night in Salzburg, a place I had been before (12 years ago) and liked very much. We walked around the town… Nothing looked all that familiar any more. It has since been built up and the small shops have turned into larger mall-like stores. We got a small taste of what to expect in Munich, landing at a brewery in an old monastery.
We walked up the stairs, grabbed mugs of the wall and handed it to the beer guy to fill it up. Not many decisions here… Pint or 1/2 liter? We both opted for the liter. Go big or go home right?
We made our way down to the beer garden. This place was awesome, granted it was a monday night, it was not at all packed, but nonetheless it was very fun. We sat there enjoying our beers…
Saw this on the way out… There are no arrows, perhaps could we have found it?
No dice… saw this just a few steps later
The next morning, we putted around the town in search of breakfast and of course the best ice cream I have ever had. We first came across all the horse drawn carriages getting ready for the day and the Mozart statute.
We came across a farmers market… Yummy! Ray had his heart set on a pretzel and found one bigger than his head.
As we sat enjoying our lattes, I happen to turn around and notice some writing on the building behind me.
Mozart’s Getburtshaus… Wait, what? How did we manage having breakfast and coffee right in front of where Mozart was born and didn't even realize it. Crazy! Probably didn’t help that the town is setting up for some carnival or fair so there are a lot of buildings and stuff in the streets. Oh yes, and after breakfast, we of course had ice cream. So so so good!
We then jump back in the car and head up into the hills. We drive through a small pocket of Germany leaving Austria for a brief moment.
The drive up was absolutely remarkable! Green hills, sheer mountains, and light greenish/blue water rushing down the river.
We stop at a Hotel Intercontinental which wasn’t even halfway up to our landing spot. The view was amazing!! Little did we know at the time that this wasn't even close to what we were going to see.
We make our way to a spot near the Obersalzburg Dokumentation in which we park the car and then catch a specialized bus to take us the rest of the way up.
Not entirely sure how the buses manage to get up the steep incline, but I was more worried about falling off the side of the mountain since the road literally was right on the edge. Alas, we made it, well not quite.
We get off the bus and walk through a long tunnel and into a snazzy brass-clad lift (elevator) which took us the last 120 meters to the top.
The eagle has landed…
We had officially made it to Kehlsteinhaus aka the Eagle’s Nest, a place built for Hitler for his 50th birthday. Forgetting for a moment why the building was there in the first place, we took in the spectacular sights all around us.
Can you spot the German military?
Pepe even took some time to stop and smell the flowers.
Its crazy to think that this was built back in 1937-38. How did they get the materials up here? How did Hitler himself make the trek up? How long did it take Hitler to travel from Berlin to here? How long were his stays here?
We pondered these questions over a beer.
After the Eagle’s Nest, we drove partway down the mountain and then veered off to the small town of Werfen (back in Austria for the night). Here’s the view from our place. We enjoyed a quiet night amidst stunning beauty and beneath a castle.
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