DAY 4 / SUNDAY / MAY 31 EAGLE'S NEST GROSSGLOCKNER ROAD OVERNIGHT IN HEILIGENBLUT Cross the border back into Germany and Bavaria to visit Berchtesgaden, whose setting below the many summits of the Watzmann Mountain is among the most outstanding in Bavaria.   Adolf Hitler visited Berchtesgaden in 1923 and was so impressed by the alpine landscape that he decided to settle on the Obersalzburg at the foot of the Kehlstein.   The Nazi dictator's retreat at 1834 meters above sea level offers spectacular views. It was built for Der Führer under the direction of his secretary, Martin Bormann.   The road leading from the Obersalzburg to the Eagle's Nest parking lot is a feat of engineering. In only 13 months, it was blasted out of solid rock, making a road that is unique in the world.   The great difference in elevation from start to finish is reached using only one hairpin turn.   Take a 400-foot elevator ride through a shaft in the Kehlstein Mountain to the summit.   From Bertesgaden, we drive on to Zell am See, considered central Austria's premier lake resort town because of its breath-taking scenery. The town is surrounded by mountains that form a glorious panorama of peaks.   Our afternoon journey into the Hohe Tauern National Park, the largest nature reserve in Central Europe, will be one of the greatest drives of your life. Steinbock Ibex   Our afternoon journey takes us into our third Austrian province, Kärnten (Carinthia.)   This trip into the Hohe Tauern National Park, the largest nature reserve in Central Europe, will be one of the greatest drives of your life.   Grossglockner Road, the longest and most splendid alpine highway in Europe, climbs to 8,220 feet and takes you through almost every non-tropical climatic and vegetation zone.   The road follows the old Roman mountain trail and offers what many feel are the most beautiful and spectacular mountain vistas in all Europe!   En route we stop at the Alpine Museum to see its permanent multi-media exhibit, The Fascination of Life above the Tree Line - Learning about Alpine Ecology. Leontopodium Alpinum Edelweiss DAY 5 / MONDAY / JUNE 1 DAY FREE IN HEILIGENBLUT OVERNIGHT IN HEILIGENBLUT Hohe Tauern National Park Today is a free day to recuperate from the rigors of traveling and enjoy the splendid mountain scenery in this isolated and unspoiled village.   The village of Heiligenblut (Holy Blood) in the Austrian province of Kärnten (Carinthia) is surrounded by the 68 peaks of the Glockner mountain range.   Age-old traditions of the region hark back to the medieval gold miners and the ancient Romans. The name Heiligenblut derives from a legend connected to the Roman trail over the Alps.   St. Briccius , a Byzantine field-marshall, a Dane by birth, died in a snow storm here, as he was on his way across the Alps bearing a relic of Jesus Christ's holy blood.   Today the church tower of Heiligenblut touches the sky above his grave. The church also holds another treasure: one of the most beautiful gothic altar pieces made by master sculptor Michael Pacher.

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