About 100 km south of Munich is the charming town of Berchtesgaden in the Bavarian Alps. Surrounded by bucolic countryside, it also has a dark and infamous—yet fascinating—past.
We drove a steep winding road, 400 metres above the town, to Kempinski Hotel Berchtesgaden, our retreat for a few days. “Look up, to that building at the top of the mountain,” said manager Werner Muller as we sipped champagne on the terrace, surrounded by a meadow of wildflowers, the sounds of birdsong and occasional cowbell.
When guests arrive, their first question is usually, ‘Where is Hitler’s Eagle’s Nest?’ Yes, the same Berchtesgaden where Hitler plotted world domination.
The idea of Berchtesgaden as a tourist destination offended many and it has been mired in controversy. But Urusla Wischgoll, with the Nazi Documentation Center, said the luxury of the hotel and Berchtesgaden’s beauty are part and parcel of preserving the memory of evil that was once here.
“For so long we had guilt, but now we are coping with our history. The hotel [originally the Intercontinental, built in 2005] was only possible after the center opened in 1999, and because the hotel is so close, it has helped deter Neo-Nazis and Hammerskins [a white supremacist group]. Before that, any interest in Nazi history was considered taboo.”
You can’t help but mention this alpine area without referring to Hitler and the Third Reich, but there’s so much more here than its Nazi past. Sure, it was hard to leave the hotel with its peace and quiet, stellar outdoor pool with mountain views and spa and I haven’t even gotten to the exceptional food, but there are other blockbuster attractions.
The only way to traverse this tranquil, crystal-clear lake is by electric-powered boat. It can’t get more picture-postcard perfect. Scenes from the Sound of Music were filmed here, and the hills are still alive with the sound of…trumpet. Mid-way to the red onion-domed 14th century St Bartolomena chapel, the driver cuts the engine and plays his trumpet that echoes off the steep rock face. At Fischer vom Königssee, order a few “Schwarzreiter” – small, smoked char on a bun, which are smoked over a hazelnut fire on the premises, perfect with a stein of beer.
I’m told there are a lot of red faces in Bavaria, caused by the altitude, the relentless outdoor healthy life and visits to the schnapps distillery, namely to imbibe the famous “Grassl Gebirgs Enzian Schnaps” from the Enzian flower found in the Berchtesgaden mountains. Since 1692, Grassl has the rights to dig the root, 1,600 metres up the mountain to four huts where they also distil. “The peasants always welcomed harvesters because their cows don’t like the gentian flower,” said proprietor Michael Rasp, as he poured several shots of different flavoured schnapps and a few gins for us to sample.
Dad is cutting leather and a young woman paints designs onto the lederhosen with a feather quill at family-run Aigner Engelbert. The highest quality leather is made from red deer, which will set you back about a thousand euros. Engelbert junior said you can order elk or moose, but it’s not as comfy. And lederhosen isn’t just for guys to wear Sundays when they go out for beer and music. “Yves Saint Laurent just brought out lederhosen for women,” said Engelbert. Well in that case, bring out the tape measure. Just don’t gain or lose any weight in the next year—there’s a long wait list.
The town of Berchtesgaden itself has a historic and gorgeous Rococo centre, lined with cozy cafes, sausage restaurants and several pubs. We hiked a well-marked trail with the town below and came upon Maria Kunterweg, a Baroque pilgrimage church for dairymaids at Kunterweg.
After all that hiking, our hotel was heaven for spa lovers and foodies (me). Never mind Eagle’s Nest restaurant when chef Ulrich Heimann is at the helm of the Michelin-star Restaurant Le Ciel. Heimann has mastered French technique, but he said cooking is about simplicity and quality; he loves mountaineering and staying in a hut with beer, sausage and cheese. And he knows how to elevate a dish like “cabbage and turnips” to stardom. The hotel focuses on regional products, from bread to beer. And another nod to regional: the staff are dressed in local and Bavarian attire – love their lederhosen.
A quote by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe printed on the menu is so apropos, not only about Le Ciel, but about the hotel and the entire trip. “But no enjoyment is temporary, because the impression it leaves behind is permanent.” Sure, it’s pricey but consider staying here an investment in your memory bank.
If you go…
Lufthansa offers daily flights between Vancouver and Munich on its new Airbus A350-900.
This writer was a guest of Lufthansa and Kempinski hotels, neither of which read or approved this article before publication.