Thanksgiving Tip - Leavenworth

 

Leavenworth is a city in Chelan County, Washington, United States. It is part of the Wenatchee−East Wenatchee Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,965 at the 2010 census. The entire town center is modeled on a German Bavarian village as part of a civic initiative that began in the 1960s. The area is a major, four-season tourist destination with festivals nearly every month and a multitude of events year round.

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From Wenatchee River we went down to Leavenworth, a charming tourist town rebuilt as an Austrian village.

The construction of the Great Northern Railway through the Tumwater Canyon in 1892 brought settlers to a townsite that was named “Leavenworth”. Lafayette Lamb arrived in 1903 from Clinton, Iowa, to build the second largest sawmill in Washington state.

Leavenworth was officially incorporated on September 5, 1906. A small timber community, it became a regional office of the Great Northern Railway in the early 1900s. The railroad relocated to Wenatchee in 1925, greatly affecting Leavenworth’s economy. The city’s population declined well into the 1950s as the lumber mills closed and stores relocated.

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The city looked to tourism and recreation as a major economy as early as 1929, when they opened a ski jump. In 1962, the Project LIFE (Leavenworth Improvement For Everyone) Committee was formed in partnership with the University of Washington to investigate strategies to revitalize the struggling logging town. The theme town idea was created by two Seattle businessmen, Ted Price and Bob Rodgers, who had bought a failing cafe on Highway 2 in 1960. Price was chair of the Project LIFE tourism subcommittee, and in 1965 the pair led a trip to a Danish-themed town, Solvang, California, to build support for the idea. The first building to be remodeled in the Bavarian style was the Chikamin Hotel, which owner LaVerne Peterson renamed the Edelweiss after the state flower of Bavaria.

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Leavenworth, Washington

Helen

Helen is a city in White County, Georgia, United States, located along the Chattahoochee River. The population was 531 at the 2020 census.Helen was platted in 1912, and named after the daughter of a lumber official. The town was incorporated in 1913.

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Formerly a logging town that was in decline, the city resurrected itself by becoming a replica of a Bavarian alpine town, in the Appalachians instead of the Alps. This design is mandated through zoning first adopted in 1969, so that the classic south-German style is present on every building, even on the small number of national franchisees present (such as Huddle House and Wendy’s).

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Tourism is a key economic activity in Helen, catering mostly to weekend visitors from the Atlanta area and also motorcyclists who enjoy riding the roads in Helen and its surrounding areas. Helen can be crowded in late October, when autumn leaves typically peak. It also hosts its own Oktoberfest during September, October and November. Events and festivals are held throughout the year, including the “Southern Worthersee”, which is a stateside Volkswagen and Audi event that pays tribute to the Worthersee Tour in Austria. An annual hot-air balloon race is also held here on the first weekend in June.

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Helen, Georgia

German Restaurant

Old Heidelberg is the German restaurant of choice in South Florida situated in Fort Lauderdale on SR 84. Catering to Miami in South Florida, many of the city visitors come to escape the hustle and bustle but more importantly, get that authentic flavor of German cuisine.

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Since I lived in Germany for a while, I became fond of German food, especially Bavarian pork knuckles, which in German is known as Schweinshaxe or eisbeine. Near our home we found the best German restaurant in South Florida: “Old Heidelburg”.

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German Restaurant, Florida

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Colonia Tovar

The “Colonia Tovar” is a town of Venezuela, capital of the municipality Tovar in Aragua state. It is located about 65.5 km (41 mi) west of Caracas. Founded on April 8, 1843, by a group of 390 immigrants from the then independent state of the Grand Duchy of Baden (later incorporated into Germany), it is characterized by the maintenance of the cultural imprint of their origin, so it is called “the Germany of the Caribbean”. The economy depends primarily on agriculture and tourism. The Colonia Tovar is known for its temperate crops (peaches, strawberries, beets, cauliflower, carrots, cabbage, chard, broccoli, lettuce, onions and potatoes) and their derivatives. Since 1990 it has shown a high rate of population growth, rising from 3,373 to 21,000 inhabitants in 2016.

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After the war of independence, Venezuela was devastated. Venezuelans learned to fight and forgot to cultivate the land, which is why one of their presidents came up with the idea of sending an emissary to Germany to invite an entire people to move to Venezuela and start cultivating the land. They offered him many benefits, so a people from the Black Forest accepted the offer and most of its inhabitants decided to emigrate to Venezuela.

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The Germans took a long time to reach Venezuela and by the time they arrived, the president who had invited them had already died. Not knowing what to do with so many Germans, a wealthy Venezuelan, surnamed Tovar, donated some mountains of his property.

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Venezuela forgot about the Germans, settled in remote mountains near Caracas. More than a century passed and one day they were discovered. A small road was built to the now-baptized “Colonia Tovar” and the town became one of the biggest tourist attractions in Venezuela.

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It is very interesting, because the “settlers” of Tovar speak a German extinct in time and were crossing among themselves, causing a genetic disaster.

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Contrary to Leavenworth and Helen, “Colonia Tovar” is a true German village, with a nineteenth-century language and customs.

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Colonia Tovar, Venezuela

Conchita’s Home

My mother lived for many years in La Colonia Tovar until she had to go into exile in the US, where she ended up dying. Her home was called “Mein Traum”, which in German means “My Dream”.

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My mother’s home in La Colonia Tovar, Venezuela