PROSIT!

We’re ensconced in the Blu-Shastin RV Park, about 10 miles southwest of Leavenworth, WA. 

When we pulled in on Friday evening, the place was fairly packed, probably because of the Octoberfest going on this weekend Friday nite and all day and nite Saturday.  I took the above on Sunday after most everyone pulled up stakes and left.

Leavenworth is a small place, about 2,300 residents.  Back in the 60’s, the town started to transform itself into a faux-Bavarian community, erecting false fronts on existing buildings and requiring most new construction to adopt the theme.

Smart move.  The place enjoys 1.5 million visitors a year, with the only access being two lane roads!  They run a series of “events” almost every month that keep the tourists coming.  The shopping and atmosphere are very similar to Solvang, CA, a Danish-themed town NE of Santa Barbara, right down to the great shopping

and horse drawn carriages prowling the streets.

And the setting was even better.  Beautiful fall colors and misty mountains.

And, Solvang doesn’t have Octoberfest!  We were eager to see what this ersatz Bavarian town did for this event, and it didn’t disappoint.  On Saturday, the streets were absolutely packed with people waiting to get in (prepaid tickets) or those waiting to buy admission.

 

They got a little entertainment from the small band that marched up the main drag to announce the gates were opening.  Note the ladies watching on the left in their Heidi outfits.  A lot of folks got themselves all garbed up in the spirit.

As for us, we were glad we had come in and had our fest on Friday nite.  The admission was half that of Saturday’s, and the place was rocking.

Take note of the “Bitburger” banner overhead.  Some of you know that I was Bitburger’s U.S. counsel for about 20 years.  Their U.S. sales manager continues a good friend even as I cruise through retirement.  Anyway, there were four tent venues at this fest, and this one was “sponsored” by Bitburger, which means their brews were the featured ones sold here.  By far, this was the roudiest and loudest of the four venues.  Also note the haberdashery being sported by some of the attendees (helmet to right; joker’s hat in center, chicken hat to left).  This seems to be a tradition here.  People wear all sorts of hats, without any Tyrolean connection that I can see.  These three ladies were happy to pose (they were all a few sheets to the wind):

The next day (Saturday) we came upon a store that sold nothing but hats, so we know where these things came from.  It had a line outside waiting to get in, with a bouncer to make sure no one tried to violate the fire marshal’s maximum capacity.  As for us, on Friday, we had to eschew the toppers and go for the gusto.

I have to say, as much as I liked the Bitburger on draft, the sausage dinner was, well, pretty ordinary, to be charitable.  I guess when you’re churning out thousands of meals, finesse takes a back seat.

It was all good, nonetheless.  They had a dozen different bands that rotated through the various venues, all of them featuring an accordion,  

and at least one of them with a remarkably good reed player who would have done justice to any jazz ensemble.  However, it was somewhat surreal to hear “Sweet Caroline” being played by an oompah band.  The audience was really into it, though, singing out on all the choruses.  They also imported some young ladies from Munich who danced, sang, and did some pretty nice bell ringing while being easy on the eyes!

All in all, we had a great time.  That did NOT include my doing any version of the bewilderingly popular “chicken dance,” which nearly every band played at least once.  Guess I didn’t have enough brau.  But then, I did have to navigate the scoot back to camp over unfamiliar mountain roads on a damp, pitch-black night.  Next time, we’ll get a campground closer in to the action.  They were all full up this year.  Prosit!