Eagle's Nest

Brian and I have been playing tour guide to my cousin Isaac, who is visiting from Texas. He has recently graduated from high school and wanted to see Germany. We are happy to have him here, and took him to Bavaria for a couple of days. The view up top is Hitler's Eagle's Nest. This structure was built to be a conference center or meeting place of sorts; it was never meant for sleeping. His house, which was later destroyed, was a little way down the mountains. Our tour guide told us that the only reason they allowed Eagle's Nest to stay open for tours was if absolutely no memorial or museum to Hitler was put in place. Because it is at the top of a mountain and has but one way to get to it through an elevator, or perhaps very brave and successful mountain climbers, there was no fear of the site becoming a "shrine" for someone who created such horror with his actions. It is now a restaurant and merely a stop on a tour, and otherwise a very beautiful mountain with gorgeous views. The two birds below were so perfectly perched, we had to take a picture of them.