Sunday in Strasburg

 

Amish Transportation

We have stopped in Pennsylvania in the middle of Amish country, close to a couple of “Cute” little towns called “Bird in Hand”, and “Intercourse”. Also in the area is a town called “Strasburg” Dad has been here before with mom, and wanted to go back to see some of the interesting things he remembered from visits over 15 years ago. Last night we went into Intercourse to find the Farm Market, and picked up some nice fresh vegetables sold by the Amish farmers in the area. They also sell farm fresh meat, baking, preserves, and crafts. I even managed to find Regis another pair of earrings and a necklace.

Old Construction Style

Today we decided to drive into Strasburg to see what was there. Driving on the roads around here is an adventure, because you must share them with the Amish horse & buggies. These are beautiful little vehicles and all look in perfect condition, with little brown horses trotting in front and families sitting in the wagon or buggies. Many are small covered “buggies” obviously intended just to transport families. Most of them drive on the very wide shoulders of the road, and move along at a good trot, so they are not too hard to work around. If they are larger utility or work wagons or have two horses they are larger than the shoulder of the road and care must be taken in passing.

Brick Sidewalks

I think I can make this.

Strasburg was the railway terminal for this part of Pennsylvania, and I suspect in its heyday it was probably a busy place. Not so today – Sunday in Strasburg was pretty dead. Most of the stores were closed and the streets were quiet. So, instead of shopping, or visiting tourist attractions, we just walked around and enjoyed seeing some of the town. The houses along Main St. are beautiful old American homes, and many are very old. We saw one being restored and post & beam construction and wide plank framing was visible. Most of the homes were very nicely decorated with a very interesting variety of front door wreaths – Regis got a few ideas for our front door and suggested I take pictures so I would be able to make one when we get home.

Sidewalk Variety

Stone Sidewalks

One interesting thing I noticed on our walk was that originally it was each homeowner's responsibility to build and maintain the sidewalk in front of their houses. As you walked down the street you went from concrete, to stone, to brick. There were some very interesting designs. I've included photos of a few.

We did manage to find a nice Antique shop that was open, and on our way back to the car we found a lovely restaurant called the Iron Horse Inn where we had a delicious lunch. All in all, finding Strasburg closed on a Sunday was a positive experience. We have gotten so used to having everything open on Sunday, but without the distraction of shopping and holiday “attractions” we had an opportunity to actually see the community itself. A very pleasant way to spend a Sunday.