My First Real Field Trip in Washington: Krampusnacht in Leavenworth

 

The final load of my belongings had just been delivered--days late. Normally it would have been fine, but that day Erich (who was helping me settle in to my new house and life in Washington) and I had plans. We were heading off to Leavenworth, a faux old-style Bavarian village in the North Cascade Mountains of Washington, about three and a half hours away. I really wanted to get a move on as I didn't relish the idea of driving in the mountains at night...and daylight in the northwest in December burns out quickly.

We stopped and got some gas in Burlington. $3.39 a gallon? It's still hard to believe and such a far cry from the higher prices I was paying in California. We were soon blasting down Interstate 2 on route to this fake tourist town of brats and schnitzel. In addition to their world renowned Christmas festivities, this year the village was adding something new...and it was the reason Erich and I were going in the first place. It was Krampusnacht (Krampus Night). Krampus, for those who don't know, is a sort of a fearsome horned demon who punishes or sometimes just steals away the naughty children the night before Santa arrives. A special night with the spooky anti-Santa? Yes, please!

There were several roadside attractions I hoped to hit on the way there. However, due to our late start, I had to postpone those until the trip back. As it was, we arrived in Leavenworth after dark...and we had to go a ways further still to reach our hotel. Erich had found a reasonably priced place in the next town down, Peshastin, just three miles away. It was called the River's Edge Inn and it was literally right next to the Wentachee River. 

We knew we had made a mistake when we pulled into the place and saw that it was virtually deserted. That seemed strange since everything else was crazy expensive, required three nights lodging, and was booked up. Hmm. 

Surely the rooms weren't bad? We went up stairs (There were ground-floor units, but none of them were available. We wondered if they were in need of refurbishing, like possibly the river had flooded over and damaged the inside or something. When we got to the upper floor, we could hear the river and just sort of barely see it due to lights reflecting on it in the distance. It was a lot bigger than I expected and moving fast.

Erich hated the room, but I didn't think it was bad...except for the odd table right between the two beds. 

After getting settled in, we went back in to town. The place was so crowded. We found a place for handicapped parking (that is about the only perk about having a neuro-muscular disease). It was located on one end of town, right where all of the activity started --- and we didn't have to pay. We parked there every time we went back after that.

I didn't know what to expect, really. It was a bit like walking into a storybook version of century-old Bavaria in some Disney park. But the Christmas lights everywhere made the place come alive. There was a whole exciting Christmas magic to it all. I can't explain it. 

We walked down Front Street, which was closed to vehicular traffic. I spotted Santa relaxing/hiding out behind some food booths, taking a break. This amazing-looking Krampus with curled horns and this leg pieces that made his legs look as if they bent backwards at the knee, like an animal's, was walking back to join Santa. I didn't get a photo, figuring I'd see them later. Darn it all. I never saw that particular Krampus again.

As we entered the "Village of Light" or "Christmastown", both of which Leavenworth refers to itself during the holidays, we didn't spy any more Krampus or Santa characters, but we did encounter a lederhosen-wearing Grinch and Father Christmas.

The further we walked, the more the place seemed to sparkle and come to life. You didn't know where to look. But there were so many people, it was a bit overwhelming. Normally I'd have avoided going someplace like this on a weekend. But if we wanted to do Krampusnacht we had no choice.

Erich was not feeling well. We wanted food, but didn't know where to go. I suggested a place called Gustav's. I didn't know much about it other than it was participating in the Krampus Krawl, a pub crawl among participating restaurants, bars, and beer gardens in the area--each serving up its own Krampus-inspired beverage. We could sit (which I needed to do), have a drink, and figure where we wanted to eat. 

We had to wait a little while, but not too terribly long. We were soon seated and the drink specials--the Krampus Smash--were ordered. The drinks were tasty; a combination of blood orange, pomegranate, and passion fruit juices, muddled with lime, a generous pour of Sinfire cinnamon whiskey and soda water. 

Imagine our delighted surprise when, as we were sipping on these smashing cocktails, the waiter came by and handed us each a small plastic sack containing Christmas socks (Mine had a penguin print. Erich's were candy cane style.), a black & white candy cane (that I am guessing was Krampus anise flavored. Yuck!), and a card explaining the mysteries of Krampusnacht. How fun!

While sipping our cocktails, Erich consulted his phone and decided we should try a restaurant called Watershed. Back out on the streets, I again found the lights dazzling, almost hypnotic. It was cold out, but I didn't seem to really notice or mind. It was just so beautiful on the street.

We got to Watershed. Even though we had no reservation, they seated us--at the bar. That was okay. Watershed is an upscale-ish place that prides itself on sustainability and sources local farms for it's farm-to-table comfort food dishes. I opted for a meatloaf (that was just okay). Erich had salmon---which he said was one of the best he's ever had.

We wandered around a bit afterwards, looking at the lights and getting a feel for the place. But we were both tired after helping the mover unpack all morning and the long drive. As I said, Erich wasn't feeling well either. So, we just went back to the hotel.

The next morning, it was snowing! With the morning light, we could see just how wide and swift the river was -- and could guess how deep and cold it was. 

The river was beyond the normal edges of its banks. There was a small cement barrier along the edge of the hotel presumably built to keep water out in case of flooding. However, the barrier just ends at a point. So any flood waters could easily work their way back to the property and do damage. 

The snow was only a dusting really. It didn't last long. But it only added to the holiday/Christmas atmosphere of the trip.

We went back into Leavenworth for breakfast, parking in the same handicap spot as before. The snow had turned to slush and then melted altogether. 

The crowds were crazy! We had wanted to check out the Gingerbread Factory, which is on several "must see" lists for those visiting the town. There was a line to get in a block long! No thanks! 

We ended up trying a little place in a basement called Renaissance Cafe. It wasn't great, necessarily. But it wasn't bad and there was seating available almost right away. 

From there, we wandered a bit. The cold was really starting to affect Erich. We decided to quickly visit the two museums (the entrances are literally right next to each other--one is on the ground floor and the other is on the floor overhead.) 

The Historical Museum was the lesser interesting in my view. It talked about the Native Americans who originally inhabited the area, then the railroad, then the railroad rerouting itself away from Leavenworth. It talked about the first attempt to save the city--a giant ski jump. But by the 1960s the city was poor, poor, poor. Taking a cue from the faux "Danish" city of Solvang in California, Leavenworth decided to recreate itself as a Bavarian hamlet in the alpine-like Cascade Mountains and voila! A tourist town was born.

The Nutcracker Museum was about what you'd expect---but way larger than you'd think, too. It was expansive and covered everything---from primitive rocks that the native people used to break open nuts, to early soldier-like nutcrackers, to the full on pop culture ones available today! There were even some giant ones! EEK!

We poked around in some shops afterwards. There were some interesting places and some fun items for sale. But the crowds were just overwhelming. We couldn't take it for long before Erich decided he needed to go back to the hotel and rest.

To avoid the hordes of people, we ducked down a side street. We encountered some of the Krampus cosplayers on the way.

As we came out towards the parking lot, we decided to take a peek in this large town auditorium to see what was going on there, It looked like there were various contests and displays.

We got back in the car to head back to the hotel so Erich could rest up. But my car's warning lights came on. I needed air in my tires.

Erich didn't think it was a big deal, but I didn't like the idea of driving on slick mountain roads without fully inflated tires. I found a gas station. The air pump worked, but it had a big leak. I had to hold my hand over it to fill up the tires---at least, I hoped I was filling them up. The pressure gauge didn't work. Ugh. 

We tried the car and the light went out. Hooray! But on the way back to the hotel--another tire light went on. I got Erich dropped off. I told him I was going to buy a tire gauge (We had seen an auto supply store on the outskirts of the village.), fill the tire up and then check out this giant knight statue that was somewhere in Leavenworth.

I got the gauge. No problem. There was a 76 station right in town---but some bozo had parked (illegally) right in front of the air hose. Swell. Traffic was horrendous. I was trying to go back towards the one gas station I'd gotten air previously, but I couldn't find a place to turn around. I did stumble upon the giant knight--and fortunately there was a handicapped parking space right next to it. 

The story about the knight (and some of the other oddball things we stopped and saw on the way home) I am saving for a future post.  I'm just glad I found it.

I got turned around and got back to fill up the tire.  Just as I was leaving, a third tire needed air. What the heck? I got that filled. It doesn't seem to have been holes. I think it was just the cold air. 

Later that evening, we went back into town for dinner. The lights were ablaze and the aura of Christmas magic had again filled the air. Everyone was just in a festive mood. 

We encountered other Krampus creatures as well as elves (?) in suits.

We wanted to dine at Mozart's, a fancy eatery on the floor above the Gingerbread Factory and a place we knew we could get some fondue. However, once again, we had no reservation. We were put on a waiting list and told it would be an hour and a half or so.

What to do? What to do? What could we do in the hour and a half? How about another of those tasty Krampus Smashes at Gustav's? SOLD!

We wandered back down the crazy, crowded Front Street. Despite the crush of people, the mood seemed very celebratory.

We made our way to Gustav's, which also had a bit of a wait. But it was only a few minutes. We went inside, got seats at the bar and had a couple of Krampus Smashes while killing time.

Although the restaurant had not called us yet, we decided to mosey on over to it and see how much longer it might be. There was a trio of women, the Sugar Plums, singing Christmas songs. It was so festive.

We were early at the restaurant, but a group they had called in had not shown up. So they gave us their table. It was the perfect spot. It was next to a window and we could look down and see the Sugar Plums performing. 

We had cocktails, of course. For his dinner, Erich just ordered a bunch of German sides he'd been craving. I had a meal, but can't recall what it was. However, to start things off, we did have the fondue...and it was cheesy fun -- literally.

Because Erich was still not feeling well, we called it a night early on.

The next morning, we checked out of the hotel. We did swing back into Leavenworth (parking in our same handicapped spot) to try and visit the Gingerbread Factory. There had been lines out the door and down the block every time we'd attempted to go previously. This time, while there was still a line, we could at least wait inside out of the cold as the line was not all that long (yet).

I had read that, in addition to cookies and pastry, breakfast was available. For breakfast, they offer breakfast sandwiches or mini-quiches. We decided on the quiches. (Although the pastry did look mighty good.)

The online reviews were not kidding. The quiches were delicious. We devoured them.

We also picked up some of the decorated gingerbread cookies for some friends.

After breakfast, it was time to head back to the car for the trip home. I took one last look around and silently said my goodbyes to the place.

We did encounter snowy roads on the way back, as expected. One lane in each direction had been cleared. It was beautiful but it made me leery of ever having to drive in the stuff. Yikes!

On the way home we stopped at a few more offbeat tourist attractions (which I'll share in more detail another time.) We stopped at the Bigfoot-friendly Espresso Chalet (near where the movie HARRY AND THE HENDERSONS was partially filmed.)

We visited the giant man and his fish.

And we stopped at the odd Wayside Chapel, a small church with only four seats that sits on the side of the road for weary travelers needing a moment of roadside spirituality.

It was a long drive back. But we were lucky to catch the ferry pretty quickly, and that cut back on our drive time.

I liked Leavenworth. Would I go back? Maybe--depending on the weather, but never again on a weekend. I loved the whole Christmas vibe in the storybook setting. The city's Village of Lights celebration lasts from Thanksgiving through January. Certainly there would be weekdays with good weather to really enjoy the place without the crowds. Staying in a hotel within the town would be ideal, too. I tried to do a straight-forward travel blog about the place without interjecting my personal experiences. It's informative, I guess...but it has no magic to it; no sparkle. If you must see it (and it does have more photos, if nothing else), it is HERE. 

It was a fun getaway...and (once the weather gets better) it has given me a taste of all that this new state of mine has to offer. Let the various expeditions begin! (And you can come along with me.)

CHEERS!