Eagle's Nest = Tourist trap
 

Last September(yes, I should have posted earlier) Eagle"s Nest provided the only bad day of our 5 week trip to Germany and Austria. We took a bus from Salzburg to Berchtesgaden, then another bus to the complex, then the private bus up to Eagle's Nest. This was around Sep 10 and the crowds were overwhelming. Every part of the experience was a cattle call presided over by surly personnel. A very pricey cattle call. As soon as we got on the bus, we were told we must book our return bus trip immediately upon arrival. Of course, we didn't know how much time we wanted to spend at the top at that time. We were also told we would not be allowed to enter the chalet unless we wanted to have lunch in the dining room. (Even though Rick Steves says you can go in and look around).

The entire pupose of this operation seems to be to get people to the top to eat. When you get off the private bus, you wait in line for the historic elevator built into the mountain. At the top there is a very small area almost entirely taken up by the beer garden and filled with people. There is no historic information provided. There is, however, a tacky souvenir stand. Although we had arrived about 11:00, the only English tour available(for an additional fee) had already departed. So we had no info about the place except what was in the Rick Steves guidebook.

Perhaps the views would make all this worth it. I don't know as by the time we got to the top, it was completely fogged in and you could see basically nothing, although it had been sunny when we started our trek. Even if it had been clear, this would not have been a good experience either for views or history. There are certainly other places to provide views and a more enjoyable experience. We had just come from wonderful Hallstadt and taken the Dachstein cable car which was beautiful with few people.

I think this whole operation epitomizes Tourist Rip-off and should stop being recommended by the guidebooks.

There is a company called Eagle Nest Tours which supposedly does a good history tour so maybe that would have been a better experience but you still have all the waiting in lines, crowds etc. I just don't think this site is worth it.

If you want to have almost the same view (Watzmann, Koenigsee,etc.) take the Jenner gondola lift. It leaves near the Koenigsee. As you drive, or take the bus, from the B'gdn RR station toward Koenigsee, the base station is on your left. There is ppenty pf parking. The mountain terminal has a fairly decent restaurant and there are a few nice trails (some of them easy) to hike. You can also hike from the top to the midway station or all the way into the valley.

We did the Eagle's Nest in September 2007 and thoroughly enjoyed it. We went early and the crowds weren't bad at all. We did not eat while there but waited to eat in Berchtesgaden where we were staying.

We managed to take the 11 AM English tour offered and found it to be informative and well worth the small cost.

I assume you need to book your return once you reach the entrance so they will know how to schedule their buses. I certainly didn't find the Eagle's Nest any worse than many other popular tourist attractions in Europe. I'm sorry you felt it was not worthwhile.

We were going to do the Jenner gondola, but it was closed due to bad weather. We did the Koenigsee boat tour instead since we would be inside the boat most of the time.

We will be going to Berchtesgaden again this September and hope to do the Jennerbahn then as well as returning to the Eagle's Nest and Koenigsee.

It's a trap for any tourist, not particularly Americans. Most of the tourists there were Germans.

logos, I usually avoid doing Hitler things but every once in a while I would like to see things like the dragon's teeth.

Thanks for the tip elizacat.

Be aware of the people you might meet there. The last place you'd want to go. Don't be that naive folks.

At Dragon's Teeth or Eagles' Nest? Why naive?

One day the will offer Braunau for breakfast, Mozart for supper and beautiful sunset at the Kehlsteinhaus tour. It will happen. It's the voyeuristic attitude of people that even when they don't adore Hitler can't resist visiting those places. Imho it's shameful. And Mozart in between, because Salzburg is in between and "lighentens up" the tour.
Just a thing of common decency not to visit the Kehlsteinhaus imho.

My husband and his uncle went. The uncle drove. They had a beer at the top and really enjoyed the view. I think my husband like the trip because he and his Austrian uncle spent hours together in the car trying to communicate with each other, both are limited in their opposing languages. Anyway, they enjoyed it and the pictures showed beautiful weather and views. So, maybe the crowds and the weather made it a lousy choice for the day?
That was something I had no interest in doing, but my DH wanted to. I wandered around Salzburg with my girls shopping, eating and people watching. Much more fun!

Well, that wasn't actually on my list of things to do, visit Kehlsteinhaus. The Dragon's Teeth seems to me a bit different, it's not "gawking at Hitler" but it was an important defense system.

There's very little of Hitler left at Kehlsteinhaus as most was carried away as souvenirs by the liberating troops.

The construction of Kehlsteinhaus was a daunting undertaking and very interesting. It is a part of history. Just because one is interested doesn't show support of Hitler or Nazis. That's ridiculous.

From what I remember-Hitler rarely went to Kehlsteinhaus. He was afraid of heights...so the tour guide said.

"The construction of Kehlsteinhaus was a daunting undertaking"

Did he use concrete excessively there too?

I know this sounds a little crazy but for as much as I love Germany, I avoid things like concentration camps and the hitler stuff. Although, I went to the Jewish Museum in Berlin and that was powerful and educational. I don't really want to tread in the path of that evil.

Hitler didn't build Kehlsteinhaus. Construction was initiated by Martin Bormann as a 50th birthday present for Hitler. Hitler visited Kehlsteinhaus about 10 times from 1939 until it was captured by the Allied troops.

LSky, if you want to avoid any Hitler stuff, then definitely don't go to Berchtesgaden. It was crawling with Nazis and the SS during WW2.

http://www.hitlerpages.com/pagina21a.html

To enlighten you a little bit about todays Germany, betty.
If you can't read German, try babelfish.

http://www.tagesspiegel.de/weltspieg...e/1584422.html

logos, based on some of your past posts, which are insulting at the least, I really have no interest in anything you have to say.

And if I feel I need "enlightenment, I certainly wouldn't seek it from you.

Betty, you've go no idea what you're talking about in regard to Germany, that's for sure. No insult, just stating facts here. Would have bee food for thought.

logos, I have never purported to be an expert on Germany. I love visiting, however, and feel fortunate that I have never encountered anyone like you on one of my trips or I probably would have stoppped visiting a long time ago.

I expressed my opinon on the Eagle's Nest which you obviously disagree with. Any information I provided about Kehlsteinhaus was based on my visit there as well as other info on the internet.

You didn't even bother to read my comment how peoples interests do show their attitudes. You chose to ignore the problems associated with visiting that place. People that are aware of these problems and have an interest in the country do think twice about visiting. The newspaper article mentioned gives an idea about those things. People don't want Nazis and they don't want Nazis or even just ignorant people to make a shrine of the place, wherever those people come from. By visiting and being ignorant you do contribute to the problem.

Or just keep it simple: It's a tourist trap, so stay away.

logos, I read the article and can see your point. The part of about the shaved head tattooed young men with those T-Shirts is creepy.

I understand that the whole of Germany was crawling with Nazis, bettyk but I can also understand that this is not what many Deutschlander, like logos, want celebrated about his country. I can't blame him. There is so much more to Germany's history than WWII and the German people today have a lot to contribute to world peace because of their experiences with that time.

If I went to China, I wouldn't visit the tomb of mao. It is against everything I believe to give any energy at all to people like this. In fact, from now on I will never again capitalize their names, monsters don't deserve it.

Thank you for the article logos. I copy pasted the link into google and am glad I read it. Well, as glad as one can be to read something like that.

Although, I'm an American mutt, my German heritage is what I most identify with; the food, the orderly way of doing business and the bluntness of the people just made sense to me from my first visit. I know betty that you love Germany also, I always thought that you must be of German descent it was the forthrightness of many of your posts.