Last week Paul and I spent the day exploring Helen, Georgia. It was fun to revisit a place I hadn’t seen in twenty years! My grandparents lived in Atlanta and we spent a lot of our visits with them touring the little towns in North Georgia. I don’t think it’s changed much since 1996 – Helen is basically a smaller version of Gatlinburg with a German twist and a little more Southern charm. The scenery around the town is really beautiful with the mixture of old Southern homes, farm land and mountains.
Helen is a recreation of a Bavarian Alpine village – it is the sister city of Fussen, Bavaria in Germany. Here’s a look down Main Street with the light posts all decorated for fall.
The Chattahoochie River flows around and through the town. Many restaurants offer outdoor dining overlooking the river.
Since Tangled is one of our favorite modern Disney movies, Paul couldn’t resist this mural (even though Rapunzel looks a little sketchy here!). 🙂
We ate lunch at Bigg Daddy’s Restaurant and Tavern – it was delicious! Of course there are lots of German restaurants to choose from, but neither of us are fans of that cuisine. Besides, who doesn’t love a big slice of thin crust pizza? I would definitely eat there again.
Helen is a super touristy town – it attracts people for the tubing and ziplining offered nearby, and the town is filled with stores offering the same random t-shirt and trinket selection you find in Gatlinburg. There are a few stores that sell handmade crafts in the Bavarian style as well. However, Helen is also a very Southern town with incredibly warm and friendly people. We saw the same city policeman about five times during the day and had a nice conversation with him at one point. Our waitress at Bigg Daddy’s was as sweet as she could be! We found a display in one of the local stores that reminded us that we were indeed in Georgia…and it just had to be shared:
Only in the South, right? 🙂 I have always loved Georgia and definitely enjoyed our day in Helen!
That’s it for me! Have a lovely weekend!
Linking up with High Five For Friday, Friday Favorites, and Five on Friday
Here’s what was new on the blog this week!
Wednesday: Hosting A Stress-Free Thanksgiving Meal {Part 1: October}
Come Home For Comfort 
This looks like such a gorgeous city! My husband and I love day trips, so we are definitely going to have to try this place out! It looks like you guys had a wonderful time! 😊
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It’s fun, but you can do the whole town in a couple hours…unless you’re doing rafting or something like that. 🙂 It’s a beautiful location, though!
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I have never heard of this place before you mentioned it, but it looks adorable! I would’ve opted for the pizza too!!!
Tif
http://www.brightonabudget.com
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Themed towns/attractions are fun! I especially like the restaurants overlooking the river….so pretty! It’s nice to get away locally without having to travel far across the globe. That spelling on the pillow sign is something else, for sure! Haha! Glad you guys had a fun trip!
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It was really lovely how the river flows all through the town!
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Helen looks like a great place to visit! That pizza looks delicious. Hubby and I both prefer thin crust. Yum! Have a fabulous weekend!
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Paul doesn’t usually eat his crust, so he prefers thin as well. Less crust, more pizza! 🙂
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I just love your blog! It’s just as sweet and charming as you are. ❤️
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Thanks for stopping by the blog, Donya! ❤
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What a fun day date! Love all the pics.😆
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Thanks, Nikki! It was fun!
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Looks like you had a wonderful trip! The town looks adorable. Happy Friday! Hope you have a wonderful weekend!
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Thanks, Melissa! It was a fun day. Have a great weekend!
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Looks like you two had a blast. That pillow made me giggle. But now I want pizza 😉
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We saw that sign and Paul said I HAD to get a picture of it. 🙂
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What a fun day date! I love checking out new cities. That pizza looked amazing and it sounds like y’all had a great day together. I think you picked the perfect time of year because there were no crowds and everything looked lovely. I should get more creative and plan some day date options – maybe a quick trip to Indy or St. Louis would be fun 🙂
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I grew up just over an hour from Indy, and we had lots of fun trips over there. I’ve never been to St. Louis but it seems like a really cool city. Go for it!
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Oh that pizza!!!
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I always feel that pizza is best without any meat – the more veggies, cheese and sauce the better! 🙂
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Believe it or not, I have NEVER been to Helen, Ga though I am from north Georgia. When we get our little house built we will have to take a road trip.
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It’s definitely something you need to do at least once. 🙂 I think it would be fun to go at Christmas when it’s all lit up and festive!
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I saw where you stated you grew up in Indiana…did you ever go to Starlight Orchard in Starlight Indiana? We took our children there when we lived in Louisville, Ky. We also made it to Santa Claus Land!! Starlight Orchard was the perfect fall day trip back then.
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That’s about two hours from where we lived, so I don’t think we did…but then again, we might have gone when I was too young to remember. 🙂 My blogging buddy Whitney, from Polka Dotty Place, her parents live in Santa Clause, Indiana! Pretty cool!
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