Leavenworth and Seattle

We crossed the border between Canada and the USA at the end of June. The month we spent in Canada was amazing and we left a bit sad as we we were not able to do all the climbs we had planned mainly due to the weather but at the same time very exited to get into the US.

Our first stop was Leavenworth. A small Bavarian village in the Cascade Mountains...yes yes...am not kidding...in the late 60's a bunch of Austrians decided that it would be a good idea to build an old style Bavarian village to attract tourists...and it worked...The result is a small village similar to what we have got in the Alps where you can listen to 'cor des alpes' , eat brandwurst and schnitzel surrounded by chalets! Unfortunately we did not find any Tomato fondue and cafes bucherons :-)

The weather was great over there and the climbing similar to what you would find in Switzerland. We even managed to do a nice long multipitch climb ( 225 meters /7 pitches / 5.10b)

After a week spent east of the Cascade Mountains we decided to head back to Seattle for a well deserved rest. We even went crazzy and decided to book our first little hotel for 2 nights! wouawh...a shower and a real bed...

We really enjoyed Seattle. Maybe because our expectations were not as high as for Vancouver but the city really surprised us..lots of small independent shops, markets, cafes , a nice architecture and a important 'sub-culture' . You can feel why bands like Nirvana, Pearl Jam and many others were created here...The hotel was situated nearby the University of Washington which was a really cool place to take a stroll in the evening. 

Time now for our next stop...the are 2 climbing spots we want to stop by in the State of Washington ( Exit 38 and the French Coulee) and then we are planning to climb Mount Rainier...gosh it looks sooo big from Seattle...

Hope you all doing well