To Europe, By Plain
Quick getaways to Holland, Denmark and Germany are just a car ride away, thanks to immigrants who streamed into Iowa in the mid-1800s.
PELLA
PELLA
Population: 10,352
52 miles southeast of Des Moines
If pottery and pastries are your thing, pop over to this postcard-perfect town, which was settled by immigrants from Holland in 1847. European-style buildings clustered around the town square sell traditional blue-and-white Delftware and Dutch letters (fl aky S-shaped pastries filled with almond paste and covered in sugar crystals). Once sated with sugar, visitors can dance along with the Klokkenspel’s eight 4-foot mechanical figures as they perform to the tunes of a 147-bell carillon; tour an 1850s-style, 124-foot-tall working Dutch windmill (the tallest in the US); stroll along the Molengracht, a block-long pedestrian area complete with a canal and working drawbridge; and watch artisans make quilts, folk paintings and wooden shoes at the Pella Historical Village. www.pella.org
ELK HORN
Population: 662
88 miles west of Des Moines
Only one place in the US can rightfully claim to have an authentic working Danish windmill, and that’s Elk Horn — home to the largest concentration of Danish people outside of Denmark. In 1975, this burg imported the 1848 windmill piece by piece and reassembled it; today, you can climb to the top of the eight-sided structure. Go back further in time — we’re talking more than 1,000 years — at VikingHjem, a replica of a 900AD Viking smithy’s home. And at the Danish Immigrant Museum, check out more than 35,000 artifacts, including Victor Borge’s first piano and charming dolls used to keep hard-boiled eggs warm. Speaking of food, there’s no need to leave hungry — especially when you can try medisterpølse (sausage) and other Old Country specialties at The Danish Inn. And if you happen to tool into town in an electric car, not to worry: Far from being stuck in the past, Elk Horn has the country’s highest per capita concentration of electric vehicle charging stations. www.elkhorniowa.com
AMANA COLONIES
Population: 1,636
110 miles east of Des Moines
It all started in 1855, when a group of religious freedom-seeking Germans moved their communal society (as in shared kitchens, no wages, no private land) from upstate New York to east-central Iowa’s green, rolling hills. The “let’s share” fairy tale ended with the Depression, and in 1932, Amana Society Inc. was formed, encouraging private enterprise. (Amana appliances, anyone?) Today, a 20-mile loop connects this cluster of seven villages, where tidy, manicured streets hold museums dedicated to the likes of communal agriculture and Amana heritage; 60-plus shops, some with demos of old-time skills like broom making; and seven wineries, where turning down samples of traditional elderberry wines is a no-no. And, as the German proverb goes, “A light belly, a heavy heart,” so satisfy that yearning for hearty fare at Ronneburg Restaurant, the first in the Amana Colonies to serve sauerbraten and wiener schnitzel. www.amanacolonies.com
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