We had a walk in Waterfront Park on a really lovely day in April. I think the photos say it all.
Archive for the ‘Leavenworth’ Category
Reflections of Leavenworth
Friday, May 9th, 2014Accidental Bavarians at Bavarian Lodge
Saturday, May 3rd, 2014What a fantastic long weekend we just spent in Leavenworth WA. There wasn’t a festival or a special occasion to celebrate, just a need to get away and a welcoming invitation.
Brooke at the Bavarian Lodge had invited us months ago to stay at the hotel for a weekend. We’ve had lots of family and work related circumstances that kept us from taking her up on her offer until now. It was definitely worth the wait to get away for a three night stay.
The Bavarian Lodge stands on US Highway 2, directly across from Front Street and the Gazebo in the park. It’s undergoing a major expansion, but don’t be put off by the scaffolding. We still found the hotel quiet and restful.
Our standard double queen room was lovely. It was well decorated. I especially appreciated the leather arm chair and the soft, warm throw. It was really nice to snuggle up under the throw while we watched movies from the Lodge’s extensive DVD collection. The room also had a microwave, fridge and coffee set-up. But if you don’t want to make coffee in your room, there’s a beverage station in the lobby where coffee, hot water and tea, chocolate and cider are available 24/7.
Despite looking out on US 2, our room was quiet when the window was closed. The only downside to our room was the noise of children in the room above us, running back and forth and jumping off of the beds above our heads. If they had not quieted down at 11 o’clock, Scotte may have had to complain to the front desk. We were glad he didn’t have to, but know that the desk would have dealt with it, had it been necessary. The Bavarian Lodge is a family hotel, so the noise of children is to be expected, though it did remind us to ask for a top floor room every time we plan a hotel stay.
We took a peek at the turret suite on our floor. It was beautifully luxurious. It would make a lovely romantic get-away. It includes a spa tub that looks out on the town center.
We have never encountered a friendlier hotel and front desk staff in our travels. (Well, except for Disney® Parks cast members, but that’s an extreme standard.) Every time we entered or exited the hotel, we were greeted with friendly hellos or offered restaurant and sightseeing advice. We also found the housekeeping and breakfast service staff very friendly and welcoming. Brooke told us it’s one of the things she likes most about working for the Bavarian Lodge. She said it’s really a family and she’s proud to be a part of it.
The breakfast buffet was what you’d expect, except that the attention to detail was quite high. The standard hotel waffle station was elevated by the addition of strawberries and whipped cream on Sunday. The weekday syrup and butter were plentiful as were the peanut butter and jam. There was cold cereal, fresh baked scones and muffins and a toaster with a variety of bread. Each morning a different egg dish, a breakfast meat and potatoes were available, as well as biscuits and gravy. The breakfast room is large and comfortably decorated. It was easy to linger over our newspaper and Starbucks® coffee and juice. Breakfast is available in the ground floor breakfast room 7-10am weekdays, 7-10:30am on Saturday and Sunday.
On the Monday morning of our stay, Brooke took us on a tour of the addition. We got to see just how much work and planning is going into the new, luxury rooms. Each of them will have a fireplace and a glass shower enclosure. City center facing rooms will each have a balcony from which you can enjoy the sights and sounds of Leavenworth’s many festivals. The rooms facing away from the city center will also have balconies and will look out on a new patio area. The remodeled hotel will also have a brand-new wine bar. The addition and wine bar will have the same comfortable lodge style design as the rest of the hotel. Reservations for the new rooms began August 15, 2014. If you don’t yet have a reservation for Oktoberfest or Christmas Lighting, call asap to see if you can snag one of the new rooms for Leavenworth’s busiest festivals.
While we stayed at the Bavarian Lodge as their guests, this post is our own opinion and not written in exchange for our stay.
Update: Romance in Leavenworth
Tuesday, February 4th, 2014
Snowy Mountains surround Leavenworth WA
Valentines Day will be here and gone before you know it. Leavenworth WA is the best place to romance your sweetheart. This post is an update to a post from past years. I’ve refreshed it with some new dates and new links.
Several downtown Leavenworth hotels and inns offer romance packages with options like couples’ massages, in-room champagne service, and late check out. Icicle Village Resort has a Sweet Indulgence Getaway that includes plush bathrobes to take home with you.
Dream House Suites sometimes has limited availability for Valentine’s Day but they often have last minute availability, so call if you’re still looking for accommodations. If you can snag a suite here, do it. We’ve stayed here and loved the clean and comfortable room. With only four suites you’ll enjoy your privacy. The service was friendly but non-intrusive. Every suite offers mountain or Front Street views.
Alpen Rose Inn has customizable romance packages. The Wine Country Tour includes a guided tasting tour, by limousine, to three lovely wineries. This Valentine’s Day you can ask about booking a snowmobile tour or a romantic sleigh ride.
Or check your favorite hotels for their romance packages. Some with packages include: Bavarian Lodge and Obertal Inn.
Pine River Ranch is the ultimate in luxurious romance. Featured in The Best Places to Kiss in the Northwest: A Romantic Travel Guide the beautiful suites have fireplaces and Jacuzzi spas. The hosts deliver a gourmet breakfast to your suite for the ultimate romantic breakfast in bed. It’s 14 miles outside of Leavenworth for a true getaway. As of this writing, Pine River Ranch has a few openings for Sunday and Monday of Valentine’s Day weekend. They offer several winter packages that include romantic sleigh rides, and activities like snowshoeing and skiing. Pine River Ranch is also a beautiful and romantic wedding destination.
We have several favorite romantic dining spots in Leavenworth. The Alley Cafe has been featured in “Best Places to Kiss.” It’s intimate Italian dining.
SOUTH is fun, fresh Mexican dining. They offer a casual atmosphere and original recipe cocktails that change with the season. They’re now offering breakfast on the weekends. Try the Molé sauce. It’s fantastic.
What’s a romantic getaway without delightful sweets? Looking for chocolate? (And really, who isn’t?) Try lovely hand made Belgian chocolates at Schocolat. Fresh and unique flavors such as ginger, pink sea salt, and rum raisin along with lovely caramels and fruit creams.
Or stop at Visconte’s Via Dolce for gelato and espresso. Mix the two and you have an affogato. Yum! You’ll think you’re in Europe again.
Take time for a romantic walk after dinner. The crowds of Christmas Lighting Festival have passed but the glorious lights still decorate Front Street.
You’ll want to have your cross-country skis or snowshoes along. If the snow is fresh and deep, find your way to Blackbird Island in Waterfront Park, a birdwatcher’s paradise, just two blocks from the shops of Front Street. Hiking boots will usually do if snowshoeing is not your thing. Don’t forget your camera.
If you’re staying at one of our favorite hotels, the very romantic Enzian Inn, you’ll enjoy complimentary use of their Nordic skis, boots and poles. Take the air all around Leavenworth, then come back to your room at Enzian Inn to warm up in your jetted tub or walk-in shower. Snuggle by your own fireplace or join other guests in the lobby next to the roaring fire and antique grand piano. The next morning you can sleep in and stroll to the 4th floor breakfast room for a delicious breakfast with made-to-order omelets and freshly baked pastries and bread. Enjoy your breakfast with brewed Starbucks coffee and an amazing view of the surrounding mountains.
Valentine’s Day Weekend, February 14-17, 2014 is the date for the Leavenworth Wine and Chocolate Festival. Wineries throughout the Wenatchee Valley will celebrate the wonderful pairing of local red wine and fine chocolate. Check back with our TNBT page to find out the latest on this new Festival for Leavenworth.
For more ideas for your romantic getaway visit our Romance page. We’ve listed a lot of ideas for couples. You’ll also find links to many more places to stay.
Trip Advisor Ten Romantic Leavenworth Hotels
Leavenworth is only a short drive or train ride away from all major cities in Washington State. So close and yet it seems so far from your everyday life.
Magic of sauerkraut, updated
Friday, January 10th, 2014This is an update of a post that appeared first in October, 2011. Winter is a perfect time to eat sauerkraut, though we haven’t found a season where we don’t require a little bit of sauerkraut to make our Leavenworth visit complete. It seems a good time to take another look at one of our favorite Leavenworth treats: sauerkraut.
From the original post: One of the things we look forward to in Leavenworth is eating sauerkraut. We rarely eat it at home, with the exception of using it to top a hotdog at a local baseball game. But when we get to Leavenworth it only takes one whiff of sauerkraut in the air coming from one of the several restaurants serving German cuisine and we’re planning when we’ll get our first bite. And if you walk by München Haus when you’re hungry? ….Forget about it!
What is sauerkraut?
sau·er·kraut/ˈsou(ə)rˌkrout/
Noun: Chopped cabbage that has been pickled in brine.
“Sauerkraut is a great source of iron, vitamin K and vitamin C, which is another reason it was popular on seafaring vessels. It also helps the good bacteria in your body stay healthy and, in turn, keep you healthy. It is a great food for people taking antibiotics to eat because the medicine kills both good and bad bacteria.” Read more at eHow.
There are many other vegetables that are preserved by a similar process.
Korean kimchi
Japanese tsukemono
Chinese suan cai
Filipino atchara
“Sauerkraut is made by a process of pickling called lacto-fermentation that is analogous to how traditional (not heat-treated) pickled cucumbers and kimchi are made. Fully-cured sauerkraut keeps for several months in an airtight container stored at or below 15 °C (59 °F). Neither refrigeration nor pasteurization is required, although these treatments prolong storage life.” Wikipedia
Some of the 101 ways to eat sauerkraut from the Accidental Bavarian Eat page:
- On a brat!
- A little bit with each bit of whatever bit you’re eating
- With scrambled eggs
- A sweet sauerkraut with pork roast
- With a dollop of fancy mustard
- Mit Deutsch Kartoffelsalat (potato salad)
- Mixed up with spatzle
- On a corned beef sandwich
- On dark Bavarian rye bread
- Straight from the jar
- On pizza
- Twirl vs slurp?
- On waffles
- Maybe a sauerkraut milkshake?
- Under mushroom sauce
- With onions
- Under melted Swiss cheese
- Winekraut and Schweinshax’n
Still unconvinced? Rather than eating sauerkraut plain, try it as part of a sandwich or on a delicious German sausage. One of our favorites, a grilled Reuben sandwich. This classic pastrami sandwich layered with swiss cheese, thousand island dressing and sauerkraut on rye bread and served toasty hot, can be found at a number of eateries in Leavenworth. We’ve had very good versions at Ducks and Drakes and The Soup Cellar. At Andreas Keller you can get a Bratwurst Reuben at lunch. A bratwurst is substituted for the pastrami and the delicious house-made Weinkraut is in place of the typical sauerkraut. You can also find sauerkraut on breakfast plates, and on pizzas in Leavenworth.
How do you like your sauerkraut? Have you eaten this classic German side dish in unusual ways?
In Search of Schnitzel!
Wednesday, October 9th, 2013We have an interesting guest blog post today.
We got an email from W.J. Shilts, of Westminster, MD. He said… well, let me let him tell you himself.
“My wife and I spent 6 nights in Leavenworth in September and devoted ourselves to reviewing all the schnitzel we could find. Please consider posting our attached review on the Accidental Bavarian. We devoted a lot of energy (oh, what a sacrifice) sampling Leavenworth’s finest offerings and would hate for that effort to go to waste!”
So without further ado, here is their review.
Where to find the Best Schnitzel in Leavenworth, Washington
W.J. Shilts
October, 2013
Leavenworth, Washington is the center of all things Bavarian in the western United States (and arguably, the whole of the USA). But, for the occasional traveler with only a day or two in town, choosing the quintessential “German” restaurant can be daunting with so many choices in town. My wife and I recently spent 7 days and 6 nights in Leavenworth sampling our way through mounds of schnitzel, red cabbage, spatzle, and sauerkraut to come up with our best recommendations on where to sate your craving for a taste of Germany in Leavenworth.
To be fair, we didn’t try everything on the menu. We focused on Wiener Schnitzel. Why…because Wiener Schnitzel is as basic as it gets. Usually made of pork or veal, it’s pounded, then breaded, fried (nobody said this was healthy), and usually served naked. Most other schnitzels are built on this basic schnitzel by adding various sauces or toppings (Jaeger, Ziguener, Rahm, Champignon, etc.). If you make a good Wiener Schnitzel you’ll probably make a good any other kind of schnitzel.
Keep in mind this review is about schnitzel, not all the other German food you may love. The ratings don’t take into account furnishings, oompah music, or quality of the bratwurst. We do comment on some of these factors however, and share our favorite German restaurants in Leavenworth (regardless of their schnitzel rating).
| Restaurant | Weiner Schnitzel Rating |
Comments |
| Café Mozart |  |
Superb wiener schnitzel, available in veal, pork, or chicken, and uber tender. Fine German dining (rather than a gasthaus atmosphere) with all the trimmings. |
| King Ludwig’s | |
Good schnitzel, veal or pork, but smaller portions. Very Bavarian menu but much more of a beer hall atmosphere, oriented to tourist clientele. Few extras (such as, no soup or wurst sampler on the menu). |
| Andreas Keller | |
The ultimate traditional Gasthaus experience in Leavenworth! But alas, the wiener schnitzel was a disappointment… deep fried… to a curled at the edges, cooked to a crisp, throwable object. But their grilled Swiss jaeger schnitzel was wonderful… don’t understand the disparity. Other than the wiener schnitzel, great fun, authentic German eating. |
| Baren Haus | |
Pork schnitzel (no veal available) was breaded and pan fried but was way too crispy to enjoy. It had the look but was just too crunchy. And aside from the wait person being clad in a dirndl, not much German atmosphere. |
| Café Christa | |
Although the sign out front purported Café was under new management, the veal wiener schnitzel was still the worst we had in Leavenworth. It was tough and gristly. On the other hand, the red cabbage was great… but not worth enduring the schnitzel. |
Our bottom line…If you’re looking for a superb schnitzel, and impeccable German dining, go to Café Mozart. If you’re looking for the best traditional German ambiance… fun, music, atmosphere, and food (not counting the Wiener Schnitzel)… go to Andreas Keller.
(And lest you think we’re not qualified to judge schnitzel, we’re from some pretty long German roots (Hessian soldiers), we lived in Germany for three years, and I have traveled to Germany twenty times in the last decade alone. We can spot a good schnitzel at a hundred paces!)
We want to thank the Shilts’ for their guest blog. If anyone else has reviews or a guest blog, please send them to us for consideration.
