Europe Trip 2013, Day 6

The next few days on our trip were a whirlwind of touring. When you've made such a huge trip across the country, you don't want to miss a thing! Who knows if you'll ever have the opportunity again. Plus, there is just so much to see in such a history-rich country, that there is literally somewhere to stop at every corner. Soooo...here it goes!

We went to Berchtesgaden National Park to Lake Koenigsee. We took a boat ride on the gorgeous, crystal clear lake. This was another place where we did not hear much English being spoken. It felt more like a "local" vacationer's spot (so did Chiemsee, actually).

View from our boat of gorgeous mountains (Watzmann massif) and water.

We stopped at the "echo wall" to hear a trumpet tune echo to us after being played by our driver.

We also stopped at the chapel of St. Bartholomew, dating back to the 12th century, which is only accessible by water.

We wished we had our swimsuits-the water was so clear and inviting. Plus, it was hot out!

We needed to stay in a central location for all the touring we wanted to do in this Bavarian area, so Garmisch-Partenkirchen in Southern Germany was the perfect spot. Again our lodging was on the main street in Old Town and looked out onto the "Ludwigstrasse"  and restaurant below.

Our lodging had a restaurant below, so we ate there. Spargel, German white asparagus, was in season and being served everywhere. Here we tried it baked with ham and cheese. Tasty!

The outside of our lodging.

We got to see some traditional "slap-dancing", accompanied by an accordion in Gar-Par. This town had great atmosphere!

The pictures got out of order, but the rest of these are from earlier in the day. While in Berchtesgaden National Park, we toured the Nazi doc. center and bunker system below. Then we took a bus up the mtn to the golden elevator. The elevator took us to the Eagle's Nest complete with panoramic views and a  mountaintop restaurant (pic of restaurant below and the food we ate there above-the meal on the left is jagerschnitzel and spatzel).

The Eagle's Nest was suppose to be Hitler's respite-it was a gift to him for his 50th birthday. Evidently, though, he was afraid of heights and only visited there a handful of times. His mistress supposedly loved it and spent quite a bit of time there. What a pity!

Views from the top.

Surrounded by beauty!