Pass the Schnitzel, por favor!

When we Americans think of Germans in Chile, we think of former Nazis heading that way after WWII. However, the reason some actually went there was because there already was a sizable German presence. It seems like mostly Italians ended up going to Argentina and Uruguay. While some Germans did go to other south american countries, like Argentina, the majority went to Chile. There were also a good number of German-speaking Swiss that went there as well.
One area that they were particularly attracted to is the so-called "Lake District." This part of Chile has four distinct seasons, although it has a little bit milder climate than most of Germany.
I've been on the shores of Lake Llanquihue ("Yahn-kee-way".....I think), a huge lake which sits at the base of a marvelously cone-shaped volcano called Orsono. I've just recently come from the land of jagged-shaped mountain spires (Torres del Paine), where the surrounding landscape was harsh and forbidding. Here, the surrounding landscape under Mt. Osorno consists of green pastures filled with contented cows and small villages selling "kuchen," or German pastry.
In the 19th century, the word got back to Germany and Switzerland that this was the place to come to start up a farm and make a go of it in the new world. I've been to Puerto Varas, Frutillar, and Puerto Octay, all located on the shores of this large lake. In Frutillar, there's even a "German Colonial Museum," with a restored farm, water mill, a German garden, iron works, etc. Because of the similarity in climates, the same plants, trees, and fruits that grow well in Germany also grow well here, so the Germans imported many of them. There's apfelkuchen and strudel everywhere, because there are apple trees everywhere. It's just starting to be the end of summer here and the beginning of fall (mid-March), so there are lots of apples on the ground under lots of trees.
It seems like no matter where you go around the lake, you are always confronted by the wonderful views of Mt. Osorno. This year, there's not a lot of snow on the side of the mountain that faces the sun. The locals say that if all the snow melts, this will bring bad luck.
The mountain looks relatively tame because of its cone shape. You can drive a good way up it, then you have to hike another 5 hours or so to get to the top. They say you should bring ice equipment and always go with a guide because of the number of crevasses. Apparently some tourists have the bad luck to fall into these things.
It seems like Chile and Argentina (Villa Gen. Belgrano)seem to have at least one thing in common: that's their pride in the German-ness of some of their small towns. The towns do it up in a big way as well: the architecture is encouraged, if not required to be, German-looking. German pastry is offered as well as what sounds like German beer ("Kunstmann").
The love of German pastry and beer does not extend to music. I haven't heard any oom-pah bands. The music I do hear, for example on buses and in restaurants, is sort of Latin American Muzak or smooth American oldies. This contrasts sharply with Mexico where, when one enters the bus, it's fiesta time! All of this stuff of course is completely ignored by the under 20 crowd, who are plugged into their I-pods.
Hasta luego!