Berchtesgaden
Bavarian Region, Germany
Some of our '100 Places' are things to actually see (Leaning Tower of Pisa) while others are more places to go and experience (Big Ben is really more about London in general). Berchtesgaden in the Bavarian Alps of Germany is really a lot of things to see and do in a place that you should really experience. As usual, I'm not going to bore you with details from Wikipedia, but I'll tell you what I think about a place I've been to a few times.
Berchtesgaden is tucked away in the far southeastern corner of Germany. It's not far from Munich, a great city to visit in its own right, but it's much closer to Salzburg just across the Austrian border. In fact, it's probably only about a 20 minute drive from Salzburg. It's a recreational paradise with some history thrown in to boot. You can spend an entire vacation here and I think you'd really have a good time.
Lake Konigsee is one beautiful attraction to the area. It's small, but very deep and it's the highest lake in Germany. It's also perhaps the cleanest. They have all these really neat wooden boats that you can take tours on and they're all electric. Only electric and human powered watercraft have been allowed on the lake since 1909.
There is actually a town of Berchtesgaden. It's very German and very charming. You can't go wrong staying here as a base for visiting all of the regional attractions, but there are some spectacular resorts in the surrounding area as well.
Branelle and I having lunch lakeside a few years ago. As with most tourist hot spots, you won't have trouble finding places to eat or spend money. I'll admit though that this area of Europe (Switzerland, Northern Italy, Germany, Austria, etc.) is one place where it's easier for me to forget I'm a tourist and just relax for some reason.
There is some history in the area as well. Eagle's Nest (Kehlsteinhaus to the locals) is an interesting stop. Presented to Hitler as a 50th birthday present, it was used for government meetings until captured during the war. There is a bunker system down below that offers a look into Nazi pre-war history and a small museum. You can actually walk up to Eagle's Nest, but it would take hours. You catch a bus at the Documentation Center that follows a private road up to the base where you travel in the same rather ornate elevator that Hitler, Mussolini, Braun and many others used that runs straight up through the mountain. It is said that Hitler hated the elevator, saying that he didn't trust it. Most likely he was a bit claustrophobic, although it's extremely large.
Eagle's Nest today is simply a restaurant and beer garden. The food is nothing to write home about, but the views are amazing and the historical significance is undeniable. Once you get up to the top you can hike around and take in the entire valley below.
I've always found it a little amusing that this place was a birthday present for Hitler, but he was afraid of heights.
There are a number of the usual outdoor activities that you can do here, including horseback riding, hiking, skiing in the winter, and boating of all kinds. There are also a few unique options such as taking a ride on the bobsled track pictured above. We were going to go bobsledding but it was too warm and they delayed the opening of the track by a week.
Another unique thing to do is take a tour of a salt mine. There are a number of old salt mines in the area and most have some kind of tour. We hit the Salzbergwerk Mine and it was really cool.
You take a small train deep inside the mountain and then go on a guided tour that includes a trip across an underground lake and some very fast rides down these old wooden slides the miners used to get from one level to another.
The salt mines are interesting and a fun day. A word of warning though: the tour is in German. They have these little areas where the guide can press a button and everything he said is repeated in English, but while you're listening to that everyone else is just sitting there waiting to move on. We appreciated our guides efforts but we just told him to do the tour in German and we'd catch on. It was still a lot of fun.
So should you go? Yes. You could spend two weeks in Southern Germany and never get bored. Berchtesgaden is a beautiful and fun location to spend some time in. Salzburg is a great city to visit. Munich is probably the best city to visit in Germany (unless you're into cars - then go to Stuttgart). It's very accessible - you can rent a car and drive from place to place. I'm partial to mountains, but regardless I'm sure you'll love your time in Bavaria.
 |
| 2012 |
 |
| 1990 - Same exact spot. The mountains behind are probably a mile away. |
No comments:
Post a Comment