I went to Berchtesgaden when I was on my 2nd Germany tour in 1993. It was one of the few rewards to Gulf War vets, a free 3 day vacation there. Truely was a beautiful area. AFRC ran it. Shame they were turned back over to the German Gov't in 1995. I am not sure of the wisdom, or maybe Germany is still trying to erase what happened in WW2. But most of the landmarks in Berchtesgaden are gone. I stayed at the Gen Walker Hotel, formerly known as the Platterhof. I have a few pictures of it, and the old bombed out SS building. It was off limits, but I went into it anyway. Of all the buildings from WW2, this one was left as it was, and never renovated. You couldn't go up into the 2nd floor, but on the first floor, you could see where the bombs hit, and the huge hole in the 2nd floor was just hanging there. Hard to describe, but for me, it was like a family full circle. My dad was in the mighty 8th in WW2, and I was a WW2 buff anyway.