I've neglected posting for a while because I've been busy travelling. On the 4th Cass and I went up to the Eagle's Nest, a secluded alcove of a spot high high high up in the Bavarian Alps. Martin Bormann conceived of the idea as a 50th birthday gift for Hitler. The mountain that it's built on had no previous structures; it's a gorgeous area, untraversable during winter, prone to sudden fog and showers, with fleeting sunlight, all which gives the whole place an ephemeral atmosphere. Hitler used it for official occasions, entertaining/impressing ambassadors and diplomats, etc., a grand total of 14 times, with perhaps as many private visits. The inflation adjusted cost of the project - $150 million, which means his visits cost somewhere around $5-6 million each. I wonder if Bormann thought about this five years later when Hitler was encouraging Berliners to cut basic supplies to support the then failing war effort. When Bormann told him about the project initially Hitler said, "Oh well, I probably won't use it much," which was true.