Summer Tour
Explore Swedish and German heritage in Southwest Iowa. Enjoy Swedish morning breads at the Swedish Heritage Center and a German lunch at the Manning Hausbarn Heritage Park.
Tuesday, August 15, 2023
8:00 am – 5:30 pm
Tour starts at Lithuanian Bakery, 7427 Pacific Street, Omaha NE
$106 per person
Price includes coach transportation, driver gratuity, attraction admissions, German lunch, and ice cream social
Tour reservation deadline July 15, 2023
Highlights: Swedish morning pastries and coffee at Swedish Heritage and Cultural Center - German Hausbarn Park - German lunch - Albert the Bull Park: World’s Largest Bull - Alice and Leyman Swensen antique doll and toy collection at Audubon Public Library - Afternoon ice cream social
Our Iowa discovery tour begins with a morning visit to the small Swedish community of Stanton, Iowa. Swedish immigrants founded Stanton in 1870. This is the hometown of Virginia Christine, known to television viewers as “Mrs. Olson” in the classic commercials for Folgers coffee. Today the town celebrates this connection to coffee with a water tower shaped and painted like a giant coffee pot. We will tour the Swedish museum with exhibits on the town’s early immigrants and then enjoy Swedish pastries and coffee.
The German Hausbarn Park in Manning, Iowa is our next destination. Upon our arrival, we will be served a homecooked German lunch by a local German resident. German Hausbarn Park was created by the residents of the area to preserve their German-American hertiage. It features a German hausbarn, a common German dwelling in the 1660s, and a beautiful Trinity Lutheran Church that dates back to 1913. There is also a well preserved turn of the century farmstead. Tour the home, carriage house, barn, corn crib, and chicken coop.
Our last stop of the day is Albert the Bull Park in Audubon, Iowa. Albert is the world’s largest bull statue. Constructed in 1964, this 28 foot tall and 15 foot wide statue weights 45 tons. Most of the structure is solid concrete. The steelwork that forms his mighty frame was salvaged from abandoned Iowa windmills. Albert likes to get his photo taken with visiting groups.
Before departing Audubon, we will stop at the Audubon Public Library for an afternoon ice cream social. The library’s cultural center displays an interesting collection of antique dolls and toys from the private collection of Alice and Leyman Swensen.
