Leavenworth, WA - A Bavarian Themed Village

Our family always enjoys learning about other cultures, and this mini-vacation was no exception. We had the privilege of being invited by some good friends of ours to stay in a beautiful lodge near Leavenworth, WA. We took a day to enjoy the sites, tastes and sounds of the Bavarian-themed village. We started at 10AM and ended at 5PM. The kids did an amazing job of being careful in the little shops where items were just stuffed in. They didn't break a thing all day, and it would have been really easy to do, just by turning around in some of those places. 

Who can resist a knight in shining armor?

The key to the kids' longevity that day was to just keep feeding them, LOL. There were so many samples of cheese, smoked meats, bakery goods, ect, that it kept them quite satisfied. Here is a pic of Hailey, enjoying a fresh-baked pretzel with her daddy.

We loved the Christmas store. Amazing who much stuff was in that place.

They had so many nativity scenes. The kids accidentally broke the Joseph in my scene this last Christmas, so I was in the market for a new one. I managed to find a pretty one for only $26 at the Angel Store.

One of the cute buildings.

We wanted an authentic German lunch so we headed upstairs to one of the mainstay German restaurants. I determined I'm not a big fan of German food, too heavy. Not enough green for me. I like my sauerbrauten recipe better than what I had there. 

But it was on the top floor and we enjoyed the beautiful view of the main part of town. 

View of the May Pole from outside our window.

I think the kids enjoyed the Nutcracker museum most of all. I had no idea how many different nutcrackers there are AND how expensive they can be. They had everything from Elvis to Star Wars nutcrackers. They were so awesome! We lucked out and found two in the gift shop for only $10 a piece. They were used Indian and Pilgrim nutcrackers. Perfect Thanksgiving decorations! Kids were thrilled, and so was I as I had promised them a nutcracker earlier, having no idea who expensive they were!

Another beautifully painted building.

This bear was huge! Hailey loved him. He would have never fit in the car.

View of the May Pole, looking up from the ground. 

They had carriage rides.

Shot of part of the main section of town where all the cute shops were.

On our way home the next day, Hailey wanted to help her dad pump gas (you can't do that in Oregon). She thought she was pretty cool. Well, I didn't tell them that we weren't looking too cool as we went through the Tri-Cities area with a big blue sled strapped to the top of our Subaru when the weather was nearly 70 degrees, LOL. 

Another blessing about a long trip is that we got to listen to the rest of the Lamplighter Audio CDs and a whole volume of Jonathan Park CDs. It is so nice when they are wholesome stories the entire family can enjoy. We also got a lot of knitting done on our trip. We knitted a baby stocky cap and and OSU wash cloth.   Love having something to do with my hands on a long trip. How about you, how do you keep your kids occupied on a long trip?

God Bless,

Jackie