Berchtesgaden!

In early August, our friends Kim and John invited us on a weekend getaway to Berchtesgaden, located in the German Bavarian Alps, near the Austrian border. John raved about how beautiful the area was so of course we had to see for ourselves! He wasn't kidding...


We started the first morning off with a hike up to Kehlsteinhaus, or Hitler's Eagle's Nest. Kehlsteinhaus was a retreat built for Hitler for his 50th birthday. He only visited about 10 times, and it is now a restaurant and big tourist attraction. The hike was really tough!! It was ALL uphill and took us an hour and a half but it was more than worth it.



We spent about two hours at the top, relaxing, taking pictures and enjoying the view. I am still trying to figure out why Hitler didn't come here more often!

After our hike we met up with Kim and John and took a boat ride on the Königssee, Germany's deepest and cleanest lake. The ride was slow and peaceful, and the captain provided colorful commentary in German. At a rock cliff half way through the trip, the first mate played a trumpet to demonstrate the echo. It was absolutely beautiful.



The boat took us to a church about a half hour up the lake where we got out to relax, dip our toes in the freezing cold water and enjoy some drinks in a biergarten. That night we all headed into Berchtesgaden for dinner and the Markt Fest (I swear there is *always* a festival going on nearby!).


The next morning we took the Jennerbahn (a chair lift) up the mountain for more spectacular views and some hiking before we headed back to Wiesbaden. I still can't believe we live in such an amazing place...