Amana/Chicago/St. Louis – Mixing Christmas Traditions

Christmas traditions

While we are always home for Christmas, we enjoy traveling to enjoy the festivities and beauty of the season. It’s Christmas traditions that we form. Most years can find us in Amana Colonies for the Prelude to Christmas. While we mix up where we stay, and what we do, for my husband Keith, Christmas is not Christmas without an Amana stop. For me the same is a visit to Chicago where I can get my glitz and glamour of the Windy City with my longtime friend Linda. This year I also added in a trip to St. Louis. Here’s what we did!

Staying in history with family!

I love to stay at unique lodging options, and the beautiful Millwright Hotel, a former woolen mill converted to hotel, fits the bill. This is one of the places that I featured in my eBook, Agricultural Treasures Guidebook! In Amana, Keith and I met up with my cousin Louise’s family. I lost Louise several years ago, and seeing her children and husband bring back memories while making new.

We met up with Louise’s daughter Lisa, her husband Eric, Louise’s son Scott, and husband Albert. The Amana Colonies is a perfect place to get together. This National Historic Landmark was one of America’s longest-lived communal societies. The Amana Colonies are seven villages located on 26,000 acres in east-central Iowa. The towns that make up the colonies are Amana, East Amana, High Amana, Middle Amana, South Amana, West Amana, and Homestead. The German Pietists were a religious group. Seeking freedom from persecution, they came to the States. They first settled in New York, then moved to Iowa in 1856. The Colonists lived a communal life until 1932. The Millwright Hotel is one of the buildings used by the Colonist to make wool.

Shopping, dining and the cookie walk!

During our visit, we dined at our favorite restaurants, the Ox Yoke Inn, and the Ronneburg! Both spots serve family style dining, and we enjoyed the fun of sitting around a table and catching up. We shopped the local antique stores finding a few treasures along the way. I even saw a bust of Lincoln in one. Honest Abe is everywhere!

The beautiful Festhalle Barn, a century old, restored dairy barn, was a highlight filled with decorated Christmas Trees. Hot chocolate and music rounded out the visit.

On Saturday morning, we got in line early and got our ticket for the Christmas Cookie Walk where over 70 Amana bakers offer a variety of delectable cookies! Everyone went, and we loved the fun picking out and trying to get the lid shut on our burgeoning boxes!

Lisa and I picking out cookies!

Thoughts turned to Louise when we stopped at Fern Hill Quilt shop since Louise was an avid quilter. Here I bought a fun vest, and we all loved the architectural salvage items scattered throughout the beautiful shop. They also have great candy! I think everyone found something at this bright spot!

Amana is like stepping into a Hallmark movie during the holidays, especially during Prelude to Christmas. We enjoyed sharing our favorite spots with family and having the chance to reconnect! Family is what the holiday is all about!

Chicago my kind of town!

I took the Amtrak to Chicago. Linda spoiled me picking me up right outside near the taxi stand. After taking luggage and items back to Linda’s, then we shopped a bit Macy’s, the former Marshall Fields. I love this lovely building that has so much beauty and history.

We enjoyed a Norman Rockwell tribute he paid to the clock outside Mashall Fields in 1945. This landmark always makes you know exactly where you are! During the holidays there are trumpets outside the building as decor drawing the eye up!

Whenever I am here, I have to take a gander at the Tiffany Dome. This is the world’s largest example of an unbroken Tiffany Faville iridescent glass mosaic. It covers 6,000 square feet and contains 1.6 million pieces of glass.

We had reservations in the beautiful Walnut Room! The huge tree is the centerpiece of this amazing restaurant’s Christmas tradition. In the archives we read that the first Great Tree was delivered and set up in the store overnight in 1907! Today it is a 45′ tall tree filled with 15,000 lights and up to 3,000 ornaments! They no longer use a real tree, but this beauty is every bit as captivating! What a fun way to ring in the holiday!

The Chicago Christkindl market!

After dining at the Walnut room, we headed to the Christkindl Market. The Christkindlmarket  is unique in that it unites cherished German and European traditions. They bring international flair and local vendors together. The event is inspired by the 16th century Christkindlesmarkt in Nuremberg, Germany. While fun, it was CROWDED, when Linda and I went. We enjoyed a boot mug of mulled wine, then headed back to her place to enjoy treats, wine, and fun shows!

Shopping and High Tea at the Drake!

We shopped and found way too many things to buy in the decorated stores! The highlight of our Saturday though was High Tea at the Drake! The Drake Hotel is historic. It was founded in 1920 by Tracy and John Drake. We saw pictures of Princess Diana visiting this lovely place! Decorations were everywhere!

The High Tea was held in the restaurant off the lobby called the Palm Court and International Club where our High Tea was served. We were seated next to a window, and we enjoyed seeing all the little girls decked out in their holiday finery.

We sipped holiday tea, had great little sandwiches and desserts. Serenaded by carolers, this was a festive event. A harp player added to the allure. What a sophisticated, beautiful place.

Breakfast Wrap

We ended our visit with breakfast at Ann Sather, with Swedish and potato pancakes. Adding eggs and a walk we tried to diminish the effect of the carb overload.

We took a long walk along Lake Michigan and visited our calories away!

At Union Station before boarding the train, I took advantage of sitting in the “senior” area where mature and accessible access individuals can wait. Even the station was decorated for the holidays.

The train was full on the ride home, and the young woman sitting next to me had an interesting Mexican hairless comfort dog that was so well behaved you didn’t even know it was there! What fun!

St. Louis Missouri Botanical Garden

While the Christmas holiday extravaganza at the Missouri Botanical Garden is really the Garden Glow with over two million lights! My friend Janna and I headed to tour the Tower Grove House, the Victorian Country House of the garden founder Henry Shaw. The weather was nice and clear for our visit. As we trailed through the garden to the house, we stopped to tour the Climatron, a geodesic dome. Initiated by director Frits W. Went, it was the world’s first completely air-conditioned greenhouse. Enclosed in Plexiglass, the Climatron houses 1,400 species of plants. It was nice to step into the warmth and see the water, plants and tropical, lush atmosphere!

Henry Shaw and the Tower Grove House

The garden was founded by Henry Shaw, an Englishman that came to the St. Louis, just a river town at the time in the spring of 1819. At the young age of 18, Shaw saw something in the lush prairie that moved him. Purchasing land as his hardware and cutlery business flourished, he expanded his investments to include agricultural commodities, mining, real estate and furs. Retiring at the young age of 39, he used his wealth to purchase more ground and develop the property around the country home he built. Visiting England, Shaw witnessed the Great Exhibition in 1851 and came home with plans to develop a garden.

Through his association with Dr. George Engelmann, a German physician-botanist they developed the garden, and used the property to include an herbarium and research facility. The garden opened to the public in 1859. The Tower Grove House was built in 1859, and Henry Shaw spent time here until his death in 1889. Decorated in Victorian Style, the home has items owned by Shaw.

After his death, the house was expanded when William Trelease, Ph.D. came with his young family to take over management of the garden. He improved the grounds and established a trade school for gardeners. The house was lovely decorated and interesting to learn about those that lived there!

Flower and Train Show and maize exhibit.

Before leaving, we viewed the Kernels of Culture: Maize Around the World exhibit. It was at the Garden’s Stephen and Peter Sachs Museum. The display integrates maize, art, farming, foods, community, tools, and pop culture all about corn! I really enjoyed the corn memorabilia, and art aspect.

Corn cob of pearls.

On our way out we stopped at the Flower and Train Show. We viewed a fun array of train models, kids enjoying a scavenger hunt, and flower decors. We saw a lovely combination of Poinsettias, and more!

It was fun mixing a country Christmas with city fun. All of these activities helped me get in the holiday spirit! Last year we went to Perryville for the amazing Country Church tour. This trip, and ones like going to our churches Christmas Eve service is what really puts the holiday into perspective.

I don’t want to lose the message of the day. It’s easy to do in the glitz of festivities. I love the reminder that it is all about a Jesus, a Savior coming to the World as a babe in a manger.

Merry Christmas, to you all. Please share your holiday ideas, I’d love to hear!

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