With a 3-day weekend at our disposal, we were looking for something fun to do. We decided to spend part of Saturday in the nearby German-themed tourist town of Leavenworth.

It was about a two-and-a-half hour drive out there. We opted for the longer route out there to avoid the traffic along highway 2. The drive out was pretty scenic. Leavenworth is on the east side of the Cascade mountains, and crossing over the pass is always an adventure; it's just such a long, steep incline.

When we first got to Leavenworth, we were hungry for lunch, so we ate lunch at München Haus, which had a variety of German sausages. There were also almost a dozen types of mustard, including jalapeño, sweet hot, and dijon mustard. I enjoyed the bratwurst I had along with the beer. It was a nice way to begin the day.

After lunch, we strolled through the town. The buildings are all decorated in a Bavarian style. Leavenworth was a dying town in the mid 1960s when the town decided to make itself look like a Bavarian village in order to attract tourists. The strategy worked, as was evident during our visit.

There were lots of places to eat and little touristy shops to visit. There was also a group of yodelers providing live music on this sunny Saturday. We enjoyed looking around in the shops. We also bought some cheese and some fudge to bring back with us. We also spent some time walking along the river. The cottonwood trees were almost raining down on us and it felt warm under the sun, though I'm sure the temperature didn't even reach 80. We also got some ice cream from one of the several ice creameries in the town.

Anyway, it was an enjoyable way to spend part of the day, though I'm sure it'd be even more enjoyable for fans of touristy trinkets.