Day 7

This is our Hitler day. The sun is shining and so we head up to the Kehlestein or "Hitler's Eagle's Nest". This is a retreat center of Hitler's that was built for him and given to him for his 50th birthday in 1938. He only visited it a few times because it is high above Berchtesgarten and he was afraid of heights. You drive half way up the mountain and then have to take a bus to the bottom of the ledge. From there we walk through a tunnel of the mountain and take an elevator up to the top throuogh the mountain. THe elevator is the original - with solid gold walls and the orignal phone in the elevator. At the top you can look over all of the Obersalzberg and down to Berchesgarten. An incredible view. Once again we are amazed at the beauty and majestic mountains that God has created. Breath-taking!

We have lunch at the top in the Kehlestein and watch as clouds start to roll in.
Next we head back to where Hitler had his home. The Hotel Cumturken was next to his home and was taken over by Hitler during his reign. When the US bombed Hitler's home, the hotel was untouched. We met the lady who was a little girl when her family owned the hotel before Hitler took it from them. She finally got the hotel back 10 years ago and it was then discovered that there was a huge bunker system built under the hotel and Hitler's home that was still intacted. We went down into this bunker system and saw where it led to his home. It was created with massive thick walls, had rooms for the soldiers that protected Hitler and separate rooms for Hitler and Eva Braun, his girlfriend. We then found another bunker that runs under this large field in the valley, near a resturant that Hitler often visited. Small pipes come up through the ground in the field that were the air system for the bunker.

We discovered the first hostel in the world that is still being run as a hostel. Hitler often would go there and take pictures with the teens staying there. Strubkaserne is just down the street from it. This is a German military base. The buildings are from the Third Reich and were built by Hitler.