The biggest draw for us was the trick fountains versus the palace or the gazebo featured in the…read moreSound of Music. We took the bus to Hellbrunn and the stop was around 10 minutes walk to Hellbrunn. The bus was free since we had the Salzburg Pass. We obtained our timed entry tickets from the gift shop. Timed tickets were needed for the trick fountains versus the palace which could be entered anytime. We spent one hour for the walk through all the trick fountains and half an hour inside the palace. One caveat about the trick fountains, the first entry timeslot required waiting around the first fountain until enough other visitors arrived. The grounds team would then man the control boxes/valves and manually turn them on to control the fountains and the tricks. This repeated at each stop on the map. No automation just old school, hundreds of years old tech. Definitely take the time linger at each stop as some were elaborately designed fountains, grottoes, gardens, statues or water powered mechanical figures. The staff definitely caught us and many others with surprise squirts of water from hidden spouts in the ground, walls or ceiling (especially in the Neptune Grotto). The floating crown was another must experience grotto. The mechanical theatre, with its three stories of moving townsfolk figures (all powered by water), was the ending highlight of the walk. The Palace itself was well maintained and contained exhibits about the palace, fountains and the original owner the Prince Archbishop. The stuffed "unicorn" will catch your attention. Well worth taking the bus ride from Salzburg.

Since we had the 24 hour Salzburg Visitor card, we stopped at the Hellbrunn palace on the way back…read morefrom the Untersberg cable car experience. I wanted to come here since the Gazebo from the Sound of Music (where Liesl sings 16 going on 17) is here. The tour of the palace highlights the "Trick Fountains" which are really interesting, fun and surprisingly artistic. As you walk around these fountains, there are times when they suddenly spew water, getting unsuspected guests a bit wet.... The palace was built in 1613-19 and named for the "clear spring" that supplied it. Hellbrunn was only meant for use as a day residence in summer, as the Archbishop usually returned to Salzburg in the evening; therefore, there is no bedrooms in Hellbrunn. The place has plenty of beautifully landscaped green spaces and it is just a marvel of what hydraulics can do. There's a cute cafe and a souvenir shop on the grounds.

Pro: The view, the history, and the crazy bus ride up and down the mountain…read more Con: The history, crazy bus ride is not for the weak. You will have to get a bus up the mountain from the bus station down the mountain, we had a rental car and it was only about 20 minutes from the central bus station in town. Once you get your ticket, go to the number of the bus at the platform, it's numbered 1 to 4. Get your merch after you come back down the mountain. The new electric buses going up the side is smooth and quiet. Info on the ride is first given in German than in English. Sit on the right side of the bus for pictures going up, left side when coming back down. Once you are up at the upper bus stop, you can walk into the tunnel for the elevator or take the 30 minutes crazy hike up to the Eagle's Nest. The tunnel is damp and wet from the moisture of the mountain, quite eerie in the tunnel and the elevator have an operator going up and down. At the top, you exit out in the tea house, where you can walk around 360 degree of the tea house. Where you exit from the elevator is where you will line up to go back down. The restaurant is both inside and outside, so pick which side you would want to see and dine accordingly. We got unlucky with cloud for the 1st hour we were up at the nest, but when it cleared up, the view was out of this world.

Mark G. is my hubs, and I have to say, his review nailed it. He literally hit every point! This was…read morea must-see, bucket list destination, as we both have an interest with WW2 stuff. The views are SPECTACULAR! We stayed in Salzburg and had a rented car. The Kehlsteinhaus was about a 25-30 minute (very easy) drive from our hotel. Crossing the border from Austria into Germany was as easy as crossing state lines...no border patrol to worry about! Like Mark said, it is crowded, and you do need to decide how long you want to stay. What he didn't mention, is that the buses that take you up to the top, were specially built to handle the incline and change in altitude. This is why no personal vehicles are allowed. If you are afraid of heights, the best piece of advice that I can give you is to look at the floor of the bus. The road to the top is narrow, and there are very few, if any guard rails. Once you get above the tree line, you get great views, however! Once at the top, you still have another 100-200 feet to go, but this is in a brass elevator in the mountain! The building at the top is large, but easy to navigate through. The attraction inside is a red marble fireplace, which has numerous chunks missing due to the allies taking chippings as souvenirs. Take as much time as you need, but make sure you get outside to see the valleys all around, and catch a glimpse of the Königsee. You're in the Alps, people! Woo hoo!!!! 38/2020

Schonau am Konigssee is one of the most beautiful places in Germany, and no visit to Germany would…read morebe complete without a scenic boat tour on the majestic fjord. Bayerische Seen-Schiffahrt is the company that provides these electric boat tours to tourists at a modest cost. This was the highlight of our vacation to Germany. The echo achieved by the captain's flugelhorn echoing off the mountains is quite moving. It's easy to find the ticket kiosk along the pier--it's a short 5-minute walk from the Tourist Information center. The beauty on this lake is just stunning. Bring a good camera. It seems like no matter how many photos you take, you can never fit it all in. On their (English version) website you can see they offer different options, including time to see the Eiskappel or to go hiking. It's up to you.

A must see when visiting Berchtesgaden. This distillery offers a wide range of shots (schnapps)…read moremainly from Berchtesgaden. There is a hall that shows the history and distilling process. There is also a souvenir shop that offers plenty of free samples. Don't forget to walk outside and enter the little cabin found on the left side of the distillery. You don't need to book a tour.

I was traveling with my two college-aged children, and we had just visited Eagle's Nest (which is…read morevery nearby). We figured, if we are in Germany, we might as well learn about schnapps! It is very easy to find and a very colorful building. We didn't take the tour, but went right into the gift shop and started looking around. I have never seen so many flavors of schnapps in my life! Everything came in the little, miniature bottles, as well as medium and larger sized bottles. They have trays of samples throughout the store of 6-7 different types that you can try with small, almost thimble sized shot glasses. If you want to try a sample of a flavor not on the trays, just go up to the bar area in the middle of the store and ask for it. We tried several samples at the bar - the legal drinking age is 16 for beer/wine, 18 for alcohol. My kids are 19 and 21 (although they look younger), so they asked me if they were old enough and I said yes and that was that - no checking of ID's or anything. We settled on the Blood Orange Schnapps (which was delicious!) and the miniature bottles are 1 euro each which was quite a bargain we thought. After you leave the store don't go right back to your car - behind the store is the most amazingly clear river. You can stand on an overlook to see it - and it is literally clear! You can see every rock, pebble or fish all the way to the bottom and it was just gorgeous! So make sure you take a look. Definitely stop here to taste some German culture!

The dwarfes made of Untersburg marble were created in 1690, making it the oldest dwarf garden in…read moreEurope. They are located west of the Pegasus Fountain up some steps flanked by two stone lions. They are on stonoe plinths and there are a few vacant plinths of missing dwarfs so you can pose alongside. Benches to sit on and ponder.