VivaSync

• In March, I spent two nights in Helen, a small Bavarian-inspired town in Georgia.
• Helen is the third-most visited city in the state, and was redesigned with German influences in the 1960s.
• I thought it was a great weekend getaway and loved the interesting architecture, outdoor activities, and German food and drinks.

Helen is a small Bavarian-inspired town in Georgia, and the third-most visited city in the state.

I grew up in South Carolina less than two hours from Helen, Georgia, but I'd never visited personally until recently. Growing up, I always knew Helen as a popular weekend getaway spot for my friends and family, who enjoyed the city's Bavarian-themed architecture and outdoor activities.

In March, I spent two nights at a hillside cabin in the quirky village, which sits on the banks of the Chattahoochee River at the edge of the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest. I've always loved the mountainous landscape of northeastern Georgia — my husband and I even honeymooned in the area — so I enjoyed the winding, scenic drive leading into town. 

It was too early to check into my cabin accommodations when I arrived the first day, so I found a public parking lot near Main Street, which cost $10 for the day. I parked and spent the afternoon exploring the area on foot.

At the Helen Arts & Heritage Center, I learned the town's alpine theme originated in the 1960s from a local artist and group of businessmen.

One of my first stops was the Helen Arts & Heritage Center, a local art gallery, gift shop, and museum chronicling the town's history, which I found fascinating. 

Inside the center, I saw paintings and sculptures from current local artists, models of ancient indigenous villages, and scrapbooks of newspaper clippings about the town. There was also a small room where a short history film was being displayed on a projector and an exhibit dedicated to John Kollock, a former local artist who sketched designs for Helen's renovation in the 1960s.

In the museum, I learned that before today's Bavarian-themed town, the Southern Appalachian region encompassing Helen was home to Native American tribes, including the Creek and Cherokee Nations. Later, there was the arrival of settlers, miners during the gold rush era, and a major timber company in the early 1900s. According to the exhibit, it wasn't until 1969 that Kollock created the vision for the town as it exists today.

In the gift shop, I bought a book called "The Spirit of Helen," which explains the origin of the town's renovation. It began with a group of local businessmen in 1968 who wanted to make the town more appealing to tourists.

I read that Kollock was inspired by having been stationed in Bavaria during World War II years before, and given Helen's mountain landscape, he drew up a set of sketches for an alpine-inspired town. 

I admired the town's Bavarian-inspired architecture, which included elaborate wooden trim and colorful designs.

I noticed most of the town's colorful buildings were decorated with wooden framing, gingerbread trim, and reddish-brown roofs. I saw a biergarten with people eating outside and wandered through narrow alleyways lined with small storefronts.

I was glad I learned about the town's history in the heritage center at the beginning of my visit because it gave me a better understanding of my surroundings while exploring. According to the book I bought at the heritage center, residents embraced Kollock's vision for a German-themed town right away, and the newly themed town was opened for business in 1972. 

I was amused to see that even hotels and fast food chains were designed with German aesthetics.

The book I bought also explained that the town has strict rules to make sure businesses adhere to the alpine theme, including a city color chart with approved paint colors, and limitations on large or illuminated signs.

I enjoyed seeing how so many different businesses, from restaurants and gift shops to tattoo parlors and fast food chains, melded together to create the feeling of a European mountain village.

Colorful murals, inspired by traditional Bavarian frescoes, covered the sides of buildings throughout town.

Around town, I spotted dozens of outdoor murals, most depicting flowers or rural village scenes. During a conversation with a local shop owner, I learned that these paintings were inspired by traditional Bavarian street art known as "Lüftlmalerei," which roughly translates to "air painting." 

The murals reminded me of images from fairy tales, which seemed fitting since I knew the town's theme came from the imagination of an artist.

I enjoyed walking along Main Street, which has a bridge that crosses over the Chattahoochee River.

I paused to admire the view on a pedestrian bridge overlooking the Chattahoochee River, which crosses right through town.

Near the river, I saw a restaurant with a large outdoor patio, and next door, the Helendorf River Inn, a hotel dating to the late 1970s that's now also a conference center.

For lunch, I stopped at a restaurant next to the river, where I enjoyed a German drink and an Eastern European meal.

For a late lunch, I stopped at a restaurant called Alpine Brew Deck, which had a covered patio overlooking the river. I ordered a canned radler, which was a grapefruit-flavored version of a German drink that typically contains a mix of beer and lemon-lime soda.

I also ordered a plate of pierogi, a dumpling-style eastern European dish stuffed with mashed potatoes, which is one of my favorite foods. Because of my family's Slovak heritage, I ate these often growing up, and was excited to see them on the menu.

I watched chocolate candies being made at Hansel & Gretel Candy Kitchen, which has several locations throughout Helen.

I stopped at a shop called Hansel & Gretel Candy Kitchen, which I noticed had two separate locations in town, both on Main Street and about a 12-minute walk from each other. Inside, I saw cases filled with sweets like candied apples, fudge, and chocolate truffles. There were also packages labeled "Chattanooga River Rocks," which were small pieces of chocolate that resembled colorful pebbles.

In the back of the shop, there was a glass wall with a sign that said "Welcome to our factory." Behind it, I saw a room where chocolate candies were being made. An employee told me that many, but not all, of the chocolates sold at the store were made on-site. I picked out a few locally-made truffles to go, which I enjoyed later that evening. 

Before checking into my cabin for the night, I explored a few more gift shops and bought groceries at Betty's Country Store.

I went to some of the town's many boutiques, which had a mix of unique local goods and typical gift-shop souvenirs like shirts and keychains.

One store I visited, Honey On the Hill, sold local honey and bee-themed gifts in addition to offering free honey samples. Another shop, Christmas & More, had holiday decorations for sale and a life-size Santa Claus mannequin at the entrance. At a T-shirt shop, I bought a sweatshirt with an "Alpine Helen" emblem on it.

Before checking into my cabin, I stopped at Betty's Country Store, which is Helen's only grocery store. Inside, I found standard supermarket staples like produce and refrigerated goods, specialty items like locally canned relishes and general store-style candy bins, and a large selection of wines and German beers. I bought a few groceries and headed to my cabin for the evening.

On my second day, I walked to the Georgia Mountain Coaster, one of Helen's many popular outdoor activities.

Helen has a variety of seasonal outdoor activities, like zip lining and river tubing, that are open to visitors in the warmer months of the year. There are also hiking trails and several waterfalls within driving distance of town.

One attraction is a mini roller coaster, called the Georgia Mountain Coaster, which winds through Helen's wooded hills. The mile-long ride is open year-round, but because it was raining that day, I decided not to ride it. I did, however, walk up the tall steps leading to the entrance, where I enjoyed a bird's-eye view of the businesses along Main Street. 

I enjoyed good conversation and southern hospitality at Paul's Steakhouse, which overlooks the river and dates back to 1965.

To escape the rain during my second afternoon in town, I stopped at Paul's Steakhouse, a restaurant that sits at the edge of the river. I'd read that it was the place where local business owners, along with Helen's then-mayor, had first discussed a need to spruce up the town.

I sat at the bar and had a friendly conversation with the bartender and four other local residents, one of whom turned out to be another former mayor. I thought the group demonstrated to me the town's welcoming southern hospitality — when I told them it was my first time visiting, they offered tips about their favorite activities and restaurants in the area. 

The bartender said she loved to go hiking with her family at Unicoi State Park, and a fellow patron recommended a few of his favorite German restaurants for dinner and breakfast.

The group also told me about Helen's annual activities, like the German-themed Christmas market called Christkindlmarkt, the town's Oktoberfest, and the Helen to the Atlantic hot air balloon race, which involves hot air balloon crews racing from Helen to the Atlantic coast over about two days.

At the recommendation of a local, I stopped by Bodensee restaurant for dinner and enjoyed an authentic German meal.

For dinner, I walked to the German restaurant Bodensee, which one of the locals at the bar had recommended. According to the restaurant's website, the spot is named after an alpine lake and owned by a couple who moved to Helen from Germany.

Inside, I saw a sign that said, "Guten Tag, Y'all," which to me perfectly encapsulated the mix of German ambiance and Southern charm at the restaurant and throughout town.

The staff at Bodensee, just as I'd experienced everywhere in Helen, were warm and helpful. I asked the server for his recommendation and decided to order what he said was his favorite meal: hauspfaennle, a pork dish made with mushroom cream sauce, and a side of spaetzle, which is a traditional European egg noodle. It was delicious. 

For breakfast on my last morning in town, I grabbed a bite at Hofer's, a German bakery and deli.

One of the locals I met at the bar said that he thought Hofer's had the best German breakfast in town, so I stopped there after checking out of my cabin.

The cafe-restaurant had a covered biergarten out front, and inside, there was a dining room, a bakery counter, and a deli counter serving up German classics like bratwurst and knackwurst. I saw it was a popular place — the restaurant was full when I arrived and I saw a long line of people waiting to be seated. 

Because it was busy, I was happy with the option to purchase items directly from the bakery counter, so I decided to buy a raspberry pastry to go. 

I took a short drive to visit Unicoi State Park for a scenic hike around the edge of Unicoi Lake.

Because Helen is popular for its outdoor activities, and since the bartender I met had recommended Unicoi State Park, I knew I wanted to spend some time in nature before leaving town. The drive to the park, which sits in the Chattahoochee National Forest surrounding part of Helen, took just five minutes. 

I'd checked the park map online before arriving, so I knew the park had a lodge, rental cabins and campsites, activities like fly fishing and paddle boarding, and multiple hiking trails. I considered one of the longer trails leading to Anna Ruby Falls, a waterfall with observation decks, but decided instead to take a shorter trail that wound around Unicoi Lake.

I parked at the entrance to the lake trail, which was two miles long. I saw a few other hikers, along with some picnic tables, a public restroom, and multiple signs warning of bears.

With a watchful eye and a backpack containing my pastry from Hofer's, I headed down the dirt walking trail around the lake. I eventually came across a wooden bench, where I stopped to rest and eat my breakfast while enjoying views of the calm lake below.

After my hike, I drove 10 minutes to Habersham Winery, which is part of a wine trail that spans northern Georgia.

There are multiple wineries around Helen and across northern Georgia, so I knew a visit to a winery was a must. After my short hike at the lake, I stopped at Habersham Winery and ordered a tasting flight, which came with five wine samples of my choice.

I was thankful it was sunny and warm that day because I was able to enjoy my drinks outside on the covered patio. I loved all of the wines I tried, especially a couple of varieties that were made with peaches and Muscadines, fruits that are both grown in Georgia.

On my way out of town, I stopped by the Nacoochee Mound and paused to read a sign explaining the historic site.

At multiple points during my stay, I heard about the Nacoochee Mound, an archaeological site just a couple minutes drive from the center of town.

Today's mound is a replica of the original mound, which dates back hundreds of years and was once used as a burial ground by people of the Mississippian culture. The current mound was rebuilt after the original was excavated in 1915.

I passed the site on my way out and stopped to read the historical marker at the edge of the road. It felt like an important reminder of the millennia-long history of people who once called this region home, long before settlers, gold miners, and travelers like myself came to visit.

I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this quirky, creative town, and I plan to visit again.

Even with all the positive stories I'd heard about Helen before visiting, I was still surprised by how much I enjoyed my stay. For me, the town had everything that makes for a great weekend getaway — interesting architecture, friendly locals, good food and drinks, and opportunities to enjoy the outdoors.

And while I learned the Bavarian-inspired theme wasn't founded with true European roots, I still appreciated its unique backstory and the ongoing creativity of residents who keep the town's artistic, alpine spirit alive. 

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