Visit Hitlers eagels nest

Hitler's Eagles Nest, Germany, still sits on a mountain peak high above Berchtesgaden in the Bavarian Alps.

In one of history's weird turns, Martin Bormann's birthday present to Adolf Hitler is now a cosy restaurant with a spectacular 360 degree view of the Alps.

This historic survivor of the Third Reich can only be reached by taking a special bus (or a strenuous 2-hour walk) to an elevator shaft set deep in the mountain.

Up at the Eagle's Nest

Once at the top, you can explore most of the rooms and have something to eat or drink in the same spot that Hitler, Eva Braun, Himmler and the rest had their banquets and entertained foreign diplomats. Outside, just past the beer garden terrace, a path leads up to a higher point well worth the short climb.

When the weather cooperates, the panorama is incredible. Right at eye level with the Alps, looking over both Germany and Austria, the jagged mountains march away in all directions. On a clear day, you can see Salzburg. Even when it's misty, the swirling clouds give it an pleasantly eerie feeling.

Hitler's fascination with the old Germanic legends is reflected in the style and location of the building.

The sturdy Kehlsteinhaus has a pseudo-medieval look inside, with its thick granite walls and heavy beamed ceilings: a modern day version of the mountain fortress where legendary Germanic heroes wait, like Barbarossa, sleeping under the Untersberg across the valley.

The Eagle's Nest wasn't damaged during the war, so it looks just like it did in April of 1945. Most of the furniture was removed by the occupying forces, but the red marble fireplace that Mussolini gave to Hitler is still there, minus some pieces chipped off by souvenir hunters.

The stone walls and beams in the ceilings are the original ones. Some of the light fixtures are original, others are copies of the originals - ditto for the wood paneling on the walls.

As you enter the Kehlsteinhaus, you come into a small, paneled dining area, now a restaurant with small tables serving a limited selection of food and drink. Take a look at the sideboard; it's the original one. This was the room where Hitler had a long dining table for banquets.

Going through the dining room and down a few steps takes you into the large, stone-walled room that was used for conferences and occasional parties. It's currently set up for additional diners. There are deep-set windows on three sides that look out over the Alps. Mussolini's fireplace is in here, along with some tacky souvenir racks.

This room was the setting for a party following the wedding of Eva Braun's sister, Gretl, and SS Officer Hermann Fegelein, on June 3, 1944. The Führer had Fegelein shot for desertion on April 29, 1945, the day before his own suicide in Berlin.

Видео Visit Hitlers eagels nest канала Studiomde