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Published: October 20th 2013
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The great unknown as I would call it. You know they are there, but you know very little about them. The modern world does not exist to them - except a few who break the rules. The only cars you will see are those of the "outsiders". With town names like BIRD-IN-HAND and Intercourse you can only be in one small part of the United States (not entirely true) - PENNSYLVANIA DUTCH COUNTRY.
About a 3 hour drive from us it's definitely a little out of the way, but an interesting part of the country. First stop was the KUTZTOWN FESTIVAL. A very Amish type festival that could also probably just qualify as a county fair. First you start with all the cheeses and homemade cold meats - delicious. Next up is all the pickled stuff - anything from veggies and meats to pig's feet. Then the real food - hot dogs with real sausage and typical fair food - burgers, fries, pulled pork and also someone real home-cooking Amish food. Definitely don't forget the SHOOFLY PIE. Still not sure how exactly this is pronounced, but it is heavenly with a crispy pie dough, molasses and lots of brown sugar.
After you have stuffed yourself with all these goodies start making the rounds admiring all the crafts that include beautiful leather products, arts of any kind imaginable, paintings, tractors, meat grinders and homemade brooms. Walk by the little farm area for a closer look at some farm animals and don't forget to make a visit to the roasted pig just turning round and round and round in its own fat until it's taken off and sold to the masses. They also have all sorts of entertainment for the kids and music for the adults. Overall a really nice time with very interesting things for sale and awesome food.
It is extremely hot in this part of the country during July so Rita's for Gelati (Italian ice and creamy frozen custard) quickly became a big favorite of ours. It really was unlike anything we have had before because of the combination of ice-cream and Italian ice. We stayed in close-by Ephrata at the SMITHTON INN. Old house with really nice rooms, friendly hosts and really good breakfast. We decided to try the Iron Hill Brewery in Lancaster for our fourth of July evening meal. We decided to do more of
Kutztown Festival
Slow roasted pig! a tapas style meal so we started with the sweet potato fries with several dipping sauces (this was really good) and sweet potato soup - yeah I know that is a lot of sweet potato, but it definitely was worth it. The pancetta and fig pizza was a very nice little change-up from your regular pizza and the Brabant mussels was also a pleasant surprise. The beers were really good as well so definitely a very enjoyable meal that we would recommend.
In Ephrata they have the EPHRATA CLOISTER. At first I think we were a little skeptical of visiting, but our curiosity got the better of us. Very interesting things. Really just the Dutch settling in Pennsylvania and doing their thing. This was a religious community started in the 1700's. Fascinating to do the little guided tour and just hear how they went about their daily lives. This one was a little bit more extreme it seems. They got up at midnight for prayers for a couple hours. They were completely self-sustaining with most of the time spent working the fields or in prayer. The buildings and interior of the buildings are pretty awesome to see and just
Kutztown Festival
How can you say no to this? once again trying to figure out how they really were capable of building this with what they had at their disposal. An interesting thing is that the community lived in complete harmony with their neighbors and even encouraged trade with the neighbors as well as invite them to attend church services. This is somewhat contrary to most religious groups of the past who had very little contact with outsiders who did not share their believes.
Just a couple miles down the road is the STURGIS PRETZEL HOUSE @ LITITZ. They have been making pretzels here for forever (they have moved operations recently) and still keep open the building to do tours. First stop on the tour is to become a certified pretzel folder. They take you through the steps of how to make a pretzel and then they take you through the building and explain the history of the pretzel and how they started making it.
The back-country of Dutch PA is really pretty. DRIVING the BACKROADS is a must. Just find the road off the beaten path, roll down the windows and enjoy the green country side with corn growing, streams flowing and everywhere you look the
Kutztown Festival
Shoofly pie. Yum! Amish working their fields (some with technology and some with horse and plough). There are many COVERED BRIDGES in the area so definitely make some time for exploring these along the back roads. The Amish definitely still do their thing. You'll still see a lot of horse-and-buggies. The towns are fun and funky with cute little stores and markets and restaurants serving delicious food. We made a stop at the PLAIN AND FANCY RESTAURANT FOR PIES. We also tried the fired chicken which was really good. This really appeared to be more of a tourist trap than anything else, but the food was good and the pie especially good so I can't knock it too much.
That really was our introduction to and experience of Amish country. We were a little surprised I guess. It was not as "Amish" as we expected it to be. There were some horse-and-buggies and definitely a lot of Amish, but it's also very evident that the area/towns are very developed and reliable on technology. The pie and Amish food is definitely a must and a drive along the back roads. Try out the local inns and bed-and-breakfast places.
Well that is it.
Kutztown Festival
Little fourth of July parade at the festival It was a quick trip and we only crossed-off two things which was Pennsylvania Dutch Country that was in two of the books. So 203 down and 5,578 to go.
Til next time from an area with a general dislike for technology
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Home and Away
Bob Carlsen
Thanks for the memories...
when we lived in DC from 1995 to 2005 we made it a tradition each October to visit this area for all that you have described...and to buy our fall house and yard decorations...pumpkins, corn stalks, etc.