8.14.2019

Leavenworth in the Summer

I first heard of Leavenworth, Washington's enchanting little German village, as a Christmas destination. This August my family took a summer trip to Leavenworth, and we agreed it makes a lovely summer getaway too!

While there, I learned that Leavenworth took on a Bavarian theme in the 1960's after the railroad was rerouted away from the town. The idea was proposed to bring tourism into the area and keep the community thriving. From the quality and consistency of the streets, and the little village nestled in the mountains, you would think it had been that way forever! 

Activities 

We spent four nights in Leavenworth at an Air BnB condo. There are so many shops to wander, both of the t-shirt/suvenier variety and more one-of-a-kind and specialty shops. One of our favorites was the Christmas store- two stories of all the Christmas stuff you could ever imagine! (including sexy mer-man ornaments, and a tiny mirror with two mice looking at their reflection that made me laugh really hard). 
A big highlight was seeing two shows by Leavenworth Summer Theater. The amphitheater was up in the woods at a skiing area, with a stunning view of the mountains as the sun went down. I had so many shivers as Maria sung "the hills are alive with the sound of music" at our second show while watching the light play on the hills. We first saw Pirates of Penzance, which was hilarious. The productions had so much talent and were just excellent. I think outdoor theater is one of my very favorite things. 
My in-laws give everyone a nutcracker for Christmas each year (we have quite the collection) so we looked forward to visiting the Nutcracker museum. It is astounding how many Nutcrackers they have, and some really historical ones! We heard there was a scavenger hunt and were excited, but had no idea how difficult it would be. We each got a different list and spend almost two hours searching. I never found a banjo player, Maddie never found a three-legged man, and Daniel never found a man in a barrel. Those nutcracker makers really think of everything! 


We stopped by the nearby fish hatchery, which was a nice place for a walk and mellow activity. The scenery was awesome. I loved watching the mist burn off the mountains each morning. 
We enjoyed another walk by the river and onto a little island, passing by this stunning resort. We also saw many people floating the river, which we will check out next time. 
Leavenworth has two mini golf courses, we played one of them. It echoes the town's Bavarian charm. 
We took a little side trip to Cashmere, mostly for Apple Annie's Antique Gallery, boasted to be one of the must-see antique malls in the USA! It was HUGE. There's a really cute 1950's themed diner in there that we enjoyed. We also toured the Aplets & Cotlets factory, which was really random but fun. 


Food

The trademark cuisine of Leavenworth is, of course, German food. We enjoyed a couple of German meals (and pretzels). My favorite German cuisine restaurant was Rhein Haus. Honestly, German food isn't super up my alley- I really like dishes with lots going on, lots of produce and unique flavors, and I'm not a big meat or bread eater. What I liked so much about Rhein Haus was the sausage I ordered- an apple chicken sausage with goat cheese, apple chips, and apple butter. Now that's more my style! 
We also really enjoyed their raddlers on tap with a variety of fruit flavors. 
We had great pizza at Rudloof's, they had a nice outdoor eating area. 
One of my favorite meals was at South, a Latin American restaurant. I had a Cubano Burrito, complete with fried bananas and lots of veggies, and they had an awesome salsa bar. 
The hit ice cream place was Whistlepunk, I had Chai Honeycomb. Yum. I'm trying to do a better job listening to my anti-ice cream tummy (sad) so that's the only ice cream I got out. 

 We enjoyed flights of cider at Leavenworth Cider House, they had some great unique flavors. My favorite was vanilla bean, another hit was lemon and basil.
While visiting Leavenworth at Christmas time would no doubt be magical, it had plenty of charm, adventure, and enchantment in the summer too. I loved being able to explore in both the daytime and evening. Many thanks to my wonderful in-laws for this trip!  Have you been to Leavenworth, or any other internationally themed towns within the US? Let me know in the comments below! 


        For more Pacific Northwest travel, check out my posts on Walla Walla, Ashland, San Francisco, and Seattle. Image to pin below for your travel dreams board:

6 comments:

  1. What a fun little town! I had never heard of it - but it looks like the perfect vacation spot. Have a great day!

    Lisa
    Daily Style Finds

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  2. I've never heard of Leavenworth before but it looks like such a cute place to visit! The food looks delicious, too!

    https://colorandgrace.com/

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  3. I've been wanting to go to Leavenworth! Also, that nutcracker museum scavenger hunt looks amazing, but... seriously, a Hitler nutcracker?!?!

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    1. Right?! There were several questionable historical nutcrackers...

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  4. I've been to Leavenworth for the holidays and it's such a cute escape!

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  5. I've never been to Leavenworth, and I love that you took a trip there in the summer even though it's known as a holiday getaway. Looks like a cute destination, and the scavenger hunt at the Nutcracker Museum sounds like so much fun. Thanks for sharing!

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