Tag Archives: Leavenworth

Trip to Leavenworth, Washington

For the Christmas spirit, I decided I wanted to check out Leavenworth as several had mentioned about this little town, known as the ‘Bavarian’ town to be a replica of traditional Germany. I had just been to Germany in Sept, so I thought it would be interesting to take a look.

From the Youtube videos that we watched before heading out, Sheepie was already complaining at the fact that the buildings were not made of stone like in Germany. I was disappointed to find out that it wasn’t an authentic German town. I thought that the original settlers from Germany somehow gathered there and started the town. Instead, it used to be another usual American town until they switched for tourist reason only. There are several language mistakes, like “Gift Haus” (Haus is ‘house’ in German). However, they didn’t bother to translate the word Gift into German – well I guess then visitors wouldn’t know what it is. Unfortunately, the word ‘gift’ in German means poison. So if you know German, it can be entertaining, as with any time one is ‘trying’ to translate from one language to another. I see similar things in happening in Asia.

idearabbit-leavenworth12Our first stop in Leavenworth – the gasoline station!

See my first Idea Rabbit video on Youtube! (yes! finally!!! I’m venturing out onto video too!)

We left Vancouver, BC around 11am or so and arrived in Leavenworth around 6pm. It was already dark, perfect for the lit Christmas lights. With the exceptionally warm winter of 2014, there weren’t any snow, even though it was snowing while we drove through the snow covered forests to the town. It was however super cold.

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The word ‘Gift’ in German means ‘poison’. So the Poison House! LOLidearabbit-leavenworth6 idearabbit-leavenworth5 idearabbit-leavenworth4 idearabbit-leavenworth3 idearabbit-leavenworth2 idearabbit-leavenworthBeing the day of Christmas, not much was open, especially at this time. We got to take lots of photos but was quite a challenge to find a place to dine. There was King Ludwig open, but there was a huge lineup, so we ended up at Wok About Grill – a Mongolian fast food that had just opened that month.

Read Wok About Grill review here.

idearabbit-leavenworth9With it being the holidays, finding accomodation online prior to going was also time consuming. Most places were all booked out, and only really expensive places were still available. Since we were going there to check out the city and not the hotel, I booked at the Wedge Mountain Inn in Dryden – about a 10 minute drive from Leavenworth for $79.99 USD a night. The manager was originally from Germany but came to America at a young age.

Read Wedge Mountain Inn review here.

The next day, we had breakfast at the cafe next to the inn called the Big Y Cafe. Afterwards, we checked out and headed east to Wenatchee since Sheepie was curious to what that town was like. So we drove around and checked it out, also doing some super deal shopping at Walmart.

Read Big Y Cafe review here.

We drove through some really interesting terrains. Very different from what we have in Canada. Lots of hills and valleys but Sheepie was puzzled at why there were very little vegetation. The hills seemed to be composed of very loose soil and looked unstable.

We returned to Leavenworth to see the stores open and streets bustling with tourists. If you’re not a crowd-person, then this might not be for you. The town’s core attraction is about a dozen or so blocks, so you can easily go through the entire thing. The town reminded me of being in Germany and it was a nice trip from Vancouver.

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Cafe Mozart

Cafe Mozart Restaurant on UrbanspoonIt was Boxing day in Leavenworth, and only a day after Christmas, the streets and shops were filled with tourists. That also meant long line-ups at restaurants. There was one we thought was very authentic looking, but there was a 40 minute wait, and Sheepie hated waiting.

We found Mozart Cafe on the second floor with no one in line. We were seated by the window after we got a hold of one of the staff. Our server seemed a bit overwhelmed. He told us that there were only two of them working out on the floor, making service very slow, and indeed it was. We still had to wait 30 minutes for the food to come out, and the server forgot to bring Sheepie’s buns which went with his Clam Chowder Soup $8 USD. We notified the other staff and got it right away though.

idearabbit-mozartcafe1 idearabbit-mozartcafe2 idearabbit-mozartcafe3I ordered the Bratwurst with super crunchy and skinny fries with dijon sauce. Sausage in bread? Not authentic, but Sheepie liked my bread more than his buns so he took half of it as I’m not a bread person. The bratwurst was good, and the fries were like crackers.
I think they did a fairly good job on the interior and it had a nice atmosphere. Good food and no lineups.

 Taste: carrotcarrotcarrot    Price for Value: carrotcarrotcarrot

Atmosphere:  carrotcarrotcarrotcarrot   Service:  carrotcarrotcarrot
Location: carrotcarrotcarrotcarrot

Wok About Grill

We got to Leavenworth around 6pm, but went pass through to Dryden to check-in to our inn and drop our stuff. By the time we got back to the town, it was 7pm. Since it was Christmas, everything was closed for the day, or was closing early. We walked around looking for a restaurant while we took photos of the glittery Christmas lights throughout the town. We finally found Wok About Grill which had only opened at the beginning of that month. There was a lineup, but we had no other option, so we waited. idearabbit-wokaboutgrill9 idearabbit-wokaboutgrill10
The place was pretty large with high ceilings. The server told us that we could order from the menu, but it was limited. Their main specialty was making your own stir fry. The server brought us two large plastic bowls and we filled it with any ingredient that we wanted from meat (frozen), veggies and noodles. Top it off with the sauces of your liking. The chef will then weigh your bowl and give you a sticker with the cost. You are charged $7.20/lb. I filled my bowl quite a bit and it came to just a little over $12. Oops, lol. Sheepie’s was only about $8.50. Watch chefs grill and cook up your meal!
A bonus is that every meal comes with either your choice of rice, tortillas or lettuce cups. I ordered rice while Sheepie go tortillas.

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DIRTY condiments and topping area!!idearabbit-wokaboutgrill4 idearabbit-wokaboutgrill3

I thought Sheepie’s price was quite fair, with all that he had. I had quite a bit of noodles which were much heavier, hence the higher price. I shouldn’t have been so greedy, I was pretty full at 85%, but managed to finish the fry entirely, though only half the bowl of rice.

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My plate with white rice $12+idearabbit-wokaboutgrill8 idearabbit-wokaboutgrill7

Sheepie’s tortillas and plate $8+idearabbit-wokaboutgrill6

Our server was very friendly and pleasant. The hostess seemed a bit reluctant to be working there, especially on Christmas evening. The table area was clean, but the buffet area needs to be cleaned regularly. Although with so many customers pouring in their own ingredients into their bowl, I guess it’s inevitable to be a bit messy. The counter by the chefs were pretty bad. Sure, it’s end of day and super busy, but still.

Taste was ok. Filling but nothing spectacular. Maybe it’s my own fault for not using the right mix of sauces. Either way, I don’t know if it’s on my top list. Definitely not in Leavenworth, as I came to eat some German food – still, I was happy they were still the only ones left open in the entire town!

Taste: carrotcarrot    Price for Value: carrotcarrot

Atmosphere:  carrotcarrot   Service:  carrotcarrotcarrot
Location: carrotcarrotcarrot