The last stop on our road trip west was a little Bavarian village called Leavenworth on the eastern side of the Cascade Mountains in Washington.

We decided to spend the late afternoon and evening there so we would be refreshed the next morning for our final drive to Everett, Washington, and our temporary housing. After the relatively flat landscape of eastern Washington, I was happy to be back in the mountains!

In researching our route west, Leavenworth was always mentioned in reference to Steven’s Pass and wine country so it seemed like an interesting stop. Many of the reviews I read about lodging and restaurants referenced the town’s bigger events, like the fall Oktoberfest and winter Christkindlmarkt, but in looking over the website’s event listing it appears to me they find something to celebrate nearly every weekend, especially in the summer and fall!

We stayed at the very reasonable and conveniently located Bavarian Lodge right downtown and within walking distance of all the shops, wine tasting rooms, beer halls and restaurants. I was a little concerned the German theme might get hokey, but I ended up being impressed at how well integrated everything seemed, from the architecture to the signage and shops. I loved it!

We checked out a few of the shops and stopped in several tasting rooms, including those for Pasek Cellars, Willow Crest Winery, Kestrel Vintners and Boudreaux Cellars. I ended up with a bottle of Arabica from Pasek Cellars, which is a cherry wine with some vanilla and coffee flavoring. It was a really interesting dessert wine, which she quickly convinced us paired well with dark chocolate–yum!

After a few stops we headed to the Munchen Haus for a hot pretzel before continuing on. There were quite a few people, but we were able to take a few pictures. It was fairly foggy the whole time we were there, which–for me–added to the ambiance. We also walked down to Waterfront Park and enjoyed spending a little time among the trees and away from the congested walkways of the downtown shops.

I looked over several menus but opted for the more traditional Andreas Keller Restaurant for dinner. There were too many options to choose from so we decided to share the Käsespätzle and the sausage sampler with the weisswurst (one of my favorites), knackwurst and rindwurst. Everything was delicious–I would love to go back and sample some of the other selections!

After we walked off dinner we ended on the patio of Icicle Brewing Company where we tried a sampler of their beers and enjoyed some pretty interesting people watching. I was surprised at how light it was despite being fairly late, and I was also surprised at how many families and young children were out and about. It was quite a mix of people, which made everything all the more enjoyable.

We turned in after our final stop and got up relatively early the next morning to enjoy an incredible breakfast at the Lodge. That had to have been one of the most extensive ‘free’ breakfasts I’ve ever had! We walked around town one last time to take a few more pictures without all the people–the shops were closed and roads were empty, and the mist hung low over the buildings and trees. I can’t wait to go back with some of our friends and family, especially during one of the many festivals.

As with every stop on our road trip, the pictures do a better job describing things than me: