Berlin, Ohio: Amish Country

We took a little detour south to swing through Ohio Amish county. It was a beautiful fall day to drive through beautiful countryside.

We learned so many things including: most Amish homes have beautiful flower gardens in their yards; horses working in unison (which we have seen before) is truly amazing to behold; Monday is wash day- every house had laundry on the line; local “English” (Amish term for all non-Amish folks) are pretty cavalier about passing buggies on the road.

Speaking of buggies, we came across a sales lot for new buggies. Guess how much a new buggy costs? If you guessed $2,800, you would be correct- not sure what trim level that includes though! Did you know that buggy’s have metal wheels? Not such a smooth ride, I imagine. We also learned that electric bicycles are very popular with the Amish.

We drove into Berlin, Ohio, which we were told was the heart of Amish country. What we did not expect was tacky tourists traps and gifts shops. It reminded us of Lake George, but to be fair, we also found authentic Amish foods, handmade furniture and crafts.

The final thing we noticed was an architectural style for barns we have never seen. There were many barns that looked like this, with shutters rather than windows. We were not able to get any answers on the history of this style. Let us know if you have answers!