In the early years of the twentieth century, the town of Leavenworth in the Cascade mountains was a successful lumber and railway town.  But the re-routing of the railway brought economic ruin and by the middle of the twentieth century the town was on the brink of collapse.

So it decided, as you would, to reinvent itself as a Bavarian Alpine village, hold Bavarian-themed events throughout the year and turn itself into a tourist destination.

When we first heard about Leavenworth, we were very sniffy – how twee, how kitsch, how Disney, it must be!

Here we are in ‘Bavaria’

But this weekend we decide to venture forth in search of snow and Christmas and had the most amazing fun. And all only two hours from Seattle.

We sledded; listened to alpenhorns; ate wiener schnitzel, apfel strudel and wurst by open fires; visited the twee-in-a-good-way shops; stalked Santa; drank German bier; rode in a horse-drawn carriage through the snowy streets; and stayed to see the town lit up in one of the best Christmas light displays in the US.

The Husband is getting so excited about the beginning of the ski season.  What with househunting etc. last year he didn’t get the chance to go much but he’s ready to hit the slopes in a big way after Christmas.  And the Minx already has her salopettes and ski jacket at the ready (I’ve never seen a man so keen to buy children’s clothes), although the only thing she knows about skiing is a picture in her Miffy book.

The clouds have started rolling in again over the Sound and while Seattle is usually covered in its customary grey pall, occasionally the clouds part, the sun shines through and the sky does extraordinary and mesmerising things. 

Silver linings

Purple rain (the light really was this colour) 

Sunrise over the I-5 (thanks to the Minx for waking us up this early)

Sunrise over Seattle (again courtesy of the Minx) 

This sunrise was so spectacular we all had to head up to the deck in our pyjamas and watch.

Original photos on Flickr

Apologies for poor quality phone pic

So we are now officially Seattleites.

This afternoon we all went (with one of the Minx’s friends from nursery and his family) to see the Seattle Mariners – our first ever baseball match.

I can’t pretend that I understood everything that was going on, but that didn’t stop it being the most tremendous fun.  Torrential rain having returned to Seattle with a vengeance this weekend, Safeco Field was also by the far the best place to be in all Seattle, as it has a retractable roof.

The Minx had a whale of a time cheering along with everyone else though her appreciation of the finer points of the game was a tad sketchy, and it was just a grand family day out – and a huge contrast with the aggressively macho atmosphere of football matches in the UK.

Just so you can all orientate yourselves a bit, here’s a picture I took earlier this year from the Space Needle, with Mt Rainier in the background and Safeco Field to the far right (the stadium to the left is the NFL stadium).

We’re absolutely thrilled with the Ronde chairs we bought for the deck, though it’s been bugging me why they seemed so familiar. 

I thought it was just because they’re used quite a lot in European cafes but something was still nagging away at the back of my mind.

And then today the Minx and I went for a walk in the Sculpture Park and well, duh!  Of course, they are the same as the Park’s much-loved chairs!  (Though the ones from the Sculpture Park have been cleverly commissioned in the exact same shade of red as Calder’s Eagle, one of the Park’s most popular sculptures.)  

I very nearly slapped my forehead.

Here are a couple of my favourite pictures of the Sculpture Park chairs

From Flickr

From Flickr

Somehow it feels rather appropriate that we have some iconic Seattle chairs on our deck, though I’m kicking myself for not working it out sooner.