We took the tour based out of the information center. It's fairly organized but if you've watched a PBS documentary or visited a WWII museum there is little new information to be gained. This may be because the bunkers were closed for renovations. Our guide, John Mark, was friendly and knowledgeable. Few of the original buildings remain- most were destroyed and therefore there you end up looking at a field were it once stood. Although the eagles nest was preserved, it now functions as a restaurant. If staying in Salzberg plan for this to take a minimum of 7 hours- unless you are a big history buff I feel this is not worth the time invested.
Posted by
Southeast US
3844 posts
I'm assuming you left from the Tourist Information office across the round-about from the train station? The tour done by Eagle's Nest Historical Tours, which is owned by David and Christine Harper and recommended by RS, leaves from there (and the company has a desk inside the TI office). Many on the forum who have done that tour really enjoyed it. I'm sorry to hear your experience was not the same, but I appreciate you giving the reasons why you didn't find the experience worth the time investment. Would you say that you found Eagle's Nest, in general, overrated?
I haven't done the group tour. Being more interested in history than the average Joe, I did the company's 8-hour WWII History Buff's Private Tour with a friend. We spent a full day with David, getting a comprehensive history of Berchtesgaden and Obersalzberg. I loved every second of it; my friend (not as interested in history as I) was a little overwhelmed by the end of the day. For the history buff with some room in the budget for a splurge, though, I would highly recommend the History Buff tour.
Posted by
Happy Valley, PA
672 posts
We took the Eagles Nest Historical Tour (ENHT) of the Obersalzburg Documentation Center and the Kelsteinhaus on 25 May 2013. At that time, several school groups were visiting the Documentation Center (which we were glad to see) and the bunkers were open. Walking from the parking lot through the tunnel to take the elevator up to the Kelsteinhaus, seeing the fireplace mantel given to Hitler by Mussolini and noting the many spots where GIs had chipped off pieces as souvenirs, and walking around some of the rooms (i.e., actually being there), brought history to the forefront. However, it was kind of bizarre that the Eagle's Nest had become a restaurant, thinking about who originally inhabited it and ate in the dining room. On the day we visited the Kelsteinhaus, visibility was only about 50 feet (totally clouded over) and there was about 8 inches of snow on the ground. The site had been closed for 2 days prior to our visit, and I think it closed the day after due to weather. Nevertheless, I am glad that we were able to visit it and would recommend ENHT, a must see for WW2 history buffs.