Eagles Nest

Most of you already know my affinity for military history so it probably isn’t a surprise that Eagles Nest was high on my priority list for places to visit if we ever made it back to Europe. Well today I got to cross it off my bucket list and I have to be completely honest but I was somewhat underwhelmed. I won’t go deep into the history of Eagles Nest here because frankly I’m not feeling very inspired to talk about it. This is primarily due to the fact that there is virtually no historical reference to the location anywhere within the building or surrounding mountain top. The interior has been fully converted into a restaurant and if it weren’t for the Elevator ride up you might be forgiven for thinking it was nothing more than a jumping off point for a few challenging mountain top hikes. It’s also rather surprising given how much effort Germany puts into atoning for the atrocities committed in the name of the Fatherland during Hitlers rule.   

Anyway, disappointment aside, there were some fantastic views from the peak that I’ve tried my best to capture below.

Berchtesgaden

 Just a few pictures of the area around our AirB&B.

You could see Eagles Nest from our patio

Berchtesgaden is a truly beautiful area of Bavaria and one of my only regrets from our visit was not spending more time and effort photographing the area. Perhaps I can make it back one day and amend this post with more images! 

Salzburg - Part Two

Our second day in Salzburg was spent at Hellbrunn Palace. Located just south of Salzburg the Palace was built by Prince Archbishop Markus Sittikus in the 17th century as a place to entertain his guests. With an interesting palace accompanied with an audio guide, a fascinatingly interactive complex of “trick fountains”, extensive grounds and a Folklore Museum in Monatschlossl (Little Month Palace) there is easily a day's worth of activities here.

We started with the audio guide of the Palace. Many of the rooms are highlighted with murals covering walls and ceilings along with nice views of the courtyard, gardens and fountains from the second floor.

Charlotte's favorite room however, was the mythical creatures display where fairytale creatures were painted on walls and a few “ancient beasts” such as a “unicorn” were preserved!

Throughout the guided tour of the palace the narrator makes it abundantly clear that Prince Archbishop Sittikus wanted his guests to relax, have fun and open themselves up to pondering the mysteries of the world. To help him accomplish this he installed a vast series of “trick fountains” throughout the grounds to entertain and “liven up” his events. He would often host dinners outdoors at this large table... 

...and at some point in the evening when the night was particularly warm or the conversation was beginning to stagnate he would give a signal to the staff and they would open a series of valves that would spray water from nozzles hidden in the ground, table and even chairs of his unwitting guests. Fortunately, this trick still works on small children!

Although apparently not mine 🙁

Not a fan of this, Dad. Not. A. Fan.

After the outside dinner area the tour takes you past dozens of additional fountains as well as through several of grotto’s where staff members stand at the ready to open additional valves if guests linger to long in a particular spot or are placidly strolling the pathways assuming that the dangers have past.

It took us longer than we care to admit to figure out what the fountains looked like when they weren't on. So well hidden!!

In addition to the trick fountains there also many water powered automats that depict scenes of everyday life from the 16th century.

Along with some that are a bit more…fanciful...

When we were finished with the fountains we strolled through the gardens for a bit before enjoying a pleasant lunch in one of the garden cafes

The astute among you will note that there has been a wardrobe change from earlier in this post. One of didn't see the holes in the ground quite quick enough.

We finished our day at Hellbrunner with a hike up to Monatschlossl and the Folklore Museum. Supposedly built in just one month to function as a hunting cabin for Archbishop Sitticus, the multi-story building had a number of items representing various objects from different folklore traditions including death masks, religious and ethnic icons and even a room of mirrors. Yet coming back down the hill was perhaps the most entertaining part of Amanda’s visit to this exhibit.

P.S. Unexpected discovery from our visit to Hellbrunn was the Gazebo where Liesl and Rolf sing and dance together during the storm in “The Sound of Music”. It, however, was locked up, so no recreations for anyone to endure.

Salzburg - Part One

Halfway between Liechtenstein and Vienna, Salzburg was our primary destination for the first extended family trip since our arrival in Liechtenstein. While not as noteworthy as Vienna, Prague or Budapest or as trendy as Munich or Zurich. Salzburg was an excellent fit for our first long trip for a few reasons. 

• It is big enough to provide several days worth of tours and attractions to keep our family occupied.

• It is in a part of Europe we hadn’t been to yet.

• It is close to Berchtesgaden and the Eagles Nest which has been on my bucket list for years. 

• And at just over 4 hours drive time we can comfortably cover much of that distance during nap time.  

Our first day in Salzburg we spent in the old town following one of the great self guided walking tours found in Rick Steves “Vienna, Salzburg & Tirol” travel guides. As always we can’t recommend these books enough! They truly are fantastic! 

The tour starts north of the Salzach River where you cross the Mozartsteg walking bridge and head directly into the old town at Mozartplatz where a statue to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart overlooks the daily proceedings. On the day we visited there was a marching band playing at the entrance to the old town so we stopped for a few minutes to watch them perform.

Mozart was born in Salzburg and lived with his family there until he was 17 but didn’t achieve fame in his hometown until after he left for Vienna despite having started playing and composing music at the age of 5 and traveling Europe alongside his sister Maria Anne as child prodigies playing for numerous aristocrats and royal courts. 

From the Mozartplatz the tour takes you into Old Town Salzburg where you can visit the Salzburg Catherdral. Meander through the Kapitalplatz where a funicular can take you up to Hohensalzburg Fortress. Grab some fresh bread at a bakery attached to one of the town’s oldest functioning waterwheels (the bread is excellent by the way!). And wander through the cemetery of St Peter’s where one of the last scenes of “The Sound of Music” filmed. A short walk beyond the cemetery leads you to the Salzburg Festival Hall where the music competition in “The Sound of Music” was filmed. Generally only opened during events we unfortunately were not able to see inside on this trip, but still fun to see from the outside.

With the walking tour complete, we walked through the old town market streets and grabbed Brats, Pretzels and drinks for a mobile lunch while we searched for local street art to commemorate our visit. One of our favorite past-times when we visit someplace new is to collect a piece or two from a local artist. This time we found an amazing watercolor of the river and old town together. However, if you want to see it you’ll have to come for a visit 😁