On Thursday we had an early wake up call to make sure we had enough time to eat breakfast and find the meeting point for the start of the tour. At 9am the bus departed for the boarder of Germany. The tour guide told us that the previous day boarder control stopped the bus and checked everyone's passport. Luckily we were able to cruise by.
We arrived in Kehlsteinhaus about 45 minutes later to then hop on a smaller bus to take us further up the mountain. This was only about another 20 minutes and very similar to the Amalfi Coast roads.
The next mode of transportation was an elevator to Eagles Nest.
Hitler had a few phobias - he was afraid of heights and claustrophobic so he commissioned the elevator to be built deep within the mountain and have mirror like walls inside to make the illusion it was larger than it really was. He also only allowed 6 people max to ride up with him. For our trip in the elevator I think we packed in 20-25 people.
Once at the top we were taken through the restaurant into the meeting room. Everything in this room was original except for the tables/chairs/flooring. Hitler only made the trip up to Eagles Nest 14 times. It's main purpose was to host conferences - his residence was back down the mountain.
Through the meeting room we exited outside. The 360 panoramic view was absolutely breathtaking. It was a clear enough day you could see Salzburg in the distance. We had about 45 minutes to walk around the grounds, take pictures and marvel at this beauty.
Our time up on Eagles Next came to end and we were off to a small town called Berchtesgaden for lunch before heading back into Salzburg.
Another earlier morning on Friday. The Sound of Music tour departed at 9:15.
Locations we visited:
- Mirabell Gardens - The Mirabell Gardens were laid out in the 18th century. Maria and the children were seen dancing around the statue of Pegasus, the winged horse, and throughout the gardens singing 'Do-Re-Mi.'
- Leopoldskron Castle - The front side of the castle was used as the Trapp family home. A scene you might remember here was when the children and Maria were boating on the Leopoldskron Lake and fell into the water.
- Hellbrunn Castle - In the gardens of Hellbrunn Castle the glass pavillion was reconstructed for the pleasure of those fans still returning after 30 years.
- This glass pavillion was only used to shoot the exterior scene of Rolf and Liesl's duet "Sixteen going on Seventeen". The inside scene was filmed in Hollywood as they needed a bigger pavillion.
- St Gilgen and Lake Wolfgang - Scenery shown at the beginning of the movie was filmed at Lake Fuschl on the way to St Gilgen.
- Wedding Church Mondsee - Mondsee Cathedral was used as the location for Maria and the Baron's wedding in the film.
While in Mondsee we got to explore the town a little. This is where Drew got his pants for Octoberfest!
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