The first place we stopped at was Behalt the Amish & Mennonite Heritage Center in Berlin. We were planning on seeing the cyclorama but decided against it after thinking about it a bit. Instead we looked at the bookstore and looked at and tried on some Amish hats and clothing.
The second place that we found on a brochure we picked up at Behalt was Yoder's Amish Home near Walnut Creek. This was an Amish farm that is now owned by "English" (i.e., non-Amish) who were raised Amish (now they are Methodists). They renovated the home and now give tours of the home. This was exactly what we were hoping to see in Lancaster, PA but did not find. It gave a tremendous introduction to Amish home life.
We decided to do the whole package deal which included the house and school tour and a buggy ride (it was only $32 for the whole family; totally worth it in my opinion). At the end of the house tour we got to visit the bakery. They had some really tasty cookies and some things called "Fry Pies" that were like those hand size fruit pies you get in the store that come individually wrapped only about 50 times better...mmmmmm!
The buggy ride was given by an Amish man who took our picture after our short ride. Nicole was scared the entire time and felt like she was going to fall out of the carriage. After this I concluded that she would not make a very good Amish.
Before we left, we roamed around the barn and checked out the animals. Boy did that place wreek like nobody's business! It was here that we saw the most hilarious thing: a horse itching its hiney on the barbed wire fence. The video just does not do it justice because I got it after it was pretty much done. The picture does a better job of showing it.
After visiting the Amish home we stopped at the Amish Flea Market in Walnut Creek. We could not figure out why they called it an "Amish" flea market since there were really very few Amish and most of the stuff was just junk and not Amish paraphernalia. Needless to say we didn't stay there very long. Then we stopped on the street shops and Nicole picked up a picnic basket for a mere $52 (please note the sarcasm there).
Our final stop was at a cheese factory called Guggisberg Cheese. Oddly, we didn't buy any cheese but instead bought a deck of Dutch Blitz and some snacks. We ate dinner right across the street at a very charming Amish/Swiss/Austrian restaurant called "Chalet in the Valley." I had the Berner Plate while listening to Edelweiss (the kids had spaghetti and Nicole had miscellaneous items). Very good end to a very fun day!
2 comments:
Hey dude, have you decided to do something different with the pictures or is blogger just spazzing out? Some of them don't load and if I try to click on the thumbnail it won't boot up a big version :(. But it sounds like you guys had fun! Did it reek more than the bear or cat exhibit at the Cincy zoo? :)
Hey! Why didn't I know you had a blog? I ran across you by accident on the Pagh's website. I'm doing my level best not to be offended at being the last to know. ;-)
Your trip to Amish country sent me on a trip to Wikipedia. I've read more about the Amish, the Mennonites and the Hutterites (the be-bonnetted folk here in the Tri Cities) in the last few hours than I have in my whole life. As always, an encounter with Nicole sends me on a learning mission. :-)
Looking forward to your return, Hoxworths. We miss Rebekkah and Micah so so much in KIX. Give them hugs from Mrs. Horton, Mrs. Snyder and Mrs. Holland.
Miss you!
Dellaina
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