Steins and Brats

 Just a few miles north of us, tucked away in a small valley in the Cascades, lies the small Bavarian town of Leavenworth, Washington. Located at the confluence of Icicle Creek and the Wenatchee River, it was first named Icicle Flats by John Emig and Nicholas Kersherf in 1885, but renamed Leavenworth when it was rebuilt after a fire. Charles Leavenworth surveyed the site and laid out streets and was a relative of Henry Leavenworth, the founder of Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. As with so many small towns, the arrival of the railroad brought prosperity. The Stevens Pass Route connected Seattle and Wenatchee, was the final section of the Great Northern Railway, and had a stop in Leavenworth.

The town has been reborn as a Bavarian village, and glistens, they say, around Christmas with up to 9 feet of snow! Today was a pleasant 84 degrees, and we enjoyed a stroll through the main shopping district. However our first problem was finding a parking space. Street parking is limited and expensive but we found a parking lot about a quarter of a mile away for $10 a day. There was a hill, however…..

That’s our truck on the extreme right, next to the blue box. At the point of the photo we were about half way up the hill!

Check it out! A citywide mandate has resulted in traditional architecture throughout the city.

The view from our restaurant was pretty cool (and yes a couple of brats appeared on the table).

Saddling up for the trek downhill to the truck, we had to snap a photo.

Leavenworth is the quintessential tourist town. Dozens of hotels, more dozens of restaurants and enough tee shirt shops to carpet a path to the moon. It is set in a beautiful valley, however, and a visitor’s every wish can be satisfied. There is even a cool little tram ride that takes a rider in their own car, up a mountain and then turns them loose to navigate a track down to the bottom!

Where else can you do that?