Leavenworth ist Wunderbar

One of our major destinations was the Bavarian village of Leavenworth, Washington.

Our campsite was a mile out of town. Steve met this fräulein on the way there. She was very welcoming!
Our first stop was at a bakery for culinary delights to fuel our walk.


We were here for the weekend's 59th Autumn Leaf Festival. We arrived a day early to avoid the crowds as we explored on our first visit here.
We decided a visit to the Upper Valley Historical Society Greater Leavenworth Museum would help us appreciate the town even more.
Our history lesson was provided by the President himself, Matt Cade, who shared his vast knowledge and love of Leavenworth with us. What an asset.
The history is way more than I can share here. Briefly, settlers hungry for gold, timber, and furs soon settled the area, and by 1890, Icicle Flats was born. The area exploded with the arrival of the rail line near the turn of the century. At that point, Leavenworth was a whole lot less Bavaria and a whole lot more Deadwood! The logging and sawmill business was great…until it wasn’t. When the railroad re-routed its rails and moved out of town, it almost turned Leavenworth into a ghost town. The area scuffled along for more than thirty years, always on the brink of extinction.

In the early 1960s, town leaders had a bright idea: change Leavenworth’s appearance to draw visitors. If the gorgeous alpine hills had no equal except in German Bavaria, the city planned on completing the experience.
This was no mere facelift. In addition to completely renovating the downtown area (leaving the historical buildings hidden but intact), community leaders created a series of festivals, drawing revelers into town. From there, the Autumn Leaf Festival, Maifest, and the immensely popular Christmas Lighting Festivals were born and continue to this day.




And boy did the town leaders do an amazing job. We truly felt transported to another continent.








A highlight of the day, for me, was a visit to the Leavenworth Nutcracker Museum.
There is no other tool or collectible that comes in as many designs and materials as the nutcracker and there is no greater variety in the world than that shown here.




From the nutting stones of the Archaic period to modern day acrylics---hand forged or molded metals from iron to silver and gold--various woods individually carved over the centuries or mass produced--bone, horn, ivory, and even porcelain.  The designs represent the artistic styles of the many periods or regional cultures or just that of a very talented individual—all created in the quest to retrieve the delicious morsel hidden inside the nutshell.




It is the only place in the world where you can see over 9,000 nutcrackers crafted in over 50 countries gathered together under one roof. It was almost overwhelming.




I have to showcase this one. It is a working nutcracker carved at the end of a matchstick. What an experience! I'd go back in a heartbeat because there is no way to see all 9,000 nutcrackers in one viewing. Almost overwhelming indeed. Wow.


One of the weekend's events was a three day Friends of the Library Book Sale. I have to admit, I visited the tents of books more than once.






Our meal was a traditional feast of wurst (veggie for me) at München Haus Bavarian Grill and Beer Garden. It was absolutely the right way to conclude Day 1 in Leavenworth.

We found much to love about Leavenworth and this was only our first day. Erstaunlich!

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1 comments:

Four Points Bulletin said...

I am glad you enjoyed yourself in this Disney-esque town. I know we did! If we are ever there again, we will go to the Nutcracker museum another time. It is impossible to notice the detail of 9,000 anythings.

October 8, 2022 at 10:11 AM

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