This is world traveling on the cheap. If you have ever been interested in traveling to Germany but are on a domestic budget. Do I have a treat for you. Let me introduce you to Helen, Ga. It is 1 hour east of Atlanta. It is a small village that was transformed in the 1960s to look like a German town. There is authentic German restaurants, German pubs , ceramic stores and more.
There are plenty of places to stay in this quaint town. There is a small hotel that looks like German cottage. Alpine Village Inn, located in the center of all the fun. If you read any of blogs , I expect certain standards when staying at a Hotel. There is a Holiday Inn Express really close, my personal favorite. I didn't see this during my search for hotels. I stayed at Red Roof Inn. It was clean. There wasn't a lot of amenities. It was close to everything, the room was comfortable and clean. Which is most important to me. They did offer breakfast, nothing fancy, continental breakfast (in the south that means cereal) . I choose to eat out.
Places to eat, there was definitely some good eatin in Helen. Dottie's Kitchen, home of the cathead biscuit. All I can saw is...MEWOW! The cat head biscuit is huge. You pick a table, choose an item off the list and they serve it up. It reminds me of eating at someone's home, if they lived in a huge log cabin. You pick what you want and they serve it up on a dish. The breakfast was ammmazzzing. Country breakfast heaven, you can't go wrong with anything on the menu.
I know the picture quality isn't the best but , this
food was spectacular. The biscuit is about 7inches round. In the center of the village is a bunch of restaurants, shops and gift stores. The Old Bavaria Inn Restaurant is located in the center. They make authentic Germany cuisines. The owner immigrated from Germany and open this restaurant bringing traditions and the taste of Germany to Helen. The restaurant is also a gift shop of sorts, most of the items on the wall are for sell. They have a large collection of cuckoo-clocks. German drinking glasses (steins) and lots of other things. There are many pictures lining the walls. It tells the story of the owner and his family through the years. Below is my a picture of my Bratwurst and German beer. It was so good, I don't remember the name of the beer.
There are several other restaurants in the main village. On the weekends some of these places have live bands playing in the square. The atmosphere in these places make you believe you are in Germany, other than everyone speaking English.
The shops are very cool, each shop has its own personality. Along with being a German town, there was also a Bigfoot sighting in that area a few years ago. As such, there are shops that sell all things Bigfoot. Have a sweet tooth? Hansel and Gretel is a chocolate factory, with two store locations in Helen. It smells so good walking past this shop, you can't help but walk in want to buy a little bit of everything. There is also a wooden toy maker in the village. Yes, wooden toys, like tops, rubber band shooters, wooden swords and puppets. Small toy store but it is so cute. Parents , get ready to buy toys. Be warned wooden swords are not a good idea in the car. You like ceramics?
There is a whole store dedicated to Delft Pottery. Beautiful pieces , elegant show pieces for those that like to collect ceramics. Warning...do not take your kid in this store. You will go bankrupt if they bring the house down. LOL. For the Cosplay kids out there, Helen also has an excellent comic and cosplay shop. You can purchase replica swords, trading cards and more. For the wild child in you, there is a dispensary there as well. Alpine Dispensary, they have flower products , edibles and salves. I will tell you the salves work well, I know a few people that started using them for aches and pains, they state it works. This is not medical advise, just feedback that I have gotten from a few of their patrons. For the MOMs (we love you) there are multiple Christmas stores and holiday decorations places throughout Helen. My wife loves these shops. We had a wonderful time going through these shops and tasting the best of what Helen has to offer.
Think that is all, NO...wait there's more! Across from the village is a mountain and there is a roller coaster you can ride. It is single or double car coaster. You control the speed and braking. It is a little costly at about $20 per rider but it is a good time. You can not bring purses with you , leave it in the car. They also have lockers available for a dollar. The ride last about 5 minutes once it starts and there is a photo station during the ride. You can also take some pretty nice pictures overlooking the town from that high up before or after the ride. The town has a creek running through and around the village. You can rent a water tube. How awesome is that? It goes around the town, you can buy passes I believe for the day. There is so much stuff to see in this town. You can go through it in one day. If you want to do everything I suggest going for 2 days.
Places to visit Helen , GA:
Hansel and Gretel Candy shoppe
Old Bavaria Inn resturant
Dottie's Kitchen
Wooden Toy Store
(more to list soon)
Downtown Helen, Shops
Helen center of town
Helen also has a Big foot sighting in the past you will see random Big Foot stuff around.
Shops that line the main street leading into Helen
Dottie's Kitchen ...Have a cat head biscuit...delicious
Helen has this creek flowing through it. You can rent a tube to ride it. Also these iron fences have Love locks on them. You can bring your own lock and attach it to the fence.
You can ride a single rail coaster up in the mountains. A lot of fun.
Picture of the car you ride in. You control the speed.
