Today we had another tour booked with Panorama Tours. Yes, the one that is a 4 minute walk away. Today, however, we were glad we had arranged hotel pickup because it was raining. The tour was very unusually organized: one group of people went one place, the rest went another place, we all met for lunch, some got dropped off, some went back to Salzburg, and some new ones joined. Confusing, but they all seemed to have things figured out. Too silly when they said keep the same seat in the bus. How can you when you are mixing tours like that?
We actually ended up spending the day in Germany today, which we didn't expect. Yes, it was called the Bavarian Mountains Tour, but we didn't make the connection. We had the all day tour, which started at Eagle's Nest (Kehlsteinhaus), perched high atop a mountain. Eagle's Nest was intended as a 50th birthday present for Hitler, to serve as a retreat and to entertain dignitaries. It is a chalet carved into a mountaintop, and sits at 6017 ft high. It took 13 months to build and was finished in 1938. The road leading up is 6.5 km long and cost about 250 million to build. Our bus parked in a parking area and then we had to take a designated bus up the road. When we got off, there was a 407 ft long tunnel to walk through leading to an elevator. The elevator fits 46 people and is lined with polished brass to make it look larger, since Hitler was caustrophobic. Almost all the buildings were bombed by the allies, with only the one remaining. We hiked a bit on a trail that is supposed to have awesome views, but all we saw was mist and clouds. We visited a conference room and a tea room. The conference room has a huge fireplace which was presented to Hitler by Mussolini. Chips of it are missing because allied soldiers broke pieces off to take as souvenirs. The rest of the building is now a working restaurant, so we sat and had some hot chocolate.
After Eagle's Nest, we were taken to the town of Berchtesgaden for lunch, and given one hour. It took 25 minutes for them to take our order, and they were definitely NOT gluten friendly. Frankie had salad, Anton had lasagna. We had started outside, but were chased inside because of all the smokers. Man, those Europeans sure do smoke a lot.
The rain stopped after lunch so the rest of the day was nicer. After lunch only 4 of us from the tour were dropped off at the salt mines at Salzbergwerk for a tour. Actually, we found it to be more of an hour and a half long amusement park ride (except underground). They had everyone dress up in a miner's suit, then we straddled single file on a train. The train took us to a steep slide, you slide on your bottom on wooden rails. We walked through some tunnels and stopped at different stations to learn about the mines. There was a second slide going down, then a boat ride across Mirror Lake, which had an incredible reflection from the roof. After the boat ride, there was a funicular ride going up, and lastly, the train ride again. No pictures allowed for "security" reasons, meaning they were selling pictures at the end of the tour.
The temperature in the salt mine was 12 C. Salt has been mined here since 1517, and the mine still produces 40 tons of salt per day. Yes, 40 tons per day. They call the salt "white gold". Originally, there was a salt-water lake, and the water evaporated. The mountains (according to them) "grew over" and covered the salt. Today, holes are drilled to get core samples. They drill a larger hole and pour freshwater down it, which dissolves the salt to create a cavern. The brine is pumped up and replaced with more fresh water, further dissolving the salt and making the cavern grow. The process can continue for 30 years in one hole.
After the salt mine, we were taken to the Berchtesgaden National Park for one hour to get a look at Konigssee (King's Lake). We hiked a 20 minute trail to get the best view at Malerwinkel overlook. Then the 20 minute hike back, first through the forest and then through all the tourist shops, ha ha. But happily for Frankie, she found some buffs, just what she had been looking for.
We were taken back to Berchtesgaden for a one hour "tea" break. At this point we felt they were just putting in time, but we took advantage of it by having a very rushed early supper. We got back into Salzburg around 6 pm.
In the evening, we walked down Getreidegasse (Cereal Alley) which is famed for being Austria's most attractive shopping center, but being Sunday night, most of the shops were closed. On a whim we tried to find Nonnberg Abbey, the nunnery from The Sound of Music. We got quite turned around and realized later that we had just skirted around it. We took a shortcut back though the St Peter Cemetary and went to the Franziskanerkirche for an organ recital. We have been trying to find one the entire time we have been in Austria. The concert was just over an hour long and included some Bach and Pachelbel. The first half was played on the baby organ, and then we all moved to the back for the second half on the papa organ. That was fabulous. It's not an organ unless it's ominous and heavy and just a little frightening, like the music from an old Frankenstein movie!
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