Hitler loved the Alps, the nest, not so much

Hitler was popular with the folks in town, they'd wait for hours to get a glimpse when he'd arrive on his
special railroad train escorted by SS troops. The oversized station had a special entrance for him. There's
a Burger King there now as a reminder of who won the war -- and lots of shops.

It's easy to see why Hitler loved this part of the Bavarian Alps so much. He first saw it in 1923, long before he was voted in as Chancellor, but he never forgot it, and came back whenever possible.

Remarkably clear views today, the locals said. You could easily
see into Austria from the Eagle's Nest. 

The locals came to love him, especially after an over-sized railroad station of "intimidation architecture" was built, giving the area a new prestige. Obersalzberg soon became the second seat of government, behind Berlin, and was the site of many of the major decisions of war, peace and genocide made by the Third Reich.. All the Big Nazis had big homes there. Goering's house stuffed with stolen property and a massive wine cellar was perched nicely among the other quarreling Nazis. A large contingent of SS was stationed here, operating a world class gated community on the side of the mountain.
Contrary to popular belief, the photos of Hitler and his henchmen relaxing together are not taken up at the Eagle's Nest, more likely at the Hitler main house and support complex known as the Berghof. It also featured fabulous Alpine views, as we saw today. A squeamish Hitler didn't really like the high-altitudes of his Eagle's Nest, went there only about 20 times after it was constructed in the late 30s as a 50th birthday present from the Nazi Party.

This is the view from Hitler's Burghof, lower down the mountain.
Still an excellent scene, one that is seen in many of the
well-known Hitler and henchman photos. If there is a terraced floor
in the photo, its taken at the Burghof. No terrace at the Nest.

Hitler preferred his massive tea house at a lower altitude for morning leisure.
The Berghof was blasted away by the RAF at the end of the war and demolition teams went in years later to finish the job. Much has been destroyed because the site is "sensitive" -- fears of creating a center for neo-Nazi sentiments led to the destruction and isolation of much that was built there. Perhaps that's why the Eagle's nest gets more attention. There's not much else left above ground to see.

The Eagle's Nest was also slated for destruction but a local governor intervened and it is now operated by a private company that supports a charity. It's a boon to the resort towns spread out below.
We spent the day looking over the local remnants of the Third Reich. The most stunning revelation was the massive bunkers under the mountain, never fully completed, but comprising four miles of tunnels cut through the rock, much of it by forced labor. As it turned out, the expensive bunker complex only saved the workers, because when the Allies bombed the area just before the end of the war, using massive tall boy bombs that destroyed buildings but didn't dent the bunkers, they were the only ones home.

Just another Herald reader in Germany.

When the Americans took over the bunker maze they invited the local population to take whatever they wanted and they eagerly stripped the bunkers bare, every kitchen sink, bed and door knob.
There was enough left to make an impressive tour today, but the public is only allowed into about 5 percent of the tunnels and rooms. Cut from solid rock and skinned with five feet of brick, gravel, fabric and smooth cement, the tunnels are fixed forever in the mountain.
Though Hitler never officially went up to the Eagle's Nest after 1940, our ride up the mountain was not anti-climatic. On the contrary, the views from the bus taking the same route carved by well-paid workers (not slaves as some of us had thought) were spectacular. Ass-kisser-in-chief Martin Bormann had the "gift" built for his Fuhrer. When Hitler first saw the dining room and mentioned that he would have liked beams in it, well, presto, massive wood beams were added, even though they had no structural value.

Beams to please. The metal strap splices two beams
together, showing that there is no structural value.

We enjoyed a sit-down dinner of sauerbraten and spaetzel under those beams and had a souvenir photograph taken in front of the Italian Marble fireplace that Easy Company and others chipped up for souvenirs when they entered the structure and then had their famous pictures taken relaxing on Hitler's furniture.
Our photo was for the Chaska Herald's "Global Herald" feature where readers send in photos of themselves reading the Herald in odd places. We're hoping for some local ink.
Back at the hotel, we enjoyed our view of the Eagle's Nest, but now wished for x-ray vision to see through the mountain into the amazing mass of infrastructure hidden from view under a spectacular Alpine forest of green.

Entrance to bunker maze, Only 5 percent is accessible. Our guide has seen more of it. All extremely
durable. Note the brick lining between the cement walls and the solid rock.