Berchtesgaden and Hallstatt

Stardate: Thursday, Sept 30

Well i caught my bus to Berchtesgaden. (little sidetrip into Germany)

Checked my bag into my hotel and took off right away to catch the bus to the Eagle's Nest....When i say it's high up ....i mean it is H  I  G  H   up!!!!!! omg...and the bus was on the side of the mountain the whole time.....incredible views!

Eagles Nest, Berchtesgaden

This was HItler's last refuge, his bunkers were here and some of his planning was done here....i learned a lot i didnt know before at the Documentation centre....   I did not catch all of it cuz it was getting pretty crowded and all the text was in German. But i did see the bunkers......they are incredibly extensive, we could only see a tiny bit....

  But the Eagle's Nest...oy!  Up at the top after the bus drops you off, you walk deep into the mountain through a tunnel and then take Hitler's brass elevator up through the mountain to the VERY top where you can walk around, up in the clouds...i was so lucky....for days the weather has been misty and rainy and just that morning it opened up into sunshine.....so i was able to see...very very fortunate!

So I was actually walking above the clouds yesterday morning...it was exhilarating to be that high, i could see Salzburg waaaay off in the distance.   I could also see Konigsee Lake, an emerald jewel-like lake far below.  Glad i brought gloves and a small scarf..i needed it....walking up there on the crags above the Eagles Nest ...wow....snowy peaks close by....birds silently circling that high high place, in the thin air...it really was worth the trouble to come for one day to see this. 

Wowzers!

Eventually found where i could catch a bus back to Berchtesgaden (long story..lol)....and back at the train/bus station, immediately caught the bus to the salt mines (time was running out)....i am so glad i went to the salt mine..i almost didn't...it was SO MUCH FUN!!......we got to slide down these long long bannister things, (I had the collywobbles but did it anyway lol) (you sit down on them like a horse, lift you legs up and away you go at the speed of light.  Some people shrieked coming down lol....this is how the miners did it

Those 2 slides were worth the price of admission!   Then there was a beautiful salt lake, underground and we glided across it on a boat.  Cool Beans!  And there was excellent info/presentations....this ended up being better than the salt mine in Poland.   I wont tell you how hard it was to find a bus back to town, but once again, i just got lucky (my angels were watching over me for sure.....trust me)....no puter i could use, so had a little picnic supper in my room (leftovers from breakfast table earlier in Salzburg)...cozy and nice, i enjoyed it.  Everything seems to want to close just when i decide to get hungry hehe.

This hotel had a much cherished bathtub so i had a good long soak and then fell asleep

That night though i realized that the girl had got the date wrong on part of my train ticket for Hallstatt the next day....i could find no way to change it (guess what, everything was closed haha...so what's new)....and i thought i might be kicked off the train, the ticket agent said she couldnt help me and that it could be a problem....but i found another agent the next morning at the station and told her my very sad story and she took pity on me and wrote something in German on the ticket...no idea what....but i figured i would be ok.  Sometimes travelling is just plain hard work, when you are going solo, and sometimes have to figure out one thing after another... you have to stay on your toes but you sure do feel alive

Friday, October 1...

October?!   wow ...

Yes!!! I got to Hallstatt ok!   The chap looked at my wrong ticket and just went ahead and punched it....yeehaw!....all morning on the train, through more mist and rain, but i enjoyed it very much.  The train stops beside the lake at Hallstatt, just a tiny little one room building and you wait by the water for the good ship Stephanie (a little local boat) to come pick you up and take you to the town across the lake.....it was just wonderful, this place is simply magic!  I began to soak up the peace the minute i got off the train...now THIS is a vacation.....my room is so lovely, it is as if some lovely Grandmotherly type had furnished it for me....view over the lake....geraniums in window, lace cloths...ohhh i love it!  The water is so pure here....i couldnt get enough to drink  !

Tonight...well in just a little bit, im going to have the best meal EVER....fresh trout caught out of the lake with veggies and maybe strudel if i'm feeling naughty ;-)  5 Euros....not bad!

Hallstatt a.k.a. Heaven

Then just going to walk and walk and explore this  place, if you could see how lovely it is...

my Puter entries all done ( i do enjoy writing to you all).....time to relax and soak this all in

Tomorrow, back across lake on the good ship STephanie, back on the train and up to Melk on the Danube to see the Abbey there.....and hopefully arrange a cruise the next day from Melk to Krems, the best part of the Danube, wish me luck!

love to all and hugs all around!

luv, Patricia

xxx