Berchtesgaden and Rothenburg

A few weeks ago we joined a group of friends for a road trip to southern Germany. Although Berchtesgaden is not a place I would have put on our travel to-do list, it was a spectacular spot. There is a ton of WW2 history in the area and the scenery is stunning. We started out the trip with a 4 hour bus tour of the former Nazi areas with an amazing tour guide that gave us a great history lesson. We drove from the town up the hill to the old Nazi meeting areas and walked down into the bunkers.

The bunkers were a network of underground tunnels that the Nazis built; fully equipped for underground living and commanding. They were never really used to the extent intended but it was interesting to see the amount of work and planning that went into this network. The best part was seeing the date inscribed on the wall by the French soldiers when they and the Americans took over the area. (May 5th, 1945)

After the bunker tour we all gathered to take the bus up to the Eagle's Nest. This was the most bizarre thing that we learned about on the tour.

The Eagle's Nest is a fortress-like structure built at the top-most part of the area near Berchtesgaden. It was a birthday present given to Hitler by the Nazi party. The strangest thing was that even though they spent a lot of money on it, he only visited it 14 times. The guide said that it was most likely because he was scared of heights. It is very ironic that this supposed symbolic building actually scared Hitler. It was very exciting to see the location that the  "Band of Brothers" overtook and occupied. The best part was the views of the surrounding mountains.

The second day of our trip was spent in Rothenburg ob der tauber. It is a medieval walled city that has never been destroyed. The walls still stand and the city is full of all the charm and history of a European destination.

We walked around the entire wall, enjoying the views of the city and imagining life back when the walls were built.

The famous clock represents the town story that the governor had to drink a huge glass of beer in one drink in order to save the city from destruction. He definitely took one for the team (*insert sarcasm).

Rothenburg is a great place to have coffee and cake, stroll the cobble-stone streets, and imagine what life was like hundreds of years ago. We will be back soon!

Overall, this trip reminded us that God is sovereign, evil will not prevail, and that even though life on earth is not always pretty, God has created this amazing world for us to enjoy and serve him in.