A weekend at Leavenworth
A post from facilitator Julianne about the recent weekend FIUTS trip to Leavenworth.
Guest post by Julianne Sloane
Bright and early Saturday morning we started our journey to the Bavarian village of Leavenworth Washington led by four FIUTS facilitators: Kailyn Swarthout, Nathan Huynh, Charlie Warner and myself, Julianne Sloane, accompanied by 29 international students. After an easy, traffic free trip on I-90 we arrived to warm greetings at our hotel, ‘Obertal Inn,’ where they let us immediately check into our rooms even though we had arrived 2 hours before the official check in. After everyone had dropped off their bags we headed to a local breakfast spot "Sandy’s Waffle House." We had great service and delicious food and everyone had a great time talking to new people.
When we had finished eating we split into smaller groups leaving some to explore the town and a large chunk of us all went on a nearby nature walk. On the walk everyone was having fun sliding on the ice and we ended up discovering a frozen lake which led to some good photo ops. After the walk a few of us headed back to the hotel to warm up in the Jacuzzis and others continued exploring the town.
That evening some of us reconvened to wine taste at one of the local stops. The grapes that made the wines all came from nearby Washington vineyards and we were able to sample 5 wines in all. Afterwards we headed to a local sausage stand and got gelato for dessert. Another group explored German cuisine and spent the night dining on pig’s feet. The overall pig’s feet review was positive but they said they would not be rushing to eat it again. We finished the night at the Icicle Brewery where there was live music and we played some extreme Jenga.
Sunday morning started with one of the more impressive continental breakfasts I’ve seen complete with a waffle maker, Nutella, and an excellent assortment of fruit. Leavenworth, which has been struck with a dry winter, had closed its ski hill and snow tubing was only possible via imported snow from the mountains. Eight students eager to try snowboarding for the first time were led by Charlie in search of snow and headed to Stevens Pass to try out the bunny slope. The rest of us, initially skeptical about the snow tubing, decided to give it a try anyway and ended up having a blast charging down the slope in pairs, while taking selfies, or spinning in circles. After an hour of non-stop tubing we headed back to town in search of nourishment and then spent the last few hours exploring shops or visiting the Nutcracker museum.
Overall it was an excellent trip full of new friendships, delicious food and a good time had by all!
There are lots more opportunities this winter to enjoy trips and activities with FIUTS! Take a look at what's coming up on our events calendar.