Our visit to Eagle’s Nest was part of our German Road trip (that page has links to all the hotels, restaurants and places visited).

The Kehlsteinhaus (known as the Eagle’s Nest) is a Third Reich-era building erected atop the summit of the Kehlstein (1,834 m (6,017 ft) a sub-peak of the Hoher Göll that rises above the town of Berchtesgaden. Eagle’s Nest was visited on 14 documented instances by Adolf Hitler – he didn’t live there, instead had a house down the mountain near the Hotel zum Türken. Today, Eagle’s Nest is open mid-May to mid-October as a restaurant, beer garden and tourist site.

It was difficult to find information about the buses that take visitors up the mountain. If you search for Eagle’s Nest, you’ll mostly likely find https://www.kehlsteinhaus.de/english/ but this is a tour company selling tickets for 24.50 € and a minimum of 20 people. What you need is the website for the RVO-Bus company http://www.rvo-bus.de/oberbayernbus/view/freizeittipps/ausflugsbusse/eagles-nest.shtml – a return ticket is 16.60 € and that includes an elevator to the top.

We used Salzbergstraße 41, 83471 Berchtesgaden for the sat nav and parked in the Documentation Centre car park. It was just a few minutes walk to the bus station. There wasn’t a queue (August 2018) and we purchased tickets for the next bus.

 

The bus takes the 6.8km winding road to a bus parking lot. The views from ether side of the bus are impressive; right-side has the first views, then left-side has higher views.

When you arrive at the upper bus parking lot, you need to choose a return time and get a ticket for the bus you want. I’d say you need at least an hour and at least two hours if you plan to eat – that not including any wait time for the elevator (there wasn’t a wait when we were there).

Then you walk through a 124m tunnel.

That takes you to a lobby and elevator entrance.

The overly-ornate, mirrored, elevator then takes you 124m to Eagle’s Nest. Yes that’s me trying to take a photo in a mirrored room.

The views from the top were spectacular. There was plenty of snow up there.

A path lead to the summit.

But as I only had a pair of trainers and a sweater (I’d worn shorts and a t-shirt in Berlin just a few days before), I skipped that walk and headed into the restaurant.

The restaurant is busy. Many tables are allocated to pre-booked groups. It took about 15 minutes before I spotted a group leaving and I immediately grabbed the table – a complete mess of half-eaten food and beer glasses. It took a while before the table was cleared. I wouldn’t say the wait staff were rude, more coldly-efficient, dealing with a sea of visitors, none of whom likely to return – it’s amazing the service and food quality isn’t terrible. As it was, we had a decent beer and snack that wasn’t expensive considering the location.

There are other areas to wander around, including some information boards with some history. Then we took the lift down and the tunnel back to the bus.

Even if you have some misgivings about the Nazi connection, I’d definitely recommend a visit to Eagle’s Nest.

We used Salzbergstraße 41, 83471 Berchtesgaden, Germany to find the bus station.

Return tickets to cost 16,60 € for adults and 9,60 € for children younger than 14 years. The elevator ride is included.

Buses run mid-May to mid-October. The first bus runs at 07:40 am and the last one leaves the Eagle’s Nest at 4:00 pm.