Oktoberfest

The grand finale of the Seattle experience came as we joined Elisa and her friends for a weekend out in the Cascade mountains for Oktoberfest: an annual German-themed beer festival at the permanently Bavarian-themed town of Leavenworth. 

Leavenworth, WA

Tom's branding senses were tingling as we rolled into the town and noticed all the familiar brands had changed their logos to fit the fairytale Alpine theme, with gothic German fonts and carved wooden signs aplenty. We arrived at the rented luxury lodge with night already enveloping the valley, making the surrounding mountains seem impossibly huge. 

Our original plan to park Spot outside and bed down for our first official 'in van' night was quickly abandoned as the newly christened 'Team Brit' (thats us) ended up drinking with our new found group of friends well into the night. 

The following morning revealed the full extent of the mountainous region we had entered. With oompah music from the festival already echoing around the valley, we set out in convoy with Kelly, Patrick, Matt and Elisa for a day of bouldering and mountain exploration. 

Ignore the yellow car

undercover cooking

As we left the town behind the road became impossibly picturesque with dramatic forested peaks towering above glassy burbling streams. Suddenly the convoy turned off onto an almost invisible trail. We eventually found our climbing spot and we were soon tackling the first 'problem' (massive rock). 

Off Road!!!

Team Brit instantly showed up the more experienced climbers with an exciting brand of freestyle climbing. Worried that our awesome technique would embarrass our hosts, we quickly retired to do some scenic keep ups and watch the others trying to follow our perfect lines. 

World's biggest twiglet

After several hours exploring the rocky forest environment, the heat became unbearable and we were forced to cool off in an ice cold river. 

International keep-ups

Fully revitalised, it was time to head to Oktoberfest and replace our climbing shoes for lederhosen and bottle of water for a liter jug of German beer. With hundreds of half cut revellers to interact with, a lager-lubricated Team Brit was in its element. We bounced from group to bewildered group, using a quintessential range of stereotypical english that would have been at home in a manor house, to melt the hearts of our new American friends until the night finally came to a slurred, swaying, bleary end.

 

The next morning we said our goodbyes and left Seattle for good. Next stop: Portland.