Chicagoans planning a weekend getaway often think about traveling to Lake Geneva or Michigan's beaches. Others opt for a weekend visiting museums and historical sites in Rockford or Springfield. Still others like to spend the time camping at a forest preserve or state park However, few people may realize that several unique international adventures await them just three hours from Chicago.
Dubbed "America's Little Switzerland," this small town is an easy three-hour drive from Chicago. Nestled among the rolling hills of southern Wisconsin, it was established in 1845 by men and women from the Glarus region of Switzerland. The town carefully maintains its Swiss traditions and atmosphere. Many buildings include sloping roofs, overhanging eaves and decorative woodwork typical of traditional Swiss architecture. If possible, schedule your visit during one of the town's Swiss-themed weekends. For example, the Wilhelm Tell Festival, held every September, includes an outdoor theater performance about the folk hero who played an important role in Switzerland's independence. It also includes a children's lantern parade, Swiss alphorn concerts, a yodeling contest and a fashion show featuring Swiss ethnic costumes. The Swiss Historical Village Museum shows what the town was like in the 1800s with its small log church, cheese factory, log cabin, one-room schoolhouse and nine other buildings. The Chalet of the Golden Fleece Museum, which is styled after a Swiss Bernese mountain chalet, includes Swiss dolls, woodcarvings, samplers and more. Many of the town's restaurants serve Swiss cuisine. Visitors can purchase Landjaegers Swiss sausage from the town butcher, Bratezeli Swiss cookies from the bakery or Swiss chocolate from the candy shop. Overnight accommodations include a chalet-styled hotel, historic farmhouses and several other hotels, motels and inns near the town.
New Glarus Chamber of Commerce
418 Railroad St.
New Glarus, WI 53574
800-527-6838
swisstown.com
Another international adventure awaits just 23 miles northwest of New Glarus in an area known as Niessedahle, or "Valley of the Elves." It is Little Norway, the 150-year-old homestead established by Norwegian immigrants Osten and Birgit Haugen. The homestead, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, gives visitors a glimpse into Norwegian settler life in the mid-1800s. It includes eight distinctive buildings, including a sod-roof cabin and a replica of a 12th-century Norwegian Stave Church. Guides in Norwegian costumes lead tours of the homestead. The Midsummer's Eve celebration, on the Saturday before June 21, includes Norwegian music and a bonfire. More Norwegian culture can be experienced in the nearby town of Mount Horeb with its wood-carved trolls and Scandinavian-style buildings.
Little Norway
3576 Highway JG North
Blue Mounds, WI 53517
608-437-8211
littlenorway.com
Mount Horeb Area Chamber of Commerce
300 E. Main St.
Mt Horeb, WI 53572-2033
608-437-5914
trollway.com
This Dutch-inspired Michigan town is especially popular during the first week of May, when it holds its annual Tulip Time festival. To avoid the tourist buses, visit the town a week before or after the festival or anytime during the summer. The Dutch Museum, in downtown Holland, gives visitors a chance to learn about the 60 Dutch Calvinists who established the town in 1847. Windmill Island Gardens, just north of downtown, includes the only operating Dutch windmill in the United States. The island imitates a typical small Dutch town with dikes, canals, gardens, cobblestone streets and Dutch Colonial brick buildings. During the summer, girls dressed in folk costumes and wooden shoes perform Klompen dances for visitors. The Veldeer Tulip Garden is four miles north of Holland, next to the DeKlomp Wooden Shoe Factory and the only Delftware production factory in North America. Because of its proximity to Lake Michigan's beaches, there are numerous hotels in the area.
Holland Area Convention and Visitors Bureau
76 E. Eighth St.
Holland, MI 49423
800-506-1299
holland.org
