The Alps

Basel, Switzerland, August 5, 2015

Monday morning we were up bright and early, bright and early being a relative term.  Actually, we were checked out of our hotel, and on the road back to Eagles Nest by 8:30 a.m.  Eagles Nest in Obersalzburg was where Hitler had all of his meetings and planning sessions when he was not in Berlin.  It sits atop an Alp at 2750 meters which in feet is.....
A lot. Visitors park at a bus station about half way up the mountain.  A bus takes you the rest of the way up the only  road the leads the rest of the way up to Eagles Nest.  At the end of WWII the British air force bombed Eagles Nest destroying all but one building.  That building is now a restaurant.  However, there were still vestiges of the oppulance that Hitler had created.  It was a sunny, spectacular day so we were rewarded with spectacular views of the Alps in all directions.  We could easly see Salzburg 30 miles away.  In addition to Eagles Nest, a series of bunkers were built into the mountain.  These bunkers were where many of the meetings took place and also provided Hitler with a haven in case of bombing.  (Historical note: Hitler was not at Ealges Nest when the British bombed it.)  The bunkers remain but are basically empty, concrete hallways and rooms.  We visited them but saw little of interest.

Upon leaving Obersalzburg, the plan was to spend Monday night in Davos, Switzerland.  Lynda mapped out our route that took us on small, two lane (most of the time) roads through the mountains towards Davos.  We drove through miles of spectacular scenery which Lynda thoroughly enjoyed.  It was very difficult driving for Tim.  But you all know the rule:  Happy Wife, Happy Life. We did arrive in Davos where we stayed in a typical Swiss Gasthaus, think Tyrolean B 'n B.  We picked Davos because it is in the news regularly for all sorts of important international meetings. There is a large, very contemporary Intercontinental Hotel in Davos as well as an impressive conference center.  Otherwise, Davos looks like any other Swiss town.

Tuesday morning we continued to drive through seemingly unending beauty before finally hitting a four lane divided highway.  After Tim's brief prayer of Thanksgiving for finally finding this highway we drove onto Basel, our destination for Tuesday night.  A former student of Tim's lives with his family in Basel and we joined them for an evening of good food and delightful conversation.

This will be our last blog posting on this trip as today, Wednesday, we will visit friends in Luzcern and tomorrow fly home.  As always, it has been a pleasure to report to you on our many adventures.  We have enjoyed and appreciated your comments both on the blog site and on facebook.  Until we see you back home.

Guten Tag