Back in Berlin

 

A couple of years ago, Ryan and I traveled to Holmes County, Ohio, to attend two days of training for Ryan’s work at Love INC. We ended up turning it into a fun mini-getaway and toured a few of the local shops while we were there.

                This year we went back for the marriage retreat, and I thought I’d share with you a couple of our new finds in case you also go visit!

                First up? The hotel. I told you yesterday that we stayed at the Encore, and Ryan and I agreed if we ever go back to town, this is where we will stay. Why? Here you go.

1. Clean. We both feel like in the world as a whole, cleanliness has taken a significant nosedive, post-pandemic. It shouldn’t be unusual to find someplace clean, but it is unusual, so three cheers to the housekeepers at the Encore!

2. Spacious. They have varying room sizes, but we appreciated the spaciousness of ours. Ours had a king bed and a kitchenette that was pretty sweet!

3. Breakfast. Breakfasts in Amish country are far superior. Ryan highly recommends the biscuits and gravy. I recommend the cinnamon roll cake. Worth it.

                There is an indoor pool and a workout room, but we didn’t visit either one of those.

                Berlin is a touristy area with multiple hotels and lots of other rental options (Airbnbs/cabins/you name it) but this hotel was a great choice.

                Next? Dinner at the Farmstead. It’s a proper Amish, sit-down, family-style restaurant, and it most certainly did not disappoint.

                Ryan tried the salad bar and said it was quite good. I didn’t get the salad bar, but the salad I had was SO delicious – and big enough for two meals!

                We enjoyed this meal with Frog and Jenna, and both Frog and Ryan tried the ribs, and they liked them. Jenna had a pulled pork sandwich, and she said it was good!

                We all deserve a thousand points for walking out past the homemade cutout sugar cookies, cinnamon rolls, pies, hand pies…you get the idea.

                If you go here to eat, you should take along a good appetite, because the food is tasty and the portions are generous.

                Finally? The coffee shop. When we visited Berlin last time, we had GH Coffee on our way out of town, and I just loved that little shop. I asked Ryan if we could eat lunch there before leaving town to drive home, and it was just as cute this time as it was before!

                We each got the Southwest Power Bowl, and it was good and filling! And the coffee kept us going for a long, freezing-rain filled drive home!

                If the weather had been a little nicer, we probably would have looked at a few more shops, but we wanted to get home before everything in Ohio and Indiana became a skating rink.

                Holmes County really is adorable. I’m glad we were able to visit again! If you have a chance, you should check it out!