longarmwj
New member
What a lot of people that aren't native to North Georgia might not realize, is that all you have to do to get a little slice of Germany is drive an hour and a half north of Atlanta. I had today, like every Friday, off work, so I took my brother and a friend of his up to Helen, Georgia.
Helen was previously a logging town that was in a huge decline, but the city resurrected itself by becoming almost an exact replica of a Bavarian alpine town, only in the Appalachians instead of the Alps. This design is mandated through zoning first adopted in 1969, so that the classic south-German style is present on every building, even on the small number of national franchisees present. The city is only two square miles, so parking can be a bit tough. Thankfully however, I managed to get up there before the weekend crowds and found a very close spot to park the DubKay2.
Directly across from the parking spot is a beautiful park, which is famous for its waterfall.
Looking down the main road and over the authentic Beer Garden
There's even horse drawn carriages!!
I was walking around, not exactly sure which store I wanted to go into first (there are a TON), but when I saw a bright neon sign signaling wild game jerky, I knew where I was headed. I was amazed at the types of jerky they had. Elk, alligator, bison, salmon, turkey, and so much more.
After loading down two shopping bags and somehow racking up a 85 dollar bill, only in jerky, we decided to try to find something to eat. If you thought there would be awesome German food in Helen, you'd be correct.
Old Heidelberg is one of my favorite places to eat anywhere. Sadly the Pub is only open at night.
It's a classy and traditional German Cafe, and despite the pub being closed, that still didn't stop me from sipping down some awesome German suds.
The food is pretty stellar too. Before you know it, I was chowing down on some "Weiner Art"
After being properly stuffed, we walked down one of the ally ways and came across a wine room serving made in Georgia wine from Fox Vinyards. This was my first time sampling wine from Appalachian grapes, and let me tell you, the flavor profiles are amazing. I promptly bought a bottle of Chardonnay.
They also sold Georgia wild honey also which is the greatest honey you'll ever have.
Now how do you top a day full of German suds and great food off? By driving another 20 minutes north to Bell Mountain of course!
Bell Mountain was pillaged for profit by outsiders over 50 years ago for quartz. It's one of the largest quartz deposits in the south. After it was abandoned it became a popular wheeling spot due to its massive ruts and rocks. Recently however, the mountain was bought out and made into an observation deck.
Here's the real kicker. Painting the rocks IS ALLOWED!! How cool is that!? I think they need a big old Wayalife logo up there
The view doesn't suck either!
Well hopefully I didn't bore y'all to death with no real wheeling pictures. But then again all we do here is mall crawl anyway, right? [emoji23]
Sent from my iPhone using WAYALIFE mobile app
Helen was previously a logging town that was in a huge decline, but the city resurrected itself by becoming almost an exact replica of a Bavarian alpine town, only in the Appalachians instead of the Alps. This design is mandated through zoning first adopted in 1969, so that the classic south-German style is present on every building, even on the small number of national franchisees present. The city is only two square miles, so parking can be a bit tough. Thankfully however, I managed to get up there before the weekend crowds and found a very close spot to park the DubKay2.
Directly across from the parking spot is a beautiful park, which is famous for its waterfall.
Looking down the main road and over the authentic Beer Garden
There's even horse drawn carriages!!
I was walking around, not exactly sure which store I wanted to go into first (there are a TON), but when I saw a bright neon sign signaling wild game jerky, I knew where I was headed. I was amazed at the types of jerky they had. Elk, alligator, bison, salmon, turkey, and so much more.
After loading down two shopping bags and somehow racking up a 85 dollar bill, only in jerky, we decided to try to find something to eat. If you thought there would be awesome German food in Helen, you'd be correct.
Old Heidelberg is one of my favorite places to eat anywhere. Sadly the Pub is only open at night.
It's a classy and traditional German Cafe, and despite the pub being closed, that still didn't stop me from sipping down some awesome German suds.
The food is pretty stellar too. Before you know it, I was chowing down on some "Weiner Art"
After being properly stuffed, we walked down one of the ally ways and came across a wine room serving made in Georgia wine from Fox Vinyards. This was my first time sampling wine from Appalachian grapes, and let me tell you, the flavor profiles are amazing. I promptly bought a bottle of Chardonnay.
They also sold Georgia wild honey also which is the greatest honey you'll ever have.
Now how do you top a day full of German suds and great food off? By driving another 20 minutes north to Bell Mountain of course!
Bell Mountain was pillaged for profit by outsiders over 50 years ago for quartz. It's one of the largest quartz deposits in the south. After it was abandoned it became a popular wheeling spot due to its massive ruts and rocks. Recently however, the mountain was bought out and made into an observation deck.
Here's the real kicker. Painting the rocks IS ALLOWED!! How cool is that!? I think they need a big old Wayalife logo up there
The view doesn't suck either!
Well hopefully I didn't bore y'all to death with no real wheeling pictures. But then again all we do here is mall crawl anyway, right? [emoji23]
Sent from my iPhone using WAYALIFE mobile app
