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Willkommen
Welcome to one of our family's favorite vacation spots. Nestled among apple orchards on the eastern base of the Cascade Mountains in Washington state, is a magical little village called Leavenworth. Known as the Bavarian Village, the Christmas Village, and the Little German Town, it's the perfect place to feel like you're on an expensive European vacation right here in the Northwest.
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| A view of Front Street, Leavenworth, WA. |
The air smells of a luscious blend of pine covered mountains, sausages with sauerkraut, and fresh baked gingerbread. In this village you are likely to see lederhosen, beer steins, horse drawn carriages, and during the holiday season Father Christmas strolls the streets with his woodland elves. (Yes I said elves!)
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| A Bavarian building with painted murals of local wildlife. |
It's a magical place for kids and adults alike. Spring is celebrated with a parade and costumed Bavarian dancers lace ribbons around a May Day Pole erected in the center of town. Summer brings hundreds of hanging flower baskets and window boxes overflowing with showy blooms showcasing Bavarian architectural details on the buildings. World class golf, inner tubing a lazy river, eating homemade goodies at umbrella shaded tables, shopping for art in the park, wine tastings, or drinking local micro-brews from ice cold beer steins are among some of the fun activities you can do in the Summer here.
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| The entire town of Leavenworth has Bavarian architecture. |
In Autumn while the town celebrates the Autumn Leaf Festival and people literally dance in the streets for Oktoberfest, the surrounding hills become a vibrant mix of red, orange and gold. It's one of the best times of the year to join a local wine tasting tour. Not only can you hire a car & driver to take you on a tour of the best valley views, but it's harvest time, and many of the local wineries feature specialty farm-to-table dinners created by local chefs.
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| Flower baskets in front of Kris Kringl, a shop dedicated to all things Christmas. |
In the Winter people from far and wide travel to this snowy wonderland to watch the Tree Lighting Ceremony. The entire town sparkles with Christmas lights. Leavenworth's streets becomes a place where Father Christmas and his elves greet visitors, street vendors sell hot cider, roasted nuts, fresh kettle corn, handmade wooden toys, and ornaments, and fire barrels are warm gathering spots for those enjoying the holiday atmosphere. The sloped lawn in the center of town, now blanketed with snow, becomes a sledding hill for kids of all ages, and many families take advantage of the well groomed cross country skiing trails that run through town or the nearby ski resorts.
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| The sign for the Gingerbread Factory. |
Our family has had a long love affair with the little town of Leavenworth. It's the backdrop for many happy memories; hot summer days floating the lazy river, watching salmon jump the fish ladder at the Icicle River Dam, picking out apples at roadside farm stands for fresh apple cider with my grandparents, autumn leaves falling in the park while my cousins and I did the chicken dance to accordion music during Oktoberfest, making gingerbread houses at the Gingerbread Factory, gathering perfect pine cones in the surrounding mountains, and my favorite memory; sledding at night. While sledding with my cousins on the town sledding hill, the Christmas lights set the snow aglow while big snowflakes fell. It made me feel like I was in a life-sized snow globe. After thoroughly freezing ourselves sledding for hours, my family and I would gather around a fire barrel sipping on hot apple cider or hot cocoa.
One of the things I like the best about Leavenworth is that it's a place where people go to be happy and every day is a celebration. That's how life really should be. I hope you have the opportunity to make some memories in this unique little town. Below I've attached links to some of our favorite spots as well as the City of Leavenworth and visitors borough help you plan your vacation in the Christmas Village.
Hi Jenn,
ReplyDeleteMy name is Toni and I'm with Dwellable.
I was looking for blogs about Leavenworth to share on our site and I came across your story...If you're open to it, I would love to feature your story about this great Bavarian town. Please shoot me an email at toni(at)dwellable(dot)com.
Hope to hear from you soon!
-Toni