The weather looked promising today so we decided to visit country number 8 of our trip and nip the 10 miles over the border into Germany. Just for a change, the road there was extremely scenic with the usual pretty houses, meadows and mountains, and we headed for Ramsau, an attractive village with what is purported to be the most photographed church in Germany.


 We parked by the river for free (most unusual in this part of the world) and walked up to see the church. It is in a lovely setting, with the river in the foreground and mountains behind, but I do have to say we've seen equally impressive churches in other places. The graveyard however really IS beautiful, with very small beautifully tended graves with such a variety of headstones, many containing pictures of the deceased and all with colourful flowers.


 The church is only small but the interior is lovely, with an impressive altar at the front and the rear organ balcony has carvings of 12 saints across it. We walked back to the car and set off for Berchtesgaden as we were getting decidedly peckish, and to our next destination – the salt mines.

 
 I know this sounds to be an unusual choice of activity, but they came highly recommended by some friends so we thought we’d grab a snack there before going on the tour. There was a snack bar at the entrance but it only had drinks & crisps so we went to the restaurant opposite; anyone who knows us will know that we don’t often eat in restaurants (that mean Yorkshire streak) but we had no choice – but what a find it was.


 We had a bit of a sign-language chat with the waiter then I chose a jacket potato (€4.90) & hubby opted for a €5 salad. When they came we burst out laughing because they were both amazing: his salad was HUGE, the plate more than a foot across and completely full of salad, and my potato with sour cream dip was nestled inside a large foil swan! They were extremely tasty too, far more than the "snack" we’d been expecting.


 The tour itself was great, a bit touristy but very interesting too. Our first job was to put on boiler suits in a very fetching (not!) navy with reflective bands. The girl giving them out was obviously used to sizing up people as she took one look and handed us suits; I don’t know what she saw when she looked at me, but my suit’s crotch was somewhere around my knees.....note to self: must join a gym when we get back home. Anyway, once suited up we climbed aboard a sit-astride train for the journey into the mine. The entrance tunnel was very small and I did wonder if my mild claustrophobia was going to let me enjoy the tour, but it opened out into wider places and I felt OK, thank goodness.


 We had hand-held audio guides in English which activated automatically at points of interest – they were very informative and we learned a lot. We got off the train and watched a light show projected on the walls of the cave showing how the salt crystals were formed, then descended to the next level .....on a giant slide made of wood! You had to sit on it in pairs/3s/whatever size your group was, and just lean back and go: I couldn’t believe how steep it was and shut my eyes whilst clinging desperately onto Hubby, as the photograph will attest....It was so awful I just had to purchase it.


 One of the most interesting parts was the Treasure Cave which was full of interactive screens so you could learn all about salt and the human body, and another was the “lab” where it explained about the crystal structure and mining process. There was another slide involved (I was more adventurous this time and looked the whole way, but there was no photo of that, dammit!) then we boarded a flat barge in the Lake Room. As we crossed the expanse of water, LEDs on the distant walls lit up in the shape of salt crystals, making the whole thing quite ethereal. Next came a funicular lift (we had to gain the height we’d lost on those slides) to look at the old mining tools and extraction machines from 1880, then we were back on the train heading for the exit, which seemed much warmer than the 12° down in the mine. A most interesting visit, but not one for the faint-hearted.


 Back in the outside world again, and continuing in our touristy vein, we drove along to visit the Eagle’s Nest: this was Hitler’s summer retreat and perches on top of a mountain. It was built by party workers in the 1930s and given by Martin Boormann to Hitler for his 50^th birthday; it was a strange gift – a house full of windows over 6000ft up given to a man who was afraid of heights....but for everyone else, the views from the top are terrific. 


 You have to board a bus to travel the 4mile winding road up there, then continue another 450ft in a shiny brass elevator. It is slightly disappointing in terms of the actual building as it is now a restaurant/bar and the only way to see any other part of it is to join a guided tour – but you can’t join at the top (at least, we couldn’t see anywhere to do it) and they don’t tell you that until you’re on the bus. 

 
  Anyway, the views more than make up for it: there is a 360° panorama of Lake Konigsee and various ranges of alps, the highest being 2719m, and mostly covered with snow. There are also great views down into the valley and over the town of Berchtesgaden, plus you can continue on up the path to a marker cross for even higher views.

 
 We stayed up there for about an hour, drinking in the scenery and taking picture after picture, then eventually got the bus back down and so to the car and back to Lofer. It had been a very interesting day, and although we were among crowds most of the way, they didn’t really detract from our enjoyment.