Lori and Troy do Europe 2025

Today we got up early and caught the Incubator from Hell (bus) to the Eagles Nest. This is Hilters mountain hideaway. Fortunately Lori was in charge of transportation today as it was a bit tricky and I have a lot of trust to rebuild with my travel skills. This is about a 2.5hr bus ride to the top of this mountain in Germany’s Alps. The bus was packed and the driver was sick and coughing and if you know Lori she responds to coughs almost the same as seeing a mouse. Every cough resulted in a grip on my leg and a quiet “oh my god!” She eventually wrapped her sweater around her head and told me no less than 50 times that she hates buses and crowds. Of course the only way to get to these places is with the masses. We arrived at the first disease transfer and boarded #2 immediately. The next leg was very pretty with rivers running along the road and lots of mountain views. It was supposed to rain today but nothing yet and the skies are partly cloudy. We arrived at Leg number 3 which was a little more tricky. We were in the front row so we exited and thought we could beat everyone to the next bus. No such luck as it was a little hidden. We had to go down some stairs and then buy another ticket to the Eagles Nest.

We were assigned bus #3 of 4 buses that all leave at the same time. There is only a single lane road leading to the top. The logistics are pretty impressive and they leave timely for a good reason. About half way up you pass 4 buses parked in a designated spot coming down the mountain and until the 4 buses traveling up pass by these buses coming down have to be stopped and in their space on the side of the road or there will be some backing up going on, which you do not want to happen on this road. The views on the way up were spectacular and I wish the phone/camera could do it justice, we took some anyway.

We arrived at the top and followed the crowds to the entrance. There are 2 thick steel double doors with about a 20 ft space in-between them. Obviously fortified for Hitler. There is a long corridor that leads into the mountain where there is an arched room with an elevator. The elevator is brass and original. It takes an hour every morning to polish. About 30 people can fit in it and it brings you up the center of the mountain into the Eagles Nest. This place has a working restaurant that is privately run. The views are amazing!! We found a seat next to the wall and had breakfast. The mountain that it sits on is in the middle of several other mountains in the Alps, everywhere that you look you can see mountain tops. There were valleys too but it just seemed like you were in the middle of nowhere. There were nice views of a lake down below and we could even see Salzburg from here. There were some clouds but we could still see for miles.

We walked up a little farther where there were some benches that sat on the edge of a cliff. It was a pretty rough hike but we made it. We were only scheduled for 2 hours at the top so we headed back down to catch the bus down. The buses run regularly so it was easy to get on one. We sat on the same side of the bus as on the way up so that we could get beautiful views on the way down. Once down we did a little shopping at the gift shop and headed for the bus back down (leg #2). The only people at this bus stop were an older man and woman named Ronny and Maria. They were also waiting for the same bus. An hour later we were hitting it off pretty good with this couple and the bus was still not there. Lori was giving phone lessons to Ronny as they shared Italian family stories. A couple buses stopped but were full of children coming from school. Of course Lori would have none of that. Finally our bus arrived after about 1.5 hours. Now there were more people waiting than what could fit on an empty bus. We formed a plan with our new friends on entering the bus. I was going to block everyone and let Lori, Maria and Ronny enter. It worked flawlessly. We entered the bus to find it full of kids that were probably too ill to make the first to buses. They were sitting on the floor with video games in their hands and completely oblivious to the adults that were entering. One of the kids had to be physically moved to the side while still pecking away at his game. There was only standing room so we packed most everyone into the petri mobile as we watched sad/angry tourists pass by the window.

By the time we made it to the bus stop where we were supposed to make our change, Ronny asked if we had been to the Salt Mine yet. He said that Maria wanted to go and he did not. He thought that we could go with her. He had a car and it was about 15 minutes from his rented room which was within walking distance from the bus stop. We were having so much fun talking with them that we did not feel threatened. Did I mention that Ronny was 82 and from NYC. He was traveling with his friend Maria. Not dating or living in sin, I asked.

We went on the Salt Mine tour which took us down several levels. This mine has been active since the 1500’s. Everything is super old over here. Ronny waited in the car while the 3 of us toured the mine. It was pretty interesting and afterward Ronny picked us up at the door and asked where we wanted to go next. We felt like we were imposing already but they insisted that we ride with them to the Konigssee Lake. We could actually see itfrom the Eagles Nest. We agreed. We had a great time and they were really funny and fun. I think that they may have needed some outside stimulus because they wanted to go somewhere else after the lake. Well we had to still catch a bus and his rental car could not cross the border into Austria per his contract. So no ride home from Ronny and Maria. The Eagles Nest was in Germany and he said it was the last thing on his bucket list. I’m not sure what happens after you reach the end of one of those? Ronny talked us into going to a Bier Garten for some beer and ice cream. I like both of those, let’s go! We ordered up some beer and Apfelstrudel with Ice Cream. We had a great conversation and they dropped us off at the bus station. We will miss them!

We rode the bus back to the hotel, had some Japanese food and called it a night. Tomorrow is a travel day to Vienna and we do not have a hotel yet.