There are few individuals in the history of mankind that will be remembered like A. Hitler will be. It just happens that my route took me quite close to the operational centre of the whole Nazi regime near Berchtesgaden, at Ober Salzberg. It has passed into modern history that there is the famous Eagles Nest (kehlsteinhaus) that was used by Hitler. well I didn't know until I got there that the Eagles Nest was not really used that much and it was more of a PR gimmick. In fact Hitler suffered with vertigo and the place made him feel insecure. The interesting thing is that Hitler bought himself a country 'cottage' out of his own publishing income. It was called the Berghoff and it was eventually the focus of a huge development at the remote location. The senior Nazi leaders all had houses in the area and the HQ of the SS was close by. All the visible traces of this major encampment have been deliberately obliterated, except for the eagles nest itself, which is now a restaurant. The RAF bombed the encampment, the French and the Americans blasted the remains of what was left after the SS blew up as much as they could.
Another exception is the vast underground network of shelters, operational centres and defensive refuges.
When I arrived I found out that the trips to the Eagles Nest only run from May to September. So I went off just for a look around. The hilltop at the very top of the mountain is the Eagles Nest in this pic.
There is a 'Document Centre' discreetly located just down the hill a bit. Without any great advertising I cam across the entrance to the Bunkers. They have not filled them in, in fact they are being selectively preserved, like in the above pic.
There is a massive lift shaft over 30m deep. This is the pit head, which is being left to rot.
From what I can learn this is the view close to where the Berghof stood.
Round the corner and along a bit the alpine meadows lay just as they would for centuries.
It was an interesting hour or so and informative. Now that I have been I have learned something new. I wouldn't bother going again.
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