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Old 06-18-2009, 11:22 AM   #1
kognito
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Seattle peeps

We are over near Coeur d'Alene for the next week or so, and were talking about checking out Leavenworth on our way west.

Any of you folks ever been to Leavenworth?? Any "must see" sites/things to do there?

Thanks!
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Old 06-18-2009, 05:52 PM   #2
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It's a cute 'German' town.
It was an old railroad town that was in distress in the 1960's (railroad closed down and such) so...
They decided to become touristy and transform into a place people would want to go to. If you are going to be passing through on Highway 2 - worth a stop for lunch.
From there .... ???

I'm kind of jaded as my family is Danish and we have a 'real' version called Solvang in California. My Mom used to go to Danish summer camps there when she was small (in the early 40's). Leavenworth is 'manufactured' - but - it's not too bad. They have some descent restaurants along the main drag and the odd store. It's not as 'German' as it was 15 years ago though.... There are some Italian and Chinese restaurants and... oh well.....

I'd recommend going - if for nothing else - The drive is absolutely scenic.
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Old 06-18-2009, 07:17 PM   #3
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Kevin summed it up pretty well. A "manufactured" touristy Bavarian-themed down town. Although, most of the theme-ing is in a 2-4 block x 2 block area on the east or south side of Hwy 2. Most shops sell touristy stuff, there are a few art galleries and plenty of christmas type shops, some places for candy and goofy knicknacks. Nothing that really stands out or is a must see.

What I like about the place is you can get some grub over there that's pretty similar to the stuff I've enjoyed in Germany. One place called King Ludwigs (yeah, I know) has some great meat platters of various sizes served on chunky wood tables and long bench seating. We'll sometimes drive over in the winter for a short day trip and then home. And when over there I try to get the people in our gourp to order the large meat platter, it's big enough to feed about 4-6 people comfortably. They also have smaller sizes as well as normal menu items.

There are also a few beer gardens in town. One of my favorites is this little notch between a few of the buildings called Munchen Haus (a few reviews, seems mostly accurate). It has a one story shack on the street side and then pathway takes you back into a court yard between the adjacent building. Nice plantings soften the place and they have an upper balcony. . . it's all open air. Menu is mostly braughts and beer but it's good. Nice if you want something lighter and the weather is good for open air dining.


The beer garden.



Levenworth around the new year. Hwy 2 is a block to the left and the beer
garden is just off to the right of the picture where there's a job in the
building fronts and sidewalk. King Ludwigs is about 2 blocks down at the
back of the scene in the photo.



If you have time perhaps try some hiking in the area, maybe some river rafting. But the drive should be pretty good. I assume you'll be coming across I-90 and then taking Hwy 97 north to Leavenworth. Hwy 2 westbound over Steven's pass is a nice way to reach the Seattle / Puget Sound area. Much more scenic than back tracking to I-90.




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Old 06-18-2009, 07:49 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by lip277 View Post

I'm kind of jaded as my family is Danish and we have a 'real' version called Solvang in California.
Solvang feels manufactured though...

Although its much better than Helen, GA which is horribly manufactured quasi-Bavarian town (albeit, worth one visit if you live in Atlanta)...
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Old 06-18-2009, 08:20 PM   #5
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Quote:
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Solvang feels manufactured though...

Although its much better than Helen, GA which is horribly manufactured quasi-Bavarian town (albeit, worth one visit if you live in Atlanta)...
I've never been to Solvang. It's on my list, but somehow I never get to it.

We also have a few truly, horribly, manufactured, small, quasi-Bavarian towns in LA. The ones I know of, and have been to, are Alpine Village in Torrance and Old World in Huntington Beach.
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Old 06-19-2009, 01:09 AM   #6
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I've never been to Solvang. It's on my list, but somehow I never get to it.

We also have a few truly, horribly, manufactured, small, quasi-Bavarian towns in LA. The ones I know of, and have been to, are Alpine Village in Torrance and Old World in Huntington Beach.

I've been to Alpine Village many years ago. Probably early 90's was the last time. Been there a few times with some German co-workers. We laughed and laughed each time we went.

But we were laughing at the folks, not with the folks!!
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Old 06-19-2009, 01:21 AM   #7
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Originally Posted by lupinsea View Post
If you have time perhaps try some hiking in the area, maybe some river rafting. But the drive should be pretty good. I assume you'll be coming across I-90 and then taking Hwy 97 north to Leavenworth. Hwy 2 westbound over Steven's pass is a nice way to reach the Seattle / Puget Sound area. Much more scenic than back tracking to I-90.




.

We picked up rt 2 at Mackinaw Island in Michigan this year, and drove it across the UP, Wisconsin, Minnesota and North Dakota. In western North Dakota rt 2 is in pretty bad shape, so we dropped down to interstate 90.

I think we are going to pick up rt2 again west of Spokane.

Don't have an exact date as to when we will be in Seattle area. But I need to get out to Sequim to have a face-to-face with my financial adviser.

We also need to find a place to spend the 4th because we don't usually make reservations in RV parks, but it might be hard to find an rv park not booked out for the 4th weekend.

Thanks for the pictures!

Will post in this thread agian when we get closer, maybe we can have a get together for dinner, or something
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Old 06-19-2009, 01:54 AM   #8
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Solvang feels manufactured though...
The Solvang of today is not the Solvang of earlier times.
My Mom refused to go back after the mid 1980's as she did not like how commercial and watered down it had become - in her taste.

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Will post in this thread agian when we get closer, maybe we can have a get together for dinner, or something
Sounds great....
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Old 06-19-2009, 12:27 PM   #9
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Will post in this thread agian when we get closer, maybe we can have a get together for dinner, or something
Sounds good.

I'll be in my Jeep and out in the hills in central WA the weekend of the 4th, though. How long will you be in town?
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Old 06-23-2009, 03:17 PM   #10
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OK, looks like we found a place to stay in Graham. We are arriving sometime on friday the 26th and staying until the 6th of July.

It looks like I can save a bunch of miles, and avoid a lot of city highways if I go down 18 from the Snoqualime area. Anyone know how good this road is for big rigs?? We are about 30,000 pounds, and about 63 feet long (F550 + 40 foot 5th wheel)

Any areas have "must see" 4th of July celebrations?

We have already been to the space needle and Pikes Market, any other things we should check out?? Isn't there an area of interesting house boat/ homes on one of the lakes?
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