Puerto Varas

Puerto Varas is an adorable city located in Los Lagos Region (the lakes region) of Southern Chile. It sits on Lake Llanquihue which happens to be one of the largest natural lakes in South America.  (It was a bit cloudy so we couldn't see the top of the volcano when we first arrived)

Our plane landed just south in Puerto Montt where we picked up our rental car and drove half an hour north to laid back Puerto Varas. It was a tad rainy when we first landed but we didn´t care. We were surrounded by a stunning landscape.

The skys cleared up once we headed into town. Thankfully! (Sorry for the overexposure - technical difficulties)

The city is known for its german traditions and culture. Axel didn´t know he would be leaving Germany to visit a german city in Chile. 

This is the famous Puerto Varas Church. The architecture in Puerto Varas has a strong German influence thanks to some of the original settlers who immigrated here in 1848. It looked nice from a distance but it didn´t turn out to be the same in appearance of quality and material choice once you got up close. Axel told us the style is similar but the corrugated metal is not the siding of choice in Germany. 

We found many other beautiful buildings throughout town. We  preferred the wood shingles.

Corner porch? Yes please!

We crossed the tracks and headed up the hill which looks out over the lake. It turned out to be a beautiful first day.

We ended the day with a few artisan beers. This just happens to be my new fav - Szot Amber. 

And still learning how to work the new camera. Our Christmas gift to ourselves - We absolutely love it!