Our good friends, Pat and Dee, moved to Georgia as a result of the destruction of their home during Hurricane Katrina. Alas, another Katrina victim! Once in Georgia they learned of Helen, Georgia, a neat little town tucked away in the Blue Ridge Mountains that was famous for a month long Oktoberfest.
Helen was once a gold mining town, and later the town had numerous lumber mills. After the trees were gone, the locals feared that their small town might die away. A group of local businessmen met, and brainstormed ideas to keep their small mountain community alive. This was when it was decided to turn their city into a replica of a small town in Germany. Thus, Alpine Helen was born! All of the buildings and businesses have to built in German style. The town , which has been in existence for thirty-five years, is full of German food, beer, cuckoo clocks, and hummels.
In October 2006, we rented a condo for a week in the town of Helen. During the week, but not at the same time, we had 9 friends and family to stay at the condo and experience Helen, Georgia. Helen wasn't on my list (only because I didn't know about it), but it should be on yours. It's a neat little town full of friendly locals. You may not need a whole week to see it, but it's definitely worth a long weekend.
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