Those kids come alive...
Mmmmm, bar.
Glockenspiel Spätzle.
The Glockenspiel Sampler Wurstplatte, bratwurst, smoked German sausage.
I took a big detour outside of Portland recently, huge in fact! I drove a whole 45 minutes south to Mt. Angel and Woodburn. Mt. Angel I would come to find out, is a town with German heritage, and has a downtown decorated in a Bavarian theme. It’s cute. But my main reason for visiting was tasting some German food courtesy of The Glockenspiel Restaurant.
The 1st thing I noticed were the um, kids up in the tower outside. I quickly realized they would come alive, but not for another hour so I could eat and then catch the show. Although it’s a newer building, walking into The Glockenspiel shows a nice authenticish dining area with wood beams and German decorations all around. The bar looked very inviting with its big beer mugs and steins, and it did feature many different German beers on tap. Actually, all beer is on tap, nice.
The food was really quite good, and from what little experience I have with German cuisine, seemed authentic. We started with their fondue appetizer, which was good, but could have used more of the flavors from the cheese and/or wine. For a main course I got the Glockenspiel Spätzle which was fabulous, and very filling (and cheesy). Lots of veggies and spatzle thingies. It’s nice to see a vegetarian meal be a restaurant’s staple. Oh, and it also came with a tasty tomato bisque soup. My dining partners got the Glockenspiel Sampler Wurstplatte with bratwurst, sausage and vegetables, the Wiener Schnitzel and the reuben. All reported thoroughly enjoying their meals. We even got dessert, a standout was the German chocolate cake, which was obviously made on site and had no hint of Sysco Food Service that I constantly fear in desserts.
Afterwards we went outside to see those creepy kids come out and sing. I took a video, and although interesting, it just wasn’t interesting enough to post. But, it definitely adds to the enjoyment of the Glockenspiel.
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But why was I in the area to begin with? Because, of tulips. About a billion. I’m up for any adventure, and when I was made aware of a tulip festival at the Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm in Woodburn, it was a no brainer, had to go. I must say, the amount of tulips was pretty amazing. It’s mostly a great place for flower lovers and parents to take cute pictures of their kids. Aside from the impressive amount of blooming bulbs, it’s kind of a craft festival coupled with some overpriced kids rides and the requisite corn dogs and elephant ears, but at $10 a car, it’s a fun and colorful diversion. Click below for big colorful eye-candy…
Vast bulbage.
Makes me want Skittles.
Jonas Goes To Portland 