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City of Leavenworth
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8 reviews for City of Leavenworth
I had a blast coming here. Lots of neat little shops, wine tasting, great food, and the Bavarian theme is pretty neat. Like Joolie said, you need to check out this place at least once in your life. I love the hillside surrounding this cute (and I never use the word "cute") city.
I wasn't really impressed with the nightlife. Yeah, there were some things to do, but it is kind of dead.
Zipzap Zubidy Bop!
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Leavenworth is a unique little town which does have several positives to note. #1 being the Munchen Haus. We've done the 2 1/2 hour drive over from Seattle twice and absolutely loved this place. Schocolat and the Cheesemonger Shop are two other places we highly recommend.
Our last trip to Leavenworth was on October 3rd, during Oktoberfest. We weren't as pleased with this visit. It was $15 to get into the festival, and then you purchased tickets to buy food, beer, wine, and souvenirs. The food looked like slop you would get at a bad cookout. We opted to head out of the festival and eat at the Munchen Haus. The beer and wine were $4/each inside the festival. There were 3 separate venues that had entertainment...singing, dancing, etc. It was interesting to check out each venue, but that wore out quite quickly. We looked around at all the people there, and wondered why we were there. People were sloppy drunk at 3:30 in the afternoon, and the majority of people were drinking beer 1L at a time. The craft booths were typical... think Saturday afternoon at a yard sale except for the prices have been inflated by 1000%. We did enjoy seeing many people wearing festive hats...just too bad most of them were drunk and blowing disgusting cigarette smoke our way.
We researched accommodations several weeks ago, and everything was booked and/or highly overpriced. We opted to drive over for the day, and are so glad that we did. We both agreed that our first trip over in March was much more enjoyable, and gave the small little village much more character and appreciation for us.
We were really hoping that Oktoberfest would have had more emphasis on German food and tradition... Wienerschnitzel, red cabbage, potato pancakes, dumplings, etc. Of course, those types of food are available at several restaurants in Leavenworth, which are outside of the festival...so I guess you could go and just not pay to get into the tent/venue areas.
So basically it kind of reminded me of being at a big house party in my small hometown in Indiana... Lots of people who think that getting as drunk as they can as fast as they can is one of life's greatest joys. We met a few college age people while we were eating, and they were giddy as can be at the prospect of people falling over drunk by the end of the night... I think the conversation went something like this:
Us: "So what does it get like later in the night?"
Them" DUDE.... It is going to get soooo out of hand. Drunk people everywhere. Dancing on tables...things get pretty interesting! It is going to be so awesome"
Us: Just picture a blank stare and friendly grin of acknowledgment.
So, keep in mind that we are both 30 years old now, so tolerance for stuff like this USUALLY runs out for most in your mid-twenties. However, if this is your cup of tea...have at it! We just wish we would have known ahead of time, so we could have made other plans.
We would certainly recommend a trip to Leavenworth any other time of the year. It was beautiful when everything was covered in snow in March, so perhaps Christmas would be a better time to visit.
As an able bodied person I find Leavenworth to be extremely cute and fun place to visit but visiting the city a few weekends ago with my mother, a handicapped person, I realized it's not very friendly to those with canes, walkers or wheelchairs. A lot of the restaurants and stores are up or down stairs with no signs to point you in the direction of an elevator or lift.
And if I remember correctly we saw one handicapped parking spot on Front Street and it was filled with motorcycles the rest are blocks away. Leavenworth does have good beer and cheese and wine and sausages and chocolates and shops but if you need to use a walker or cane or wheelchair it's not a very friendly town to visit.
As an able bodied person I give them a 5 but as a daughter of a handicapped parent I give them a 1, and the average of the two is three.
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A gimmicky town in the heart of the Cascades. Don't get me wrong that's not a bad thing, it's just a-matter-of-fact thing. No one would ever come to this town unless it had this charming facade of a Bavarian village. It's comical, it's charming, and it makes for a fun day trip from Seattle.
They hold several festivals throughout the year. The most well-known being Oktoberfest. We ventured out here and were not disappointed. Big beer tents, great food, fun bands, drunks, families, art, and noise. It was fun. If you want to stay in the city or overnight book way in advance. The city fills up quickly and the best places go fast.
They do have a winter festival that looks fun. But you will need chains to get here. And after seeing a real winter festival in Germany, I'm sure it won't measure up.
For us, the best thing out there was the drive. It was beautiful in the Fall. Lots of leaves, the rivers, the valleys, the mountains. All quite breathtaking. And not an overly long drive.
A good day trip overall.
Try the Whistling Pig - it's on tap and you can't buy it by the bottle. I wanted to bring some home, but it looks like I'll have to hunt for it at my favorite bars instead.
Visit the Hat Shop - everyone does it. You won't get lice, I promise.
Go wine tasting - eastern Washington is becoming the new wine phenomenon, and there are a ton of tasting shops downtown. No driving necessary!
Shop 'N' Gag - some of the stores will make you wish you'd go blind (ENOUGH tacky mugs and cheap statues!) but others will surprise you (well-made, classy clothing; metal waterfalls; a geode store with decent geodes). At the very least, you'll be entertained.
Go rent a cabin - the area is filled with private cabins that you can rent by the night. We found one within an hour of downtown Leavenworth, so we could get some peace and quiet before coming back to the hub-bub.
Did I just say "hub-bub"?
It's beautiful here and so kitschy it's hard to keep the grin off your face while visiting. The drive to Leavenworth from Seatlle is beautiful and not to be missed. Leavenworth itself is framed on all sides by huge pine covered pinnacles that add to the charm and whimsy. It's a fun place to go with family and enjoy a little Bavarian kitsch!
Going here tomorrow for our annual camping trip at Lk. Wenatchee. James & I make it a point to stroll around Leavenworth when we're there. So much to do, so little time! The german in me gets giddy when I'm here. Cheese, wine, beer hauses, etc. It's my heaven on earth. We haven't had the chance to dive into the restaurants and bars much in the past, but we did do some wine tasting last year. This year we'll make a trip to a few more spots and make reviews on those. There's a little of everything for everyone here. It's like Disneyland- you can't soak it in in just a few days.
it's a small town, but you have to come visit this place once in your life. something about this place makes my dad bring us here both in summer and winter time. which is probably the best time to visit Leavenworth. the wintertime is my favorite.
with icicles and beautiful blankets of snow all over. it's like a winter wonderland. children playing in the snow, people munching on belgian waffle cones, beautiful light displays, and cute lil shops and displays all over the village. it's quite an experience. i always go to the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory to visit "Truffles the Bear". in the spring/summertime he's in a Bavarian outfit... and during Christmas season (see picture section) he's in a Santa Suit.. cannot be any cuter! i always take a picture with him.
During the summer months, there's a lot to do. like rafting, crafts, big events, festivals, etc. and c'mon... it's a Bavarian town...BEER & SAUSAGES! lol. oh... and CHEESE. whatta town. love the architecture, too.
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