Thursday, June 11, 2015

Munich - To Do (11June2015ABBA contribution by Ghim Chuan Eagle's Nest at Obsersalzverg)

Munich - To Do
Munich - To Eat
Munich - To Buy
Munich - To Do
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Eagle's Nest at Obsersalzverg
*ABBA Contribution by Ghim Chuan 11June2015*



Getting There

This is not a trip for you if u find travelling long trips tiresome. It takes 3hrs one way to get there and another 3hrs back from Munich. So be prepared for for a long day.  

You can sleep on board the trains on the way though.

The journey involves 2 trains, 2 buses and walking through a tunnel into the mountains before coming to a lift that will bring you straight up to the Eagle’s nest.


*Text from Wikipedia* The Kehlsteinhaus (known as the Eagle's Nest in English-speaking countries) is a
Third Reich era edifice erected atop the summit of the Kehlstein, rocky outcrop that rises above the Obersalzberg near the town of Berchtesgaden. It was presented to Adolf Hitler on his 50th birthday as a retreat and place to entertain friends and visiting dignitaries. Today it is open seasonally as a restaurant, beer garden, and tourist site. (source: wiki)


First and foremost, take note that the opening hours to the eagle’s nest is seasonal. During winter, the road up the mountain is closed and hence visitors are only allowed to visit somewhere between May and October.
Please check if they are open before making your way there. You may refer to the following website for its availability.

The tour suggested below is organised by this same company as well.

To
get there, first purchase a bavaria ticket that will allow u to travel unlimited number of times on trains n buses for a day. 23euro for one and additional 5euro for each accompanying passengers up to a maximum of 4.

Hop
on the U or S bahn to the central station. From the central station, take a train to the destination Berchtesgaden. Train schedule can be found from http://www.bahn.com/i/view/GBR/en/index.shtml .

This will probably involve first a train towards Salzburg and then a train transfer at Freilassing to another that terminates at Berchtesgaden. From there, there is 2 ways you can see the Eagles nest.
1.     Join a tour which starts at 1315hrs daily whenever the Eagle’s nest is open. Only one tour each day. It includes commentary about its history and its role in WWII. It cost 53euro for a 4.5hr tour. Starts and ends at the tourist information just outside the Berchtesgaden station. Location of the tourist information is about 200m from the station exit, at the 1 o’clock direction at the other side of the roundabout. Refer to the above website. You may be coerced into prebooking a tour with them. But an advice would be to sign up on the spot as the weather on that day maybe pretty bad and ruin the experience of the whole tour itself.

2.      Take a bus 838 from Berchtesgaden station exit and make your own way up to Dokumentation Obersalzberg. Fare is covered by the Bavaria ticket purchased earlier on. 
 

At the Dokumentation, one can purchase the entrance to the underground bunkers and a specialised bus ride up to the eagle’s nest. Cost 16euros return ride, including the admission to eagle’s nest. Note that the schedule for bus 838 is not very frequent. Hence it is best to check the bus schedule before proceeding from the above bahn website.
Difference between the two approaches is that one has the historical information provided while the other has the flexibility of time schedule. Option 2 will probably miss out on a lot of historical information and not see this as a trip to do with hitler, just a scenic destination. If you are done early while on option 2, you may wish to check out the nearby lake Konigssee, touted as the cleanest and deepest lake in Europe (you can take a cruise ship over it and take in the spectacular view) and the famous salt mine in Berchtesgaden.


Otherwise, it is quite an experience to take a bus halfway up the mountain, walk through a long tunnel dugged into the mountain and take a lift up vertically through the mountain to reach the eagle’s nest.



***trains and buses schedules are particularly important on this trip. So be sure to check out the bahn website and plan accordingly***
 Getting There Via Car
ABBATRAVEL Entry
 

15Sep2016
Renting a car in Munich is a little bit more complicated. Firstly the hotel car rental comes and goes as they please and they are rarely at their station. Your best and only bet is to go to Munich Main train station and choose from the multiple companies. (Located on the second floor of Munich Main train station, we went with Hertz.
 Rented on 15Sep2016
130Euros for the Car full insurance coverage. Seats 9people total!
*NOTE IF TRAVELLING Outside of Munich there is a Toll fee to be paid and bought at any of the petrol stations that goes for 8Euros. BUY IT! The fine is 120Euros for non-compliance!*
Eagle's Nest
ABBA Travel Entry
 Visited 15Sep2016
 Visited 15Sep2016
Departed Munich at 1030am and arrived at 12.30pm at base of Eagle's nest
Rest of the info as indicated above. The only way up the top is with their tickets which includes the chartered bus rides up. There are fixed timing departures and one needs to validate the return journey back down. Really cater 2-4hrs for the exploration of this amazing feet of German Engineering, and the 'summer home' of Adolf Hitler. 



The ticket price maybe the pricing of the car itself, but its beauty, historical significance are well worth the trip up. Being on the ridge, you get panoramic shots on both sides. There are even tracking routes for the more adventurous ones 

*3 Pics featured above from Jared's Camera*

*The Feels*

*haha. Best memory ever.*
Apparently the word is that the foot of Eagle's Nest eats, aren't that great and the top where the summer home is now is converted to a eatery for the public which offers better eats. Standing over 6000ft above, this feat of German Engineering quenches the thirst of hungry visitors in a splendid surrounding! 
Food was okay only and nothing to scream about. Beer could be colder. We were just filling ourselves up to keep us going before heading into the town of Salzburg, located next door for the garden grounds where Sound Of Music was filmed. This is a must go for history buffs, and if having to choose a mountain ridge to explore, this would definately be on the top of the list.
ABBATip:
- Being 6000ft up, temperatures are cooler by about 12degrees than at the base. There wasn't much wind chill up there, however, it can potentially get really cold. The sun was more of a factor.
- Definitely cater time to enjoy a beer and the sights at the Eagle's Nest

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