The only "tourist attraction" I wanted to visit during our riding days was The Eagle's Nest in nearby Berchtesgaden, and we planned that for today. We spent some of the morning wiring the bikes for heated gear, and had a nice buffet breakfast in the hotel (included in the room cost). The weather was looking so-so when we headed out.
Quite a storm last night
There weren't a lot of road choices to get there, so we stuck with the direct route on 20 which actually turned out to be pretty nice. Most of it was just pleasant country road, but there was one section close to Hallthurm that provided the first serious curves of the trip. We had a little navigational trouble at the rounabout in Berchtesgaden (c'mon Zumo, recalculate!) but the town wasn't so big you could get lost in it. The Zumo also started showing screens for "Device not supported" and "USB Cable connected to wrong port" which didn't help with my navigation efforts. We hadn't decided whether to go with a guided tour or just wing it ourselves, so we walked on over to the tourist information building to get some more info. The extremely distracting young lady I spoke to (in a very low-cut dirndl) swayed us to not bother with the 60 euro per person guided tour and just ride there ourselves. She did give us a good road map of the area, and pointed out that the direct road to the Eagle's Nest was closed and we would have to take the longer detour over curvier roads. Oh darn :-)
A brief background on the Eagle's Nest, or Kehlsteinhaus, is probably in order. This small chalet-style building was built in 13 months using slave labor on a subpeak of the Hoher Goll known as the Kehlstein, and was intended as a 50th birthday present to Adolf Hitler. The Nazis used the area around Berchtesgaden and Obersalzburg as a sort of retreat, with many high-ranking officials having summer houses there. If you've ever watched a program about WWII, you've seen footage of Hitler at the Berghof, his summer home overlooking the mountains. Not surprisingly this area became a target for allied bombing toward the end of the war. Whatever buildings used by the Third Reich that weren't bombed were destroyed when the Allies occupied the area and over the following several years - nobody wanted the structures to become neo-Nazi shrines or tourist attractions. About the only remaining building is the Eagle's Nest, which was spared destruction at the local government's insistence. Interestingly, Hitler only visited the Eagle's Nest about 5 times.
I wanted to visit the Eagle's Nest because it would be my first big WWII historical site. I'm in no way a fan of Hitler and the Nazis, but the importance of the history and what happened in the region is undeniable.
First part of the day
The detour road up to the Eagle's Nest were for the most part a lot of fun, even if they were a little wet. To get to the Eagle's Nest you have to park at a tour center, then buy a ticket for the bus that will take you to the top of the private road. We paid for parking, and then in searching for a bathroom came went downhill and discovered the museum. Paying for our tickets, we were advised that there were no English signs in the museum, but we could pay more for a headset that would provide some narration. We passed on those, thinking we wouldn't be in the small museum for long. In hindsight, at least one of us should have sprung for the headset as the museum, while small, was packed with interesting displays that none of us could really decipher. It didn't take long for the cumulative effect of hundreds of Nazi exhibits to take hold and after 30 minutes or so I just wanted to sit down and look out a window at the mountains. Monumentally depressing. Before leaving the museum we toured the remains of some underground bunkers, and that was fascinating as well as being chilling.
Looking out a machine gun emplacement covering a stairway into the bunker.
"Have you looked down at your pants yet?"
We left the museum and got our bus tickets, which all have assigned times. After a quick snack our bus was ready to leave. The 20 minute bus ride up the mountain is on a curvy private road, which on a clear day boasts some magnificent vistas. On this day, however, once we got above a certain elevation all we were greeted with was white clouds/mist. You could just about see the edge of the roadway and then...nothing. Certainly not an ideal day to visit a mountain-top retreat for the sweeping views, but sometimes you just have to deal with what you have.
When you exit the bus at the end of the road, the journey is still not over. First order of business is choosing your departure time for the bus ride back down the mountain. They advised 2 hours for a good visit, but based on the visibility we figured an hour or so would be more than enough time. A pair of enormous doors open into 400-foot long tunnel, at the end of which is a brass elevator that takes you 407 feet up into the Eagle's Nest itself. If we thought the view on the bus ride was obscured, that was nothing compared to the visibility outside the Eagle's Nest. We did a short walk higher up the mountain, where we could literally hardly see our feet in front of us. We wandered around a bit, both inside and out, before grabbing a table in the circular great hall for some snacks.
The entrance to the tunnel
Doors to the tunnel
Probably just wide enough for a vehicle to whisk dignitaries through
And what am I supposed to be seeing?
Not ideal
The exhibit shows what the view SHOULD look like behind Peter and Dave
The sun terrace has some of the few historical photos on display
This photo, from the website Third Reich Ruins, shows Hitler on the sun terrace
The red Italian marble fireplace was a gift from Benito Mussolini
Mmm, fantatic seven layer cake. I could have eaten a whole cake.
Dave and Peter
Boy, can't wait to see that picture
Finally, out of the clouds
Too bad it's a private road, would be a lot of fun on a bike
The weather had improved dramatically, but our run back down was hampered by a Porsche Panamera who insisted on braking for every turn or bend in the road. No way did this driver deserve a Porsche (even an ugly bloated 4-door one). We still had a few hours to kill before meeting up with Frank back at the hotel, so we layed out a quick run around nearby roads. Our first gas stop of the trip was painless, though a little irregular in that you pumped first and went inside to pay. In the US that would never work.
We had a great run on 305, which started out as a fast country road with great views. After a few miles of scenery-watching cruising, the road tries to kill you with a 10-mph uphill hairpin that is not particularly well marked. Beginning at that hairpin the road completely changes character, with lots of hairpins and tight turns to enjoy. We passed the scene of a bike accident that tempered our enthusiasm a bit. There were a few emergency vehicles and personnel on the road, and a KTM RC8 in a ditch on the roadside that actually didn't look too bad. Just past that, however, was what I can only describe as "some kind of Kawasaki" that was completely destroyed. I hope it turned out OK for the rider, but from the looks of the bike I doubt it did.
We turned south near the town of Schneizlreuth, and passed into Austria for the first time (Welcome to Osterreich). We rode through some tunnels and the road got less and less interesting and more and more busy. I had intended to break off this road onto L251around Unken, but never saw an opportunity to turn. When we got near Lofer we stopped to discuss our options. We could either backtrack to Schneizlreuth and take 21 to Bad Reichenhall, or try to make a big loop to the west around St. Johann in Tirol. As tempting as the long route was, we figured it would be good to get back to the hotel and meet up with Frank, and perhaps do more riding as a quartet.
Heading back to the 305 intersection we passed the "Welcome to Germania" sign, and had a good run on 21, although with heavier traffic than ideal. Highlight of the return trip was a BMW 6-series passing us in the twisties. We were down a reasonably brisk 90kmh in a 60kmh zone, but this guy obviously had someplace to be, blind curves be damned.
Route after the Eagle's Nest
Frank was a welcome sight as we rode down the street towards the hotel, shooting pictures of us as we arrived. We chatted for just a little while about his trip down, and asked whether he wanted to go ride or call it a day. Frank was having none of that, and voted that we get out and ride - impressive given that he had just arrived in Germany having flown overnight and picked up the bike straight from the airport. I put together a quick loop that would take us through Berchtesgaden again, and, for the first time, the four us rode out together.
I'm pretty sure we took 21 back down to 305, although it could have been the smaller 2021. We had a great-paced run on 305 accompanied by perfect late afternoon light. The four of us were doing well as a riding group, which wasn't too surprising as we've all ridden with each other at one time or another over the years. Konigsee (Lake Konig) was just past Berchtesgaden, so I steered up toward that thinking it would be a pretty vista for a quick stop. Turns out it's a big tourist destination, and we had to pay to park in a giant lot (missed the cheaper bike parking ticket machine though). The area was filled with kitschy shops selling postcards, lederhosen, etc, and the shops all led down the hill to the boat dock and the only tiny piece of the lake you could see without taking a boat ride, all of which were done for the day. We took some pictures, decided not to have dinner at what would certainly be an overpriced and underwhelming tourist trap cafe, and made a beeline back to Bad Reichenhall.
Pre-dinner ride
From Konigsee you can just see the Eagle's Nest above the clouds
The only part of the lake you could see
Konigsee is a tourist trap.
You can just make out the Eagle's Nest again in the clouds.
20 on the return trip was fun again. There was a quick "moment" when some camper van pulled out of a parking lot right in front of me, but I was able to zip around him in the oncoming lane. I was riding point at this time, so I was continually checking my mirrors to keep track of the guys. When we got to the really twisty part of 20 I watched Peter on the FJR have a "moment" as well. Turns out the FJR can't manage quite the lean angle his KGT can, and he started scraping big time on one of the hairpins. I had just checked my mirrors and saw him drifting wider and wider before reeling it back in. Thankfully there was no opposing traffic.
Got changed back at the hotel, and made our way on foot through the town to the Burgerbrau. We had initially tried to book rooms here early on, but rooms sold out while we were discussing it. There was an all-you-can-eat BBQ going on outside, but there were no available tables. We reluctantly found a table in the deserted inside dining room, but our hangdog faces must have made an impression on the guy seating us - a few minutes later he came to our table and motioned us to follow him outside. "Macht schnell!" he kept saying as we practically jogged along with him outside. He pointed us to a newly-empty table and we gratefully plopped ourselves down. The smell of the BBQ was tantalizing, and the atmosphere was enhanced by the small band playing outside. This was a night where it all came together - perfect weather, great food, good music, and most of all good company. We wasted no time filling (and refilling) our plates wth freshly-grilled pork, chicken, sausages, meatballs and various side dishes. While I am normally reluctant to try new foods, the combination of good beer and the grill had me grabbing a bit of everything.
OK, never seen that before
The grill and buffet at the Burgerbrau
My plate - the chicken and sausage were delicious, the pork so-so, and the meatballs (hiding behind the pork in this shot) fantastic. Phone on the table was for texting the family back home.
Dave's plate
Frank, Peter, me and Dave
Our entertainment for the evening
Nice bespoke glasses for the Burgerbrau
A great long dinner with friends
The walk back to the hotel
Hotel Almrausch after dark
Tomorrow would be our first full day of touring with the whole group, and we had a full day planned with a route hitting all the supposedly good roads in the area. Hermann's book was a little help, but most of the suggestions came from enthusiast websites.