Ugly history in a gorgeous setting

We almost missed our tour of Hitler's Eagle's Nest due to a tiny major glitch in our GPS time estimator.  The tour was in exactly an hour and a half when we discovered we were exactly an hour and a half away.  This made for a stressful drive full of phone calls to the tour desk to assure them that we would be showing up, just not the 15 minutes early they wished for.  They doubted we'd avoid a traffic jam so I had to call again when we were two minutes away.  They had the bus totally loaded and only waited the extra minute for us because I told them we could see the street they were on.  They told us to pay later, we rushed on, apologizing to all the people who had planned appropriately for their day, sat down and continued to hold the pee we had been holding for the previous hour or so.  We are so glad we made it because the 4 hour tour was beautiful, fascinating and informative.  

The Eagle's Nest was a retreat home built by some of Hitler's people as a gift to him.  They ended up spending more time here than he did because it is incredibly high up and he was rather afraid of heights! It was strange to hear how this area was used to manipulate people's viewpoint on Hitler and continue to perpetuate the propaganda he set out spread.  People would hike for miles up the hill just to see him wave to the crowd for a minute each day.  Some big decisions were made here involving strategies for the war. It's scary to think about the conversations that were had and the plans that were made.

  The place is not all that big but the views are outstanding.

If you have seen the Band of Brothers this is the path the soldiers are walking up in the final minutes.

We drove for half an hour to the tunnel systems, then hopped on another bus for half an hour which climbed steeply and took us around sharp curves on a one-lane road.  From there we got in an elevator which shot up for about 40 seconds to the "nest."  We were high up!

 The tour took us through the vast tunnel system that was made part way up the hill towards the Eagle's Nest.  The plan was to use this as a hide-out if things went wrong.  It didn't end up getting finished or used much since most of the men ran away or killed themselves first.  

If this had been my retreat home I think I would have used it often!

Munich: The edge of Bavaria

Munich is a delightful city!  Some say it's snobby but we didn't feel this way.  People were helpful, relaxed and enjoying life most places we went.  We stayed by the huge park that has a river winding its way through grassy fields where college students lounge on blankets or play frisbee with their dogs. (Think Bellingham with German accents and alcohol allowed in public places.)

We discovered a delicious pastry called a Schmalznudel.  It's light, flaky and sprinkled with sugar. We needed more than one.  

 

We loved the way there were beer gardens everywhere.  They were just huge "parks" with picnic benches, beer, humongous pretzels and every kind of grilled meat you could think of.  This is pretty much what people do on a beautiful evening/afternoon/morning!  

One man told us to repeat something in German when he took our picture.  I realized I probably shouldn't have done this when he wouldn't translate it for us afterwards and his whole table laughed...

This weird pole at the farmers market has something to do with Octoberfest and the main breweries of Munich.  

We got a great view of the main square and the city from up in the tower of St. Peter's Church.

 Nate recognized this walking man because it was part of his work's parent company.  We didn't go in to say hello to anyone...

 

We stopped by the Dachau concentration camp.  It was somber and quiet and informative.  Memorials are found throughout.  There were many stories and specifics about groups of people and individuals who were brought here.  I was particularly struck by the details of those who put up resistance to the very end.