Eagle's Nest

We began our day by once again feeling like royalty and dining in the Venetian room. At promptly 9 AM we were picked up by our local guide Christian with “Bob’s Special Tours of Salzburg”. There were only 2 other outside people in our car, and right away we could tell that our guide Christian was super legit. He was so friendly, and so knowledgeable. He reminded me of a younger, more Austrian Matthew Broderick. Somehow we got into these deep political and philosophical discussions with him, and we were really enjoying his insightful viewpoints on everything. At one point my Mom just blurts out, “Christian, I really like you!” - One of those typical embarrassing Mare moments, haha.

The retreat building - Kehlsteinhaus

It was rainy and cloudy that morning and we were worried it would ruin our trip, but luck was on our side! Our first stop was going to be “The Eagle’s Nest.” We drove up a mountain, crossing the border back in to Germany in the car, and then were dropped off at the entry point. From there, we took a bus specifically designed to navigate the narrow, windy mountain roads. It was a very precarious drive, and it definitely unnerved me to look out the windows. Our poor Mom was freaking out since she’s so scared of heights.  Once we got to the stopping point, we then walked down a long cold tunnel into a shiny brass elevator. The elevator let us out at the Eagle’s Nest, or Kehlsteinhaus in German. One thing you should know about Eagle’s Nest, this beautiful retreat built on top of a mountain, is that it was actually created and built as a gift for Adolf Hitler on his 50^th Birthday. So while you enjoy the beauty, it is slightly marred by the fact that it was built for someone so evil. Apparently Hitler was scared of heights and a bit claustrophobic, so that is why the elevator up to the retreat has mirrors in it- to give the illusion it is larger. He only went to the retreat maybe five times in his life, likely due to his fear of heights and the amount of cliffs you have to drive past to get up there. Its isolation is also one of the reasons why it is still standing and was not destroyed by Allied forces during the war.

View from the Eagle's Nest

Walking out of the building and onto the terrace was like stepping into a postcard. It was so beautiful, it was literally breathtaking. We were above the clouds, and the surrounding views were stunning. We didn’t have much time before our appointed bus would take us back down the mountainside, so us ladies were running around in the cold air trying to explore and take as many photos as we could. All too soon, our time on top of the world was done, and we were taking the bus back down to the bottom of the mountain.

Next up on our tour, was a quick visit that our guide Christian had added in himself. It’s not typically a part of the tour, but because we were so interested in the historical aspects of the area, he decided he would treat us to something different. At the bottom of the mountain where the Eagle’s Nest lays, there is a little-known Nazi era bunker. It is privately owned, and the bunker system beneath this unassuming cottage is HUGE! It connected Hitler’s private home to this and several other homes in the nearby area, as well as many exits in case of a need to escape. The house was labeled as Die Bunkeranlagen Obersalzberg, but it also functions as the Hotel Turken. It’s a good thing that the place is privately owned, because the German government would really love to level it and get rid of the bunker system entirely. It’s not something they’re too proud of obviously, but regardless it’s part of history. So, we walked into this cottage, and then went down the narrow, dank staircase into the incredibly creepy depths below. Christian took us around some of the damp and dark tunnels of the bunker, explaining what certain places where. The eeriest part for me was seeing the room that Hitler and Eva Braun shared, and knowing that I was walking on the same earth that he had once frequented.

The entryway to Hitler's old room at the bunker.

After that interesting but creepy experience, we drove to a quaint town called Berchtesgaden, Germany. Nowadays, it is very picturesque and full of lively Bavarian drinking pubs. During World-War II it was totally infested with Nazis and was their unofficial “hometown” and hangout. Our walk around this town was rushed since we had spent time at the bunker, and our tour end-time was fast approaching.  We were sad we couldn’t have spent more time there since it was so pretty, but at least we got to go at all!

Back in central Salzburg, we said goodbye to Christian. He has visited the USA multiple times, and has been to 39 states, but not Kentucky. We told him he should come visit and we would give him a tour of the best state ever! We were serious, and so we exchanged information with him in case he ever wants to take us up on our offer. Who knows!

Lederhosen store in Berchtesgaden

After a quick bite for lunch, we headed back into the main square of town. Rachel bought two paintings from a local artist, and then at 3PM we went to the main cathedral (or “the dom” as Maryann and the Austrians would call it) for a Catholic prayer time. After some more shopping and gelato, we walked across the bridge into the “Old Town”. This area has far less tourists, and we were happy to be mistaken multiple times for local Austrians. To top off the afternoon, we decided to have drinks on the roof of the classy Hotel Stein. While we were there, a bunch of cannons started being shot off at the Fortress. It was a bit strange, and noisy. We think they were shooting them off in honor of the commencement of the Salzburg Music Festival though.

For dinner, we headed to Corso again for groceries. While inside, it started pouring rain. After waiting, Rachel finally was able to hail us a cab. We walk towards it, and then in swoops some jerk who took it and then they just drove off!  We were pretty mad. Despite that, we spent the rest of the evening eating and looking over our beautiful photos.

The "Sound of Music" Tour

Back of the Hotel Schloss Leopoldskron

Lake Town of St. Gilgen, Austria

We started our day by eating breakfast in the “Venetian Room” of the Hotel Schloss Leopoldskron. You know, the usual. This was the room that inspired the ballroom and the puppet show scenes in the Sound of Music naturally. Shortly after that, we were picked up for our “Sound of Music day-tour” by our local guide, Matthias with “Bob’s Special Tours” of Salzburg. He was young and cute and so us ladies were of course happy about that. We were basically then driven all around the city and Matt pointed out various places and facts about the movie. In addition to his commentary, he made sure to play all of the main songs from the movie as well.  Maryann was in heaven (and possibly falling in love, haha) and while yes it was incredibly cheesy, it was also a lot of fun. After the singing, we stopped at the lakefront near our hotel. It was a sight on the tour since it's where they filmed the backyard scenes, and I felt legit because we were staying there already. Oh yeah.

Next up, we drove to the lake town of St. Gilgen. There we ate some dessert at a café overlooking the beautiful lakes and mountains in the background. We saw a bunch of picturesque farms, and then stopped briefly to slide down an “Alpine Luge”. It reminded me of the Alpine Slide in Gatlinburg, just more scenic.  After taking in those amazing views, we drove to a quaint town called Mondsee. Here we got to go inside the cathedral used for Maria and Captain Von Trapp’s wedding scene in The Sound of Music. It is a gorgeous church, both in the movie and in real life. After some souvenir shopping in the cute little town, our group (just 6 of us) headed back towards central Salzburg.

Exterior of Mondsee

The "Do-Re-Mi" Fountain

Back in town, we stopped at the Mirabell Gardens. This is where many of the scenes from the Do-Re-Mi song were filmed. Rachel and I of course posed with everything and tried our hand at re-enacting a part of the children’s dance as well. We also saw the legendary I am Sixteen Going on Seventeen gazebo. It was so cool to see these things I’ve seen for years on a movie screen, but in real life! I’m not sure why but it was strangely emotional going to these places with my Mom. Maybe it’s because I grew up sharing my love of the movie with her and my Grandma (who just passed away this March). Either way, it was really awesome for me to have the opportunity to do this. The tour ended here, but us three ladies walked around the grounds some more and took some great flower photos.

SEW.. a Needle Pulling Thread!

Back in town, we decided to go to the market and do a picnic dinner again (in hopes of saving some money). At this point, I began basically dying from my allergies, so we had to shop fast. We went to Corso again and got some cheese, fruit and bread. We took it back to the hotel and sat outside on the balcony enjoying our amazing view. Nothing could spoil the beautiful backdrop of our dinner, except allergies and mosquitoes! Until tomorrow, auf wiedersen!

Above the City

Just another day.. in a Nazi bunker

Today we ate breakfast in the Von Trapp family’s old dining room. You know, the usual. After enjoying that, a few of us went outside to explore the old WWII bunkers on the property.  They were falling apart and not in the best shape, and going down under the ground was definitely creepy. It was really dark and the tunnels went a lot farther underground than I would have thought. It’s just weird to think we’re one of a very few people who have ever entered Himmler’s old bunker system. Later when we went inside, Rachel and I overhead an Austrian government official meeting with the hotel owner about what they should do in regards to the bunker. Our Australian friend told us we were witnessing “history in the making”, because the decision the government makes about the bunkers will determine if future generations can see them or know about them. The government is really wanting them to be destroyed since this Nazi-era evidence is a scar on their face.

It started raining again, but the three of us ladies took a cab to our next hotel, called the Schloss Leopoldskron. It used to be a palace, but was recently converted into a hotel. It is locally famous because the back of the property is where The Sound of Music backyard scenes were filmed. It was really cool getting to see the scene you’ve seen so many times throughout your life just sitting before you in person. Once we got settled into our room (which was absolutely freezing!), we walked around and took photos on the grounds. My Mom was just dying of happiness, you should have seen it.

I can picture the kids falling off the boat now...

View from the Fortress - One of many

We then headed back to the Mozartplatz, where we took a funicular to the large castle-like fortress that overlooks the entire city known as the Festünghohen Salzberger.  It was built in the 15^th century, and the entire city has revolved around the fortress and its safekeeping of the local “white gold” or salt (Salz in Austria)! Once we reached the top, we ate lunch at a restaurant with a spectacular view of the whole city. We then went inside of the castle and took the audio tour. It was actually pretty interesting, especially the dungeons. The tallest tower had some amazing aerial views of the city as well.  After taking photos to our heart’s content, we walked around some more aand then were terrified by this random puppet/marionette museum they had. I hated puppets to begin with and this museum re-affirmed that.  Once that was behind us, we took the funicular back downhill.

The legendary abbey gate from the movie

Since my Mom is unnaturally obsessed with the Sound of Music, she decided that we had to go find the abbey where the convent scenes in the movie take place, and where Maria was a novice in real life.  We walked up a few hilly steps, and reached the Nonnberg Abbey. We wandered around until we found the gate where in the movie the Nazis try to break in to find the runaway family, etc. We checked that off the list, and then of course we had to go inside the abbey’s church. We were the only people in the whole place, and while we were looking around we were serenaded with some beautiful operatic singing of religious hymns. I thought it was a recording they had on the whole day, but then we heard it stop and people walk away. I was shocked. Apparently the nuns sing each day at 5pm, and we coincidentally walked in to listen to our own private showing. Cue the song “Climb Every Mountain”… Oh, and also if you were curious, this is where the REAL Captain and Maria Von Trapp got married in real life back in the 30’s.

Next up: A quest for food. Since the dollar is terrible in comparison to the euro, we tried to find a cheap eat for dinner. We ended up finding a street market and bought a baguette, a slab of cheese, and some fruit. After some struggles to find a cab and watching Maryann sprint through a plaza, we were back at the hotel. We ate in the room and then Mare and I embarked on another quest to find an ATM. We walked down this road for about 20 minutes until we finally found one. It was annoying, but it ended the day with a great view of the fortress we were at all day:

Salzburg, Austria!

This morning, we headed off to Munich's train station (Hauptbahnhof!) We expected it to be confusing after our experience yesterday, but it was surprisingly easy. We got on our seats and slept for the 2 hours we were on the train to Salzburg. When we arrived, we hailed a cab and went straight to our hotel... the Villa Trapp. Now, if you aren't a Sound of Music fan, or more importantly if you have never seen the movie, stop reading this now. Go slap yourself in the face, become a real person, and watch it!! Seriously though, it's a quality classic movie and everyone who can appreciate a good story (based on a true one) will love it.

The Villa Trapp - No tourists (only guests) allowed! :)

Growing up watching the film, Rachel and I have always loved the story and the scenic area where it takes place. A big part of going to Salzburg is seeing the sights and places used in the film. It draws millions of tourists to Austria each year, so of course when you're there you have to take a Sound of Music tour! Since my Mom is obsessed with the film (more than your average person), she read up about the true history behind the story, and all about the real Von Trapp family. With this knowledge in hand, we booked our hotel very strategically. The building we stayed at is the actual house where the family lived during the pre World War II period. In real life, they escaped the Nazi regime by sneaking out their back door and walking to the train station near their house, fleeing into Italy. In the film, they hike up into the Alps off to Switzerland. Either way, it's a cool story-- what was even cooler was that we got to see the real stuff it's all about.

The Mozartplatz in old town Salzburg

After Maryann went on a photo spree of the house, we headed into the heart of the city. The main plaza, known as the Mozartplatz, is where we started it all. There was a lot of upscale shopping, and of course without our tight designer jeans and stilettos we felt very "American" walking around this classy city. As we explored, we saw the house where the famous Wolfgang Mozart was born, and we went to an old cemetery. Everyone we met was very friendly, and I loved how old and colorful all of the buildings are. I think this city is quintessential "European". After we spent one too many Euros, we headed back to Villa Trapp.

The staircase that the children ran down to meet their new governess Maria!

We figured we would explore the grounds and then go to bed early as the hotel is a bit outside of the city, but Rachel and I ended up chatting with two of the hotel's 7 total guests. They were from Kansas, and while we were talking in the parlor of the building, we were joined in conversation by another couple. They were from Australia but were living in Cambodia, working for a NGO to help young women who have been abused. Since I was in Cambodia in January, I was loving getting to talk to them about their work and experiences in Phnom Penh. We all ended up getting into a very lengthy and deep conversation about foreign governments, religion, and then the inevitable Nazi/WW2 topic. We all stayed up until about 1am, which is saying something because after walking around all day us three girls were exhausted! 

The seven Von Trapp children who lived in the house

One really interesting thing we learned from our new friend Geoff (a historian), is this: Apparently, after the Von Trapp Family fled from their home so that their father/The Captain would not be forced into the Nazi army, the home was taken over by the regime. One of Hitler's right-hand men named Heinrich Himmler used the house as his office, and it was there in his second floor room that he drew up and engineered the initial plans for the Holocaust. Finding this out gave us all goosebumps. I actually felt very uncomfortable when I realized we'd be sleeping in the house where so much evil had began. We then learned that after the war ended, the house was given to a convent, and the nuns set up a chapel in Himmler's office and performed rituals in it, etc. to make sure "all the evil was out". That was a big relief. It was still chilling to think about though, and it's not a fact that the hotel owners ever advertise or mention. The other thing they don't mention to guests is that on the grounds outside, an entry that looks to be a dirt-floor cellar is actually a bomb shelter. Himmler had a bunker constructed on the property in case of air raids, and it is still on site. The Austrian government is understandably not a big fan or restoring or promoting anything from the Nazi era, so the property owners were actually told not to restore it or make it common knowledge that the bunker is there. This of course was really interesting and cool for us to know, and we decided tomorrow we will go explore the bunker on our own...