It took us many hours to drive to Fredericksburg, mostly because it is 235 miles from our home but also it was Christmas time and we had to pass south of Austin. Austin has the unfortunate title of most congested city in Texas (and you thought Houston traffic was bad…) Would y’alls please stop moving to Texas??? We tried to stop in Bastrop but they were queuing out the door for the only open restaurant downtown on Sunday and it was bloody freezing. There is a distinct difference in weather between our house in the swampy south and the drier climate of the middle of Texas in hill country. We ended up at a Dunkin Donuts but it was fine.
When we finally reached Fredericksburg, we quickly unpacked and left our hotel which was disappointing. Ah well, the weather was beautiful – vividly blue skies with cool, clear weather and sunshine. It seemed that most of Austin and San Antonio was visiting Fredericksburg but there was a fun atmosphere. There seemed to be more wineries since we last visited and now you can drink wine in a disposable cup along the main street, meandering between wineries, on a SUNDAY! I bet some of the original inhabitants were turning in their graves… When we moved to Texas, almost 16 years, I was delighted and fascinated that many counties were still dry (no alcohol). Modern life has reached us but you still can’t buy hard liquor on a Sunday.
If you are wondering about my hypocrisy – ‘unwanted people moving to Texas” – of course I have German ancestors in the Heinz 57 variety of my DNA! My great grandparents were Dellingers who settled in North Texas in the 1880s. The original Dellinger was from Baden in Germany. I think that gives me a legitimate claim to thoroughly enjoy all aspects of German Texas… 😊 Just recently an Irish cousin discovered that our Leonard ancestors in Ireland were originally Leinnarts from Germany – that was a real surprise. It shouldn’t have though been because several people spoke to me in German on both visits to Fredericksburg. I just pretend that I am REALLY German because it makes visitors happy. When I was 7, I went on a trip to the Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland. I was wearing a kilt and Aran sweater with long dark ringlets. A group of American tourists wanted to take photographs of the cute little Irish colleen and my mum whispered, “Don’t tell them you are American.”
By the time Teddy and I reached the end of the Main Street we were desperate for a drink and enjoyed a gorgeous local rose wine from a winery which quenched our thirst. We started talking to another couple, about our age, with that excitement you get when meeting another couple on vacation. They were just visiting for the day but we enjoyed chatting together, losing our inhibitions. On our solo return we realized that our tummies were empty. I could smell an amazing smell right behind this winery – Fischer and Weiser. They were only serving snacks when we went in but told us that the smell emanated from a tiny shack behind the street. I would have missed it, if the staff hadn’t pointed it out.
I haven’t eaten a burger since the ‘80s but this was the best that I have ever had! The delightful owner, Jennie, makes the burgers from smoked brisket and they were soooo good. When she told me she was from Peru then it all made sense – Peru is the gastronomic capital of Latin America. Everything tastes amazing, even the bread. So we go all the way to Fredericksburg and eat a burger made by a lovely Peruvian lady – but I bet it was local beef! It was the Sunday before Christmas but warm enough to eat outside in twilight. Welcome to Texas.
As we meandered along the beautiful High Street, we noticed that the visitors had changed. At one time it was mostly white local visitors but now the Far East and Latin America were represented. Many of them seemed like family groups – I guess this might be one of the destinations for visitors arriving at Houston. So many hundreds of thousands of snowbirds fly in during the winter holidays. On that note, I read a hilarious piece in my news feed about flocks of Grackles terrifying the North! They are migratory sub tropical birds that settle in vast roosts – so successful in the Houston area that they are spreading North.
Thank goodness it appears you didn’t fall for the signs “authentic German food”! Let me, as a German who only moved to the US 12 years ago, tell you: the so called “authentic German food” here in Fredericksburg is anything but. If you want to eat food that is at least somewhat like what the same dis would be in Germany, you really need to know which dish to order in which of the “German” restaurants. About one or two dishes in those restaurants at least resemble their equivalents in Germany to a certain extent.
As to be allowed to walk along the sidewalks with a cup of wine or beer in your hands: I really resent that, and it doesn’t make any sense to me that you can’t even carry an unopened bottle of wine from the store to your car unless it’s concealed in a bag, but can openly drink beer and/or wine in the streets.
As to the wineries: they are sprouing like mushrooms after a warm rain. There are way more than 50 by now on the short stretch between Fredericksburg and Johnson City! These wineries and the tourists attracted by them – at least many of them, and present company excluded – are really changing – and spoiling – the city’s character.
So you have Germans in your ancestry! Then a “ganz herzlich willkommen in Fredericksburg!”
LikeLiked by 2 people
I like to live dangerously and take the bottle out of the paper bag…LOL! Everything is changing, Pit. We used to have endless green fields between our town and Houston but most of it is developed now. I fear I will have to move to Big Bend…🤠
LikeLike
Looks like you had a great time, Kerry! That’s a really nice grackle picture. I just love grackles, they are so beautiful when the sun hits them. We don’t see nearly as many as we used to.
LikeLiked by 2 people
That’s the only photo that’s not mine, Leah! I should have credited Pixabay. They sometimes fly into the airport terminal when it is cold – the northerners love them with their whoops.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I loved all your other pictures too Kerry, I enjoyed the tour with you!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I do have an excellent recent photo of a grackle on my desk at work but dare not show it because it is a public place…😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
Your family history is so interesting! Love the story about you as a seven-year-old at Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland. 😁
LikeLiked by 2 people
LOL! I can still remember the feeling of committing a venial sin – I was a very staunch little Catholic in those days. 😇
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yikes! 😲
LikeLiked by 1 person
Great post and photos. Makes me want to visit Fredericksburg.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thank you, Liben. You should go before it gets any more touristy!
LikeLike
Sounds like you had an amazing time and your family history is so fascinating! I must look into mine too, who knows what I’ll find. Have a good day, my friend and thanks for sharing. Aiva 😊
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thank you, Aiva. I am a smorgasbord of ethnicity! Your DNA would be really interesting to see – maybe some Viking or Russian with the Latvian?
LikeLiked by 1 person
What a great outing. Thanks for taking me along.
LikeLiked by 2 people
You are most welcome, Peggy. K x
LikeLiked by 1 person
Looks amazing! You both look as if you had a great time. You realise that the only benchmark I have for Texas is Dallas aka 1980😂
Hope you continue to write your blogs and take everyone on a vicarious holiday with you x love Anne x
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thank you, Anne! Most people in Dallas no longer have big hair although the accent is the same. Folks are complaining about the Californication of North Texas because so many have moved her with their LIBERAL views!
LikeLike
Wow, such beautiful architecture! I bet the food was delicious, too. As far as living in Texas, a friend of mine lives in Austin, but is leaving because of allergies. Apparently, there’s pine pollen? Who knew!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Tell me about pine pollen!!!! It is the bane of our lives and worse here because we live in a forest. There is an allergist on every corner. Tree pollen, of all sorts, is bad around here but the yellow pine dust covers EVERYTHING for a few weeks each spring. Then there is mold in summer…why would anyone live here??🤠 Thank you for your kind comment – it is a pretty place.
LikeLiked by 1 person
My friend said that it hasn’t been as bad as its been over the past few years.
LikeLiked by 1 person
The rain helps to disperse it and it has been wetter?
LikeLike
It sounds and looks like a fun place to visit.
LikeLiked by 2 people
It is really a lovely place but it has become a little too touristy, as Pit pointed out. Thank you, Tanja. BTW, Napa is much the same but not German!
LikeLiked by 1 person
It seems that every quaint little town gets overrun by tourist once the word gets out. One of these days we will drive south from Colorado through Texas all the way to the Gulf Coast, and we will try to visit some of these towns you have mentioned.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Check out the unknown towns that are Czech or German. They sometimes have fantastic painted churches and the food is really good. I love Kolaches!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you for the tip! I will keep that in mind. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Loving your descriptions
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you so much – it is my wonky brain. 😁
LikeLike
Kerry, great story. Love Fredricksburg, used to go out to E-Rock (Enchanted Rock) all the time when I lived in Houston to find the nearest real trad climbing. Thanks for writing-
Chad
http://www.LiveFree2SailFast.com
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thanks Chad. You would be surprised how much the area has changed but Enchanted Rock is still beautiful.
LikeLike
Sounds like a great trip … Germans must love their wine coz our German villages are also all nestled in wine country 🙂 Great shots!
LikeLiked by 3 people
Thank you, Kate. Perhaps Germans have more success in growing wine in hot areas?
LikeLiked by 2 people
the German wineries are in the south of our country so cooler climates, more distinct seasons. ..
LikeLiked by 1 person
I don’t think Germans have more success in growing wine in hot climates – quite the contrary. When you consider that the 49th parallel, the NORTHERN border of the continental US, runs through Frankfurt, which is in the middle of Germany, then you realize how far north Germany actually lies.
LikeLiked by 1 person
As a native German I’m pretty much convinced that that’s pure co-incidence. And – to the best of my knowledge – the wineries around here are not opened/owned by Germans.
LikeLike
I’ve no idea about america … I’m talking about in Australia 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Sorry, I misunderstood, as the original posting was about Fredericksburg in the Texas Hill Country.
LikeLiked by 1 person
no worries 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
OK
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’ve always wanted to visit Fredricksburg! And since I’m of German heritage, I can do so with a clear conscience. But I understand what you are saying….once some place becomes too popular, then it begins to lose it’s essence. We love visiting Sanibel Island in Florida, but it has been “discovered” and now is hopelessly crowed during the in season. I hate that!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hello mu friend! I am so happy you are enjoying yourself! This place seems a very cosy place to visit ❤ Loved!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thank you. Besos!
LikeLiked by 1 person
You are welcome, my friend! Besos ❤
LikeLiked by 1 person
Beautiful! Love this squirrel. We don’t have any where I live, probably because the feral cats ate them all up long ago, I think. No mice, nor rats, nothing.
Winter in Texas are probably dry and just barely cool, but the summers must be so hot and humid. Texas probably has plenty of open space, which I find magical.
I don’t know much about Latin American food, but I’m crazy about Mexican food, if it’s any indication. Their food is almost addictive. You really seem to be enjoying yourself. Have fun.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thank you! We have enough animal predators to keep the feral cat population under control – Great Horned Owls and Coyotes.
LikeLike
Cute squirrel.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Brisket burgers! Sounds like I could eat them all day long.
LikeLiked by 3 people
They were yummy!
LikeLiked by 1 person
A week before Christmas I am shovelling snow and all bundled up! The burger sounded yummy but the traffic did not. A day drinking wine strolling along outdoors is a lot different than deciding where to go snowshoeing. Enjoyed your share.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Once in a blue moon we get some snow and WE ARE SO EXCITED!!!
LikeLike
You are so pretty! I’ve enjoyed visiting Austin, but never seen Fredericksburg. Am putting it on my list 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
You will love it!
LikeLiked by 1 person