Early start as I have to be in the city by 8.15AM
Raining still.
Have breakfast, make roll and head out with new umbrella.
My previous one, bought in Quebec 2 years ago gave up the ghost at Dachau, so I bought a new one at the main railway station in Black Watch Tartan. First opening, it broke!! I was only 100 metres from the shop, but I had thrown the receipt in the bin, and I didn't fancy delving into a railway station bin.
So new umbrella with one broken rib.
Right train, have coffee at railway station as I'm so early.
Discovered best way to get a good coffee is to have a double espresso and add milk.
I join the others heading out to Chiemsee and Berchtesgaden and get on the bus. Very luxurious.
The drive takes a couple of hours and on the way we drop off those going to the palace at Chiemsee (a lake).
Our guide, Gunther, then declares us the Happy Ones. He's quite funny and explains that by decree beer in Bavaria has to be made of three ingredients, malt, water and hope. I'm sure what he's saying is hops, but the former sounds better.
The bus climbs the Alpine Way that would take you to Austria if you stayed on it. Not that narrow, yet huge drop offs to the sides and intriguing speed signs that seem to indicate the speed limit for trucks and tanks.
The weather is so bad my attempts at photography through the bus window are pretty awful. The countryside is nevertheless quite beautiful.
We finally arrive at Berchtesgaden, the mountain village near Hitler's alternative seat of power, Obersalzburg.
The Obersalzburg is a small village not far from Berchtesgaden, where Hitler had driven out the former owners and built a large village including his house, the Berghof. Most of his cronies had home here too, plus a large body guard contingent.
The appeal of this particular tour was the Eagles Nest, the house built for Hitler's 50th birthday much higher up the mountain, the one you see in documentaries of Hitler meeting foreign dignitaries.
The access road is closed due to the snow-bugger.
There is the Documentation Centre there which covers all aspects of the Nazi period, rather than focussing on just one.
It also allows access to the VAST bunker system that was built under the Obersalzburg village
The major fproblem was the lack of English translation for the documentation, though in fairness there was an audio version, though we didn't have enough time to use that.
It was the back to Berchtesgaden to the Salzberg Saltmines, where we had a great tour of the salt workings.
It started with us getting into ridiculous overalls, hopping on a train, that took us deep into the mountain. We then jumped off the train, has a small lecture about the working and then had to all slide down a long slippery dip to the next level. What a buzz!
Then more walking, listening to audio and watching laser shows, then another slippery dip ride to another lower level.
We are then led out to a large saltwater lake about 100 metres acrosswith crystal clear water about 6 metres deep. small wooden barge takes us across the late to a funicular railway that takes us back to the train.
What a great exhibit, and you're not allowed to take pictures!!
It was then a rather long ride back to Munich, stopping along the way to pick up the Chiemsee mob.
The weather got worse with rain right up to the city, when it stopped.
Back to the YHA by about 7.45PM, just in front of about 40 students from Switzerland.
I'm buggered.
Tomorrow I bug out and head to Belgium via Frankfurt.
Raining still.
Have breakfast, make roll and head out with new umbrella.
My previous one, bought in Quebec 2 years ago gave up the ghost at Dachau, so I bought a new one at the main railway station in Black Watch Tartan. First opening, it broke!! I was only 100 metres from the shop, but I had thrown the receipt in the bin, and I didn't fancy delving into a railway station bin.
So new umbrella with one broken rib.
Right train, have coffee at railway station as I'm so early.
Discovered best way to get a good coffee is to have a double espresso and add milk.
I join the others heading out to Chiemsee and Berchtesgaden and get on the bus. Very luxurious.
The drive takes a couple of hours and on the way we drop off those going to the palace at Chiemsee (a lake).
Our guide, Gunther, then declares us the Happy Ones. He's quite funny and explains that by decree beer in Bavaria has to be made of three ingredients, malt, water and hope. I'm sure what he's saying is hops, but the former sounds better.
The bus climbs the Alpine Way that would take you to Austria if you stayed on it. Not that narrow, yet huge drop offs to the sides and intriguing speed signs that seem to indicate the speed limit for trucks and tanks.
The weather is so bad my attempts at photography through the bus window are pretty awful. The countryside is nevertheless quite beautiful.
We finally arrive at Berchtesgaden, the mountain village near Hitler's alternative seat of power, Obersalzburg.
The Obersalzburg is a small village not far from Berchtesgaden, where Hitler had driven out the former owners and built a large village including his house, the Berghof. Most of his cronies had home here too, plus a large body guard contingent.
The appeal of this particular tour was the Eagles Nest, the house built for Hitler's 50th birthday much higher up the mountain, the one you see in documentaries of Hitler meeting foreign dignitaries.
The access road is closed due to the snow-bugger.
 |
| What I didn't get to see!! |
It also allows access to the VAST bunker system that was built under the Obersalzburg village
The major fproblem was the lack of English translation for the documentation, though in fairness there was an audio version, though we didn't have enough time to use that.
It was the back to Berchtesgaden to the Salzberg Saltmines, where we had a great tour of the salt workings.
It started with us getting into ridiculous overalls, hopping on a train, that took us deep into the mountain. We then jumped off the train, has a small lecture about the working and then had to all slide down a long slippery dip to the next level. What a buzz!
Then more walking, listening to audio and watching laser shows, then another slippery dip ride to another lower level.
We are then led out to a large saltwater lake about 100 metres acrosswith crystal clear water about 6 metres deep. small wooden barge takes us across the late to a funicular railway that takes us back to the train.
What a great exhibit, and you're not allowed to take pictures!!
It was then a rather long ride back to Munich, stopping along the way to pick up the Chiemsee mob.
The weather got worse with rain right up to the city, when it stopped.
Back to the YHA by about 7.45PM, just in front of about 40 students from Switzerland.
I'm buggered.
Tomorrow I bug out and head to Belgium via Frankfurt.
No comments:
Post a Comment