The Boyfriend and I hired a rusty camper and set out across the border into Washington for the Easter weekend. Our loop of the Olympic mountains had been scuppered by windstorms and fallen giant redwoods, and our loop of the northern Cascade mountains was out because part of the road would be under 20 feet of snow until late May. Washington had been hit pretty hard this winter.

So we drove a miniature loop out to Leavenworth, and back via Snoqualmie Falls (of Twin Peaks fame). Just through the snow at Steven’s Pass ski resort, we saw our first ‘Wilkommen in Leavenworth’ sign. The few scattered buildings on the outskirts had gables and ornate shutters, but didn’t prepare us for what awaited.

Leavenworth’s Front Street was all Bavarian cuteness from beginning to end. Every building had gables, ornate shutters, and little wooden balconies hung with flowering baskets. We swung into a parking space under the maypole, and opened the camper doors to hear an oompah band clashing with the town’s musical clock. The smell of barbecuing wurst drifted from a nearby biergarten.

The weirdness of Leavenworth is compounded by the fact that this kitsch is not confined to the main, touristy street. Several streets back, regular apartment buildings and even the hospital are adorned in the same Bavarian style.

When the Great North Railroad pulled out of the town in the early 1900’s, economic struggle and isolation became Leavenworth’s lot. The town had had enough by 1962, and the town transformed itself into a mock Bavarian village, and began frantically promoting itself as a tourist destination. Evidently, the project had the whole town on board, and incredibly, it worked. It now has the best-attended Oktoberfest outside Munich!

The Boyfriend and I spent a leisurely afternoon wandering between gift shops and cafés snapping pictures and marveling at the THOROUGHNESS of the transformation. With the beautiful Cascade mountains as a backdrop, you could shut out the local accents and really believe you were in Northern Europe for a minute.

We skipped the Nutcracker Museum (it really is the world’s largest collection of nutcrackers) and hit Gustav’s inn. Sadly, Gustav’s had all the charm of – well – an Oktoberfest beer tent, so we decamped to Uncle Uli’s for a stein of Leavenworth’s finest and a fondue.

Before we drove on to Twin Peaks territory the next day, we couldn’t resist a stop at the photo studio for our comedy picture in lederhosen and dirndl. It’s a bit Disneyland at times, but still the most charming mountain town in Washington.