Das Kehlsteinhaus: Hitler's Hideout

With the reality of our eight hour drive to Salzburg burdening the back of our minds, we made plans to break up the monotony of our return home with a stop along the way.  We discussed the advantages and disadvantages of visiting Das Kehlsteinhaus, better known as the Eagle's Nest, location of Hitler's Bavarian hideout.  We determined it was in our best interest to visit knowing we wouldn't be in the area again.  Unfortunately, the doldrums of long drives were not to be unburdened, we found out we were no closer to home despite the 45-minute ride back to Germany.

Eagle's Nest

House atop Kehlstein

There was one highlight of our morning drive, we concluded our endless search for affordable Lederhosen.  During our marathon ride to Salzburg, we passed an outlet close to our hotel who sold the highly sought after leather pants.  We had yet to come across a store whose price for the traditional garb was below €400, thus our predetermined pessimism numbed us from raising our hopes.  However, to our surprise, the Austrian outlet had everything we wanted at a reasonable price.  Being a Lederhosen neophyte, the employee helped with everything and even guessed the appropriate sizes with remarkable accuracy.  Our day was already off to a great start, but it was time to get back on the road and head to the Eagle's Nest.

View of the Alps

Path to/from the house and Biergarten

Another thirty minutes later and we crossed the border, passed through the town Berchtesgaden, and arrived in Obersalzberg, where we were surprised to see the largest crowds we had seen all weekend.  Every parking lot we passed was full, however, we found a spot on the side of the road a short walk away from the ticket office.  To our surprise, the operation was similar to a Disney-run attraction; the ticket line snaked to control the masses, a specific time and bus number was designated, and you begin and end your adventure at the gift shop.

View from our bench

Given the logically streamlined process, the blatant ineptitude of people never ceases to amaze.  We waited in our assigned bus line while (at least) three large groups of visitors struggled to make the correlation between the numbers on their tickets and those on the signs and corresponding buses.  Once the plight of incompetence was settled, we made the long and winding ascent up Kehlstein (mountain's name).  On the ride up, the history of the Eagle's Nest was played over the audio system and included important instructions once we reached the top.

The wait was worth it

Even got someone to take our picture

Before heading to the through the underground tunnel, it was stressed that visitors book a return bus upon arrival at the drop-off.  To avoid further annoyances from absent-minded tourists, we tried to be among the first to arrange our return.  We thought the long waits were over, however, we were wrong.  Next up, another line for the elevator at the end of the underground passage.  The hordes' impatience was palpable, numerous groups sent individuals to the front of the line to gauge the amount of people who boarded the elevator and then count the amount of people ahead of their group.  This line reminded us of the wait for Les Catacombes, although, in Paris, we worried we wouldn't make it inside the Ossuary before it closed its doors for the evening.

The house before the clouds rolled in

Wait, we just left Austria, now we're back

The clouds cometh

When we boarded the elevator, we were relieved the waiting was over.  As we disembarked the lift, the new arrivals ready to explore merged with the traffic from the Biergarten which bottlenecked the flow.  We were relieved once we made it outside where crowds of people still lingered, but the fresh air and warm sun welcomed us.  For one of the most detestable humans to have ever lived, Hitler's Bavarian hideout is exceptionally popular.  Das Kehlsteinhaus was built for him as a gift for his 50th birthday and is the most visited attraction in Berchtesgaden (unfounded statistic based on our experience).  The first thing we noticed was the incredible view of the German and Austrian Alps.

Enjoying the final moments of the view before the clouds obscure it all

The weather couldn't be better for our experience, the skies were clear and the sun kept us warm despite the elevation (1834 m or 6017 ft).  However, by the time we left, the majority of the panoramic views were blotted out by the clouds.  With the additional wait for the elevator, our time to explore was curtailed.  We briefly hiked along the ridge and crossed the border back into Austria.  Instead of joining the crowds congregating in the Biergarten, we found a lone bench overlooking the German Alps.  Sadly, the time came for us to wait in our final line of the day, our descent to the pickup/drop-off zone.  There seemed to be slightly less confusion with the buses this time.   We eventually made it back to the souvenir shop where purchased a post card to add to our collection and later returned to our car.

One more panoramic 

The fun part of our weekend adventure officially ended, all that remained was the mind-numbing drive home to Homburg.  Stau and Stuttgart remained synonymous, although; if you can call it luck, the remaining six hours weren't nearly as bad as the drive that began our weekend.  Regardless, I needed to mentally prepare for our future escapades because we had a lot of driving ahead of us.

Salzkammergut: A Place More Beautiful Than it Sounds

The morning following our self-guided Sound of Music and Salzburg tours, we geared up for a full day to explore the Salzkammergut, a district where everything looks like it belongs on a postcard.  The first town on our itinerary, Mondsee, was coincidentally the location of the last Sound of Music attraction on our list.  The town is home to Kloster Mondsee, the (non-fictional) location where Maria and Georg von Trapp exchanged wedding vows.  With the conclusion of the self-guided tour, only one question remained; is it possible to listen to the Sound of Music soundtrack too much?

The answer. Yes. Absolutely.

Mondsee Abbey

The end of our Sound of Music tour

Baptism in progress

Fortunately, the best way to get a song(s) out of your head is with the picturesque sensory overload of the Salzkammergut.  The village of Mondsee overlooks a beautiful lake of the same name and we were determined to get on the water.  Being quite large, paddle boats would require physical labor which is a deterrent in and of itself.  While we walked around the lake, we spotted a dock where visitors rented boats.  No boating license was required, and once we boarded, it was apparent why.  Our water chariot had two speeds, slow and slower.

Mondsee

Looks like we are the only people there

Downtown Mondsee

Oddly, we topped out at a speed nearly equivalent to the labors of those in a paddle boat.  Although, we had more space, a canopy that kept us in the comforts of the shade, and our craft required no physical exertion.  After we putt-putted around for an hour, our day's plans had been thrown askew.  We returned to dry land and grabbed a quick bite to eat before heading to the next stop, Hallstatt.

Who let Julie take control of the helm?

Phew, nothing in sight she can hit

Apparently a floatplane landing area over there

Drachenwand

Once we got back to the road, the scenic stimuli almost demanded we stop and take pictures every ten minutes.  We were taken aback twenty minutes into our drive as the road paralleled Attersee, another serene mountain and lake backdrop.  The beauty of the Salzkammergut easily captivated, and with all our stops, we nearly doubled the time it was supposed to take to reach Hallstatt.

View from the road

Pulled over for a better view of Attersee

With our day tenuously planned, the added boat ride in Mondsee and the prolonged journey to Hallstatt unfortunately had us miss the last funicular to Salz Welten.  While we were disappointed to have missed out on a visit to the salt mine and panoramic viewing point, we were still content to walk around.  After all, the town is a staple in nearly all traveling brochures and guide books.  Although, the pedestrian area is continuously flooded by the cyclical influx of tourists - which made it difficult for the locals and small groups to circumvent the oblivious hordes.  To concluded our visit, we grabbed some libations in the Marktplatz before we returned to the road.

Hallstatt

Hallstätter See

Panoramic view of Hallstatt from highway pull-off

It was time to start making our way back to Salzburg, but there was one more lake to see, Wolfgangsee.  With a few stops along the way, we arrived in Sankt Gilgen after an hour car ride.  Our poor timing struck once more.  The tenuously scheduled day planned for a ferry ride to and from Sankt Wolfgang.  However, yet again, we arrived a few minutes too late and could see the last ferry only a hundred meters away as it left the dock.

Then it rained on our parade, literally.

Here comes the rain

Wolfgangsee

Sankt Wolfgang

We scurried under the roof of the closest watering hole and discussed how we were going to stay dry and forage dinner.  Having missed the last ferry, we decided to take the terrestrial approach - and drove to Sankt Wolfgang after a brief tour of Sankt Gilgen.  By the time we reached the other side of Wolfgangsee, we had just enough energy to take pictures before the culinary perfume of the local restaurants beckoned.  We were seated at a table outside, but conveniently located under cover as the rain continued to come down.  The hours of our Austrian adventure waned, but we were pleased with all we accomplished in a weekend.

Tschüß Salzkammergut

Salzburg and the Sound of Music

Rarely do our adventures require homework, however, I admittedly had not seen The Sound of Music - a fact that confounded Julie's grip on reality.  It wasn't as if my family forbade singing like Georg von Trapp; I just hadn't seen the musical.  I was tasked with the chore of borrowing the movie and soundtrack from the library before we traveled to Salzburg.  I obliged.

We were now officially ready to make the journey to Austria.

With a six-hour drive ahead of us, I picked Julie up from her office and got back on the road as quickly as possible.  With blind optimism, we hoped to avoid the Stau (standstill traffic), but our wishful Autobahn ambitions were crushed by the time we reached Stuttgart.  The mind-numbing perils of being parked on the Autobahn made the remaining seven hours feel like hour 16 going on 17 - with no one to take care of us.  In fact, the added backup compounded our misfortune when we reached the hotel.

View from our room

When I pulled into the parking lot, I asked Julie if she had confirmed a late check-in to our room because the hotel was ominously fortified for the evening.  Unfortunately, my suspicions were reaffirmed.  Julie didn't foresee the extensive Stau and decided a late check-in wasn't necessary.  Also,  the hotel was evidently locked for the evening - granting access only to those with room keys.  Making matters worse, we were now in Austria and our only smart phone had no internet access.

How do you solve a problem like Maria..?  wait...  I mean, what the hell were we going to do?

We tried peering into the lobby through the glass doors, but to no one was inside.  Julie decided to take a lap around the building and coincidentally - a hotel-goer was on their way out.  Huzzah!!! Julie caught the door before it closed and allowed me to move our luggage into the hotel.  The ephemeral relief we felt subsequently changed when we saw an empty concierge desk.  Starving from the long car ride, I devoured all the remaining free apples in the basket while Julie went behind the counter to examine further.  She rummaged around for a minute or two and found an envelope with our name and room keys inside.  Once we moved the luggage into our room, I went down to the hotel bar to grab some celebratory brews - catching the bar staff off-guard in the process (both bartenders were drinking and smoking cigarettes (in a non-smoking bar) while watching Two and a Half Men (in German)).  The beers tasted of victory.  Somehow, we managed to sneak into our hotel and gather our own room key without the ability to contact anyone for help.  

Walking down to the palace

Schloss Hellbrunn courtyard

A famous gazebo

The following morning, we started the day with a complementary breakfast, complete with a juicing station.  I am sure the hotel staff was confused as to how we got into the hotel and our room, but our craftiness needed no explanation.  Before exploring Salzburg, Julie plotted a course for our very own Sound of Music tour.

Leopoldskroner Weiher

Gardens of Schloss Leopoldskron

Get thee to a nunnery

To kick things off, we drove to Schloss Hellbrunn, the location where the song, "Sixteen going on Seventeen" was filmed.  Hoards of tourists came and went by the bus load, but we were in and out just to see the gazebo before the sight-seeing cattle call diluted the grounds.  A short drive north and we arrived at out second stop, Schloss Leopoldskron, the palace used for exterior shots during filming.  Sadly, a wedding was to take place later in the afternoon, thus, limiting our access the grounds.  We completed our self-guided Sound of Music tour with a visit to Stift Nonnberg, the abbey where Maria Augusta Kutschera studied to become a nun.  During her novice years, Maria was assigned as governess to the von Trapp household; the basis of the story that inspired the musical and movie.  There was still one more attraction on our list, but would wait for the next day because it was located in Mondsee, a town of the Salzkammergut (the surrounding lake district).  Fortunately, the day was still young and we were ready to explore Salzburg.

Inside Stift Nonnberg

Mirabell Gardens

Gardens and a view of Festung Hohensalzburg

Having driven around the outskirts of the city, we made our way back north towards downtown.  Starting on the eastside of the River Salzach, we headed to the gardens of Schloss Mirabell.  Following our stroll through the garden, we crossed the river and briefly perused the weekend market before continuing to the pedestrian zone.  We passed two large tour groups who flocked to Mozarts Geburtshaus (birth house) and we proceeded to Dom zu Salzburg.  Shortly thereafter, to get a better view of the city and landscape, we took the funicular up to Festung Hohensalzburg.

Schloss Mirabell

Crossing the River Salzach

Dom zu Salzburg

...and again.

Mozart's birth home

We were pleased to avoid the hike up to the castle in the early-summer heat and were rewarded with a beautiful panoramic view once we reached the top.  We attempted to secure a seat at the restaurant atop the ramparts of the fortress, but hundreds of other tourists had the same idea.  Having explored the majority of Hohensalzburg, we returned to the pedestrian zone to visit one final church, Stiftskirche Sankt Peter Salzburg.

Panoramic view looking southeast towards Mönchsberg

Fortress cannon and Dom zu Salzburg below

Trying to set blog record for photos of us in single post

Fortress and flag of Salzburg

With our morning and afternoon full of driving and walking, our stomachs growled for sustenance and locally brewed libations.  Following a quick lunch overlooking the River Salzach and Festung Hohensalzburg, we drove down the street to grab a brief drink at Augustinerbräu.  For a relaxing end of the day, we returned to the hotel and enjoyed the comforts of the community pool.  Later, we enjoyed dinner at the hotel restaurant and planned our adventures in the Salzkammergut for the following day.

View of downtown Salzburg and River Salzach from Festung Hohensalsburg

Residenzplatz

Stiftskirche Sankt Peter Salzburg

View of Salzburg during lunch