And One More On the Way: Decorah, Iowa

Hart's Tea and Tarts Tea Room

Another addition in our series building up to the conference, another possible stop on the way to the conference or any Laura trip is Decorah, Iowa.

Hart’s Tea and Tarts is absolutely my favorite tea room that’s still open (sadly becoming my favorite tea room in the world seems destined to close them down, but we’ll hope it doesn’t happen this time). It’s located in downtown Decorah’s historic district which is worth a look all on its own. Decorah, Iowa is just over 10 minutes south of Burr Oak. A massive reinvestment in the downtown has it looking beautiful. This is what a downtown should look like.

Park in the free community parking behind the main block of business buildings, close to Hotel Winneshiek if you can, and then walk through the hotel on the way to Tea and Tarts. It’s just up the stairs (stop and wash your hands in the ladies room – it’s gorgeous) through the lobby, just across the street and down about two doors is Hart’s Tea and Tarts.

If you have time stay and look around the hotel. First built by the community and redone to accommodate visits

Hotel Winneshiek

by the king and queen of Norway, it looks like a royal palace. It had fallen on hard times, and had been chopped up into apartments when a local girl who’d married well decided to return to her home community after her husband’s death. She hired the same group of people who had recently restored Iowa’s state capitol and spared no expense. It’s well worth looking around the hotel and the opera house (now transformed into a conference center) next door and they have a self-tour handout at the hotel registration desk for the asking. They also have cheap postcards of the hotel, if you are in the market. Spending a night at Hotel Winneshiek is on my life goal list. http://www.hotelwinn.com

Hart’s Tea and Tarts is also beautiful. The food is simply delicious and the tea, which you can choose from a menu of which kind of tea you want, comes with a timer because each tea needs to steep for a different length of time to achieve perfection. Heaven itself! I often try to time my drives through Decorah to hit when Tea and Tarts is open and I highly recommend you do the same.
http://www.hartsteaandtarts.com

Sadly it was  the victim of a fire and the last time I was there it was closed for remodeling. The fire took the life of the person who lived in the apartment above the tea room, but they have since re-opened and I think deserve all our support.

The Decorah area is rich in tourist spots, so take time to look around if you can. There are several museums in town, but the one with somewhat of a national reputation is the Vesterheim (or in English, Western Home) museum which includes some terrific displays about the Norwegian immigrant experience and Norway’s contribution to the world in general, at least a floor of incredible open storage, and a by guided tour only historic buildings group. It has a really good gift shop too and some times has classes on traditional Norwegian crafts.
http://vesterheim.org

Also, nearby (and just off the direct route between Burr Oak and Decorah, follow the signs) is Seed Savers Exchange, a farm dedicated to the preservation and spread of heirloom varieties of fruits and vegetables. http://www.seedsavers.org

And Locust school, a beautiful specimen of a stone one-room schoolhouse, is farther east in the same (Winnisheik) county. http://www.calmaria.com/tourism.html

Sarah S. Uthoff,  http://www.trundlebedtales.com

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