Berchtesgaden, Day 2 and Hallstatt

Today is when all my plans went awry. When I was planning our trip, we could not book tickets for many of the activities in Germany more than a few days in advance. However, when I tried to book tickets a few days in advance for the next few days, there were no tickets available. We had to rearrange some of our days and will be doing more driving than expected, but we will see how the new plans work. If you know me, you know that I like having spreadsheets upon spreadsheets for my trips, and this was more than a little stressful. Plus, I feel bad for JonPaul who is going to have to be doing more driving.

Today we went to the Eagle’s Nest, Hitler’s retreat upon a mountain. It was cold, windy and rainy, but since this was our only day left in Berchtesgaden we had to go today. We were also going to go to the Documentation Center (the WWII exhibit), but again, tickets were sold out, plus they don’t recommend the exhibit for children under 12 (and the bunker, which is the coolest part, was closed for renovations). So even though we didn’t get to do the documentation center but still went to the Eagle’s Nest.  

Getting into the Eagle’s Nest is free, but to get there you either have to do a 2–3-hour hike uphill or take the bus, which you do have to pay for. In order to go on the bus though you need a Covid vaccination or a negative test for anyone age 6 or up. In every previous place we had been to the rule was for ages 12 and up, but here it was different for some reason. Luckily there was a Covid testing center right at the ticket office, but even though it was supposed to open at 10:00 (it was 9:45 when we got there) the workers didn’t get there until around 10:30. We waited to get Zoey and Ronin both tested, and luckily they were both negative. Now we were able to board the busses to go up the mountain. The view on the way up there, although I am sure is supposed to be stunning, was a lot of clouds and fog.

 Once you get to the top, the bus lets you out at the big tunnel, which looks like a bunker. This takes you to the golden elevator, which was Hitler’s actual elevator that was used.

I couldn’t believe we were in the Eagle’s Nest! This has been a restaurant since the 1950’s, and we stopped for a hot chocolate so we could say we ate (or drank) at the restaurant.

There was a small exhibit about the facility and how it was constructed and used both during and after the war. We walked around outside for the ‘stunning views’, although what we saw was mostly clouds. Definitely not the best day to get the iconic picture of the retreat or see the views from the top of the mountain.

There was a cross at the top of the mountain placed there after the war as a memorial.

On our way back down the elevator we were the only ones in the elevator so I snuck a few pictures.

On the way back down the mountain the blue sky started to peak out.

We had planned to then go to the Salt Mines today, but they were also booked up (hey, it’s a rainy Saturday, what did I expect?). Instead, we took a little road trip to Hallstatt, a picturesque town in Austria. I was warned that this place got as crowded as Disneyworld in the summer, but since this weather is so abnormal for this time of year, I was hoping it would be a little less busy. There was beautiful scenery on the way to Hallstatt on the windy country roads.

I was a little nervous going to Hallstatt because I heard that what was once a quaint picturesque town on the side of the lake has now turned into a shoulder-to-shoulder crowded tourist hotspot, particularly in the summer. Once we got to Hallstatt around 14:45 pm we had to find a place to park. There are a few parking lots and signs that let you know how many spots are left. Of course, there were no spots left in any parking lot. We doubled back and right when we were getting to one of the lots a spot opened up. Hurray! Our walk though Hallstatt was lovely. This town sits on the edge of a lake and has lots of souvenir shops, which of course we had to go into. It started out a little sunny with no rain, but then pretty soon the sky opened up and the rain started pouring down.

At one of the bars there was a group of guys playing accordion and singing, and of course Willow had to dance with them.

We walked north to the iconic Hallstatt postcard view. It really was a great view, even with the clouds.

We didn’t do much in Hallstatt other than walk around, so we decided to go into the ossuary (skull crypt). This was pretty cool, and we learned that the sculls dated from around 700 AD to 1994, and you have to have a special request to have your skull placed in the ossuary. The part on the bottom is all bones too, which Zoey thought was creepy. We also had an anatomy discussion about why none of the skulls had noses, and everyone felt their noses to see if their nose had a bone.  

The ossuary was part of a cemetery connected to a church, and each grave had a flower garden atop it, just like in Salzburg. It was so pretty and quaint. There were workers digging a grave, and the kids were morbidly curious about that.

By the time we ate and walked back to the car, it was around 6:30 pm and the town was pretty empty. Most of the shops were closed up and the parking lot was almost deserted. I guess Hallstatt really is a day trip for a lot of people (just like us), but since it got really cold and rainy a lot of people did not want to make the trip today. Even with the weather I was glad to get to see this lovely town, particularly when it wasn’t completely overrun with tourists. I couldn’t resist getting in a few more pictures on our way out.