German Thanksgiving?

This year we decided to spend our 4 day weekend in "Germany".  There is a little town (about 5 /12 hours away) called Leavenworth up in Washington.  They have built the town to look like a cute little Bavarian street.  They even put on a small Kriskindlemart during the Thanksgiving weekend.  I have been missing Germany so much and especially around this time of year when each little town has a Christmas market that I convinced Hyrum to skip the traditional Thanksgiving holiday feast and head up to Leavenworth.

The weather was absolutely beautiful for our drive on Thursday morning.  This photo was taken as we were approaching Stephens Pass in Washington.

We spent some time sledding once we got to Stephens Pass.  The boys LOVED the chance to play in the snow.  There was a little hill that was just the right size for Julian and then a crazy steep hill the twins loved shooting down:)

Emerson getting ready to head down the hill

Julian had so much fun sledding... I wasn't a big fan because he made me pull his sled back up the hill each time.  Maybe next year he will be able to do the pulling himself:)

Townsend and Daddy getting ready for a ride.  The snow was pretty icy and compact, not the best for sledding, but the boys still spent about an hour having fun and it was a nice break from the long car ride.

We stayed at the Enzian hotel.  This is a shot of our cute room.  I love how they had feather pillows and a down comforter, just like in Germany.

At breakfast each morning this guy came and stood on the balcony and played us a tune on his alp horn.  Pretty fun to watch and the setting with the mountains behind him made it all that more authentic.

At the Christmas market the boys got to decorate lanterns that they later used in a parade that night at the opening of the Kristkindlemart.  They put glow sticks in the lanterns so they glowed during the parade.  I thought that was a pretty clever idea.

The boys on a fountain depicting a Bavarian goatherd and his goats.

Not exactly Germany, but pretty close:)

The lantern parade ended at this gazebo where Santa and Mrs. Clause made an appearance.

The little town all lit up for Christmas

Since we didn't have a traditional Thanksgiving feast we decided to enjoy some yummy German food at one of the restaurants in town.  I'll take schnitzel over turkey any day!

Of course we had to stop at Scott's Dairy Freeze in North Bend for a treat.  Hyrum has memories of stopping at this place after hikes with his Dad when he was little.  We always make a point of coming here when we get the chance.  They have great french fries and milk shakes:)