Europe Euphoria

Do not let your dislike for a communist regime make you miss this alpine town set 6,000 feet high in the Bavarian Alps. Ever since Allied troops captured it, Berchtesgaden has struggled under the weight of the Hitler heritage, and the question of whether it could ever return to being simply a nice place to visit. The Eagles nest, Image credit Kehlsteinhaus, the Eagle’s Nest was built as a 50th birthday present to Adolf Hitler from the National Socialist German Worker’s Party. The Kehlsteinhaus was designed by architect Roderich Fick as a wooden frame structure, but it consists of 80% concrete. The Eagles nest, Image credit The road up to the House is a masterpiece of road building is 4 miles long, winds through 5 tunnels and has a series of dangerous hairpin bends. Image credit: Pete Burzynski Today the Eagle’s Nest is a restaurant, it has a spectacular view of the entire Salzach Valley and of the Bavarian Alps. Berchtesgaden itself, a five-mile winding drive downhill from the Nest, is a cozy village with pubs, sausage restaurants and mountain views. The restaurant now serves wonderful bavarian food, Image credit The idea of Hitler’s hideaway becoming a place of fun offended many intellectuals and Jewish groups in Europe. Linda Pfnuer, the head of the center, said enjoying the beauty of Berchtesgaden and the luxury of the InterContinental had to go hand in hand with preserving the memory of the evil that inhabited the valley. Berchtesgaden, Image credit: Tony Triolo A picture of a mass execution of Jews, children and adults; the recorded voice of a Holocaust survivor the exhibits are the bleak counterpoint to the bucolic scenes outside. Alps above Berchtesgaden, Image credit: Jen Initially, the center expected 30,000 to 40,000 visitors a year. Last year it got 166,000, and last month it welcomed its millionth visitor. Berchtesgaden, Germany, Image credit: TateWeb If places have been houses to evil, redemption comes through nature and purity.