September 13, 2019 To Eagles Nest

It was a 3 hour trip today from our Munich hotel to the German Alps to see Hitler's famous hideaway and retreat.  In the early 1940's Hitler's Nazi party built several retreats for their German leaders, including Hitler, Goebbels and Himmler.  Those homes were destroyed by Allied bombing in the '44 and 45', but the bombs did not seriously damage the nearby Eagles Nest, the mountain top retreat where Hitler would occasionally meet with important leaders.  Being afraid of heights, he rarely visited the location and spent no more than 15 minutes there when he did visit.

Today, the site is a simple restaurant with magnificently beautiful views of the Alps and the valleys below.  The weather today was beautiful and many tourists took the time to make the steep, 20 minute bus trip to the top, including Tim and our veterans.  And, they were rock stars!  People young and old asked for photo opportunities and selfies.

We moved on to a brief visit to the bunkers where Hitler and his cronies holed up as the Allied forces closed in early in 1945.  It was in this set of bunkers that Hitler and his fervent Nazi followers planned their strategy to fend off the Allied charge even as the facts showed that the Nazis were defeated.  Hitler took his life here on April 30, 1945.  Seven days later the German Army, via General Alfred Jodl, surrendered.  As usual, much of the pictures speak far better than my clumsy words.  I have many more photos that I will add later.  My overloaded hard drive has forced me to do just a short blog tonight.  Munich to Atlanta tomorrow, then on to Philadelphia in the evening.  See you all back in the states!