Thursday 1 August 2019
Today we leave Innerkrems and head north to Berchtesgaden in Germany. One more mountain pass and then it’s down hill almost all the way home. There is a real end of holiday feel to the day.
I’ve planned an interesting route out of Austria. Berchtesgaden sits in a valley surrounded by mountains that form the border with Austria to the south east of Salzburg. It is a National Park that protrudes into Austria in a circular bulge of land. The border is almost impenetrable from the south but there is a tiny back road that leads up from Golling and into Germany at the start of the Rossfeldring panorama toll road.
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| An impenetrable barrier of mountains |
We ride up the B99 over the Tauern mountains and through the big ski resort of Obertauern at the summit of the pass. It is a scenic road with fast sweepers and the occasional wide hairpin. Ski resorts that look magical in the winter snows are invariable ugly in the summer sun and Obertauern is no exception.
At Golling we turn off onto small back roads that wind up into the border mountains seeking a way through. Stickerman marks our passage on the border.
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| Stickerman strikes. Sneaking into Germany by the back door |
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| At he start of the Rossfeldring |
I was first introduced to this small toll road on the German side of the border by Charly Kaller more than ten years ago. It circles around a peak for around 10km and costs €6 for the privilege. On the next peak over, to the west, is Kelsteinhaus, Hitler’s summer house known as the Eagles Nest. It was a birthday present to the Führer from Martin Bormann. By all accounts Hitler didn’t like it much and did not visit very often.
Now there is a thriving tourist industry for visits there. You can no longer drive up but must take a shuttle bus from a car park down below. We’ve done it before so give it a miss this time. Just as well too as the house, now a restaurant, is shrouded in cloud.
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| Lunch on the Rossfeldring. The Eagles Nest is shrouded in cloud |
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| Lovely curves on the west side of the Rossfeldring |
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| A biker caning it down the curves |
Our destination for the night is a camp site we have used before. Camping Allweglehen has expanded somewhat since our last visit and it is heaving with camper vans and tents. There is a new swimming pool and ‘wellness centre’ (a big deal with the Germans and many hotels now boast ‘Wellness’ as a thing).
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| Tents up at Camping Allweglehen |
Obviously the site improvements been very good for business but unfortunately the costs are reflected in the current prices. With breakfast the next morning our overnight stay costs more than we paid for bed and breakfast at the Blue House in Slovenia a few days ago. As we do not use or require most of the facilities I don’t think we’ll be staying here again.
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| Beer, snap and cricket in the sunshine |
But for now we make the best of things. There is good beer and good food at the camp restaurant and the WiFi is now free and the test match is on Sky.
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| Kelsteinhaus aka The Eagles Nest on the skyline |
The heat has been building all day and there is a huge thunderstorm during the night. We remain snug in our tents and by morning the clouds have blown away and the sun soon burns the drifting mist from the valley sides.
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