Eagle's nest, Hitler's hideout

Ok I admit, this is not really a hike. Still it is in the mountains and involves some walking so I post about it. We were an a trip from Switzerland to Croatia and for some wierd reason we decided to go though Germany and Austria. There we visited the Eagle's Nest (Kehlseinhouse), the famous Hitler's mountain hideout.

To get to the place you normally start in the Busbanhof Kehlseinhouse a few kilometers from Brechtesgaden. There a but bring you on a narrow road to the entrance of the place. N.B.: Only busses are allowed, you cannot go by car.

From the parking (at 1700m) the entrance is quite dramatic. You don't see the hut but only a tunnel going into the mountain. The tunnel is at least 100m long and at the end of it there is a large waiting room giving way to a golden elevator. Very much like what you'd imagine the entrance to a Nazi hideout to be!

The elevator brings you 120m up into the mountain and, when you exit, you are already inside the hut that is today a normal mountain hut offering hot chocolate, beer and bratwurst, although with some historic furniture and informative panels.

But I promised some walking was involved. When you exit the hut you can walk along the ridge to the summit cross. It is half a kilometer and 50m up so let's say 15 minutes one way at most. The views are breathtaking as the hut is in a very scenic position on the edge of the mountain with the path going S shaped to it.

 

From here you can actually start real hikes with even some climbing. And if you want you can arrive to the hut on foot which will take you 900m uphill and at least 3h. But since we were travelling longdistance we took it easy this time and it was anyway worth it!