Eagles Nest

My parents and I toured Eagles Nest for their last day here in Austria. It wasn't something I'd ever thought to see, but my Dad insisted..and I'm glad he did. This was by far one of the most fascinating and stunning places I have visited yet! 

It’s kind of strange that a place so breathtaking belonged to one of the worst dictators in world history, Adolf Hitler.

Eagles Nest was his weekend home located in the Bavarian Alps in Germany, and was given to Hitler by the Nazis as a gift for his 50^th birthday. It was also an approach to flaunt the Germans’ engineering and architectural proficiency at the time. The monument is called "Kehlsteinhaus"in German because it was originally intended to be a "Tea-house" for the Third Reich (the head of Nazi Germany).

We departed from Salzburg and took about an hour bus ride that crossed into Germany and brought us to the bottom of the mountain. There, another bus that took us to the top to an altitude of 6,017 ft. As we arrived at the summit, we found ourselves inside thick clouds. I wondered what kind of views we’d manage to catch if we couldn’t see three feet in front of us??

We walked through the long tunnel entrance, took the original brass elevator up to the top, and arrived inside the actual building.  My original disappointment by the cloudy weather instantly diminished when I looked out the window of Eva Braun’s room...

Nope not snow…clouds!

We walked outside and I could not get enough of this view; tips of mountaintops surfacing just above the clouds with blue skies all around. Not to sound cheesy, but it really did look like Heaven, well…how I picture it at least.

Funny thing- all the money and manual labor it took to build this, (not to mention the beauty it entails) and guess how much time Hitler actually spent here….9 days, and for no more than hour on each occasion.

He wasn’t afraid of war or genocide, but apparently heights gave him the willies.. hmm. He stayed in a small house at the bottom of the mountain (which is now a gift shop), while his mistress Eva Braun stayed at Eagles Nest during their weekend visits. 

Check out my video below for livelier views of Eagles Nest..

I know, I know, I've been slacking with the blog- but hey...those future in-laws kept us pretty busy this week! We've been to some new places and done fun things along the way, so be sure to check it out this week. I'll have you all caught up in the next few days!!