Last week, my wife and I took a few days off to see some of the Pacific Northwest. In short, after flying to Spokane, Washington, and spending the night, we drove to Leavenworth, Washington for three days followed by three days in Coeur d"Alene, Idaho. For purposes of this site, I will concentrate on Leavenworth.
Leavenworth is a former logging town that sits nestled in the Cascade Mountains along the Wenatchee River. When the logging business dried up in the 1960s, the town considered ways to re-invent themselves to draw in tourists. Eventually, they settled on turning Leavenworth into a Bavarian-themed town. The result is a town center of about three blocks where all the buildings resemble what you might see in Garmisch. There are about three German restaurants plus a beer garden or two. We had German food every night. Most of the places were serving Muenchner Hofbrau or a couple of other choices like Ayinger or Weltenburg Kloster. With snow-capped Cascade mountains in the immediate background, the effect is fantastic. For dining, I particularly recommend Andreas Keller for atmosphere and food.
