PetersCreek
Brother Borealis
The Wife and I just returned from our vacation to Leavenworth, Washington for the first weekend of their Oktoberfest celebration...our fifth trip there. We flew into Seattle last Thursday and made the drive to Leavenworth via a leisurely, scenic route on Friday. We spent three nights there this time instead of the usual two and it turned out to be just the right length. We ate, we shopped, we partook of many adult beverages, and we enjoyed music in four venues. I'm not usually one for selfies but I took just this one for posterity:
My last USAF assignment was in Germany and one of my favorite things about attending Oktoberfest in Stuttgart was having a Schweinshaxe as big as my head, along with a 1.5 liter Festbeir. This one wasn't quite as big as my noggin and it lacked the beer on the side but it was damned good, along with the Spätzle, Weinkraut, Rotkohl, and of course, mustard.
I attended in full Tracht (traditional wear): knee-length lederhosen (Kniebundhose), Haferl shoes, Austrian style jacket...the works. I even added another Leavenworth pin to my fest hat (the fishing rod) and I scored something unexpected: a new, larger Gamsbart...the animal hair 'feather duster' on the back. Genuine Gamsbärte are made from the hair of the chamois goat/antelope and can run in to serious money...two or three grand or more. Mine is not a genuine Gamsbart.
We've always attended during the second of the fest's three weekends but this year, we signed on for the first. It turned out to be better, crowd-wise...still a lot of people but not nearly so much as other trips. It made walking Front Street much nicer. This part of town is built in the Bavarian style making the Oktoberfest experience more immersive.
The beer situation was better than ever this year. There were more beer tents offering a greater selection: Hofbräu Original, Oktoberfest, and Dunkel along with fest brews from Ayinger (a fave), Paulaner, Spaten, Warsteiner, Alpine Brewing Company (of Oroville, WA), and Weihenstephan, who also had a Weizenbock on tap, I think.
As mentioned in the beverage purchase thread, we also hit several of the many wine tasting rooms in town, plus a couple down the road in Wenatchee. We wound up buying 13 bottles to pack in our luggage and a 14th to enjoy in the hotel room on our last night. The latter came from the Chateau Ste. Michelle estate winery in Woodinville, where we stopped for a visit during our drive back.
After returning to Seattle, I got to hit a couple of my woodworking supply stores and yes, a cigar shop. I don't do a lot of smoking during winter, since I don't smoke inside but I found some shorties to try: Curivari Beunaventura Minis, a 3½ x 50 Nicaraguan with full flavor at a very reasonable price...especially considering the lower WA taxes vs. AK. I took a chance, bought a box of 20, and I'll be darned if they aren't good to very good.
It was a great time, overall...with the only real problem being some ill-mannered hotel guests making too much noise, too late in the evening. But we're still looking forward to going back next year.
My last USAF assignment was in Germany and one of my favorite things about attending Oktoberfest in Stuttgart was having a Schweinshaxe as big as my head, along with a 1.5 liter Festbeir. This one wasn't quite as big as my noggin and it lacked the beer on the side but it was damned good, along with the Spätzle, Weinkraut, Rotkohl, and of course, mustard.
I attended in full Tracht (traditional wear): knee-length lederhosen (Kniebundhose), Haferl shoes, Austrian style jacket...the works. I even added another Leavenworth pin to my fest hat (the fishing rod) and I scored something unexpected: a new, larger Gamsbart...the animal hair 'feather duster' on the back. Genuine Gamsbärte are made from the hair of the chamois goat/antelope and can run in to serious money...two or three grand or more. Mine is not a genuine Gamsbart.
We've always attended during the second of the fest's three weekends but this year, we signed on for the first. It turned out to be better, crowd-wise...still a lot of people but not nearly so much as other trips. It made walking Front Street much nicer. This part of town is built in the Bavarian style making the Oktoberfest experience more immersive.
The beer situation was better than ever this year. There were more beer tents offering a greater selection: Hofbräu Original, Oktoberfest, and Dunkel along with fest brews from Ayinger (a fave), Paulaner, Spaten, Warsteiner, Alpine Brewing Company (of Oroville, WA), and Weihenstephan, who also had a Weizenbock on tap, I think.
As mentioned in the beverage purchase thread, we also hit several of the many wine tasting rooms in town, plus a couple down the road in Wenatchee. We wound up buying 13 bottles to pack in our luggage and a 14th to enjoy in the hotel room on our last night. The latter came from the Chateau Ste. Michelle estate winery in Woodinville, where we stopped for a visit during our drive back.
After returning to Seattle, I got to hit a couple of my woodworking supply stores and yes, a cigar shop. I don't do a lot of smoking during winter, since I don't smoke inside but I found some shorties to try: Curivari Beunaventura Minis, a 3½ x 50 Nicaraguan with full flavor at a very reasonable price...especially considering the lower WA taxes vs. AK. I took a chance, bought a box of 20, and I'll be darned if they aren't good to very good.
It was a great time, overall...with the only real problem being some ill-mannered hotel guests making too much noise, too late in the evening. But we're still looking forward to going back next year.