Berchtesgaden, Germany
Located in one of the most beautiful corners of the Alps, this small town in the extreme southeastern corner of Germany is shadowed by its dark history. Adolf Hitler vacationed in this area beginning in the 1920s and purchased a home (the Berghof) just above town in the Obersalzberg.
By the late 1930s, Berchtesgaden served as an outpost of the Reich Chancellery with substantial expansion of offices and security infrastructure. In 1939, the Kehlsteinhaus (Eagle’s Nest) was presented to Hitler on his 50th birthday.
On May 4, 1945, forward elements of the American army arrived and received the town’s surrender. Many vestiges of the Nazi regime were demolished. However, the Eagle’s Nest remains as does a new museum, Dokumentationzentrum Obersalzberg, that is the first German museum to chronicle the span of World War II in one spot. I plan to check it out in the morning while the rain is still tapering off.
I left Mittenwald this morning and could see snow had fallen overnight on the mountains — right where I had been the day before. My train headed north for Munich before connecting with a train heading south to Berchtesgaden.
Loads of older Germans dressed in traditional lederhosen and dirndls were headed for Oktoberfest (known as “Weisn” here locally). I plan to check it out next week when I make it up to the Munich area.
It was a good time to travel as rain fell most of the day. The town of Berchtesgaden is quite small with architecture similar to what I’ve seen in other Alpine villages. I did visit the former royal castle which housed an interesting church.
I could not figure out why the engravings of these obviously holy fathers were installed sideways — perhaps this represents their final resting place?
With rain coming down, I ducked under awnings and looked in store windows. You begin to notice little details. Vintage German door handles are usually interesting. Here was one I found quite appealing:
I decided to have a good dinner since I missed lunch on the train. I do get a substantial German breakfast every morning from where I’m staying. I was “wursted” out so I decided to have pizza. It was great even if it isn’t considered a finger food here. I did just fine with my knife and fork.
As I mentioned, I plan to head to the Dokumentation Museum in Obersalzberg in the morning. I’m not sure I’ll visit the Eagle’s Nest, I’ve heard it’s a bit of a tourist trap (it’s actually a restaurant now). If there’s still a lot of cloud cover, I may wait for another day.
I have reservations for the next couple of nights at a Pension (pronounced “pen-see-on”) just down the valley in the village of Ramsau. From there, I should be able to explore the Konigsee, Hintersee and Berchtesgaden National Park once the weather improves.
As one German told me as he shrugged at the cold rain, “it’s just not summer anymore”.
