A new years resolution is to take more weekend/day trips and see more of Texas. Wasting little time I targeted the town of Fredericksburg, a small town of around 10,000ish located in the hills about an hour and a half or so west of Austin. Known for its German culture, the town taunted my stomach with visions of more schnitzel and a creative potato dish of some sort.
En route to Freddytown is Luckenbach, TX - a storied enclave just off the beaten path, made famous by Waylon Jennings in his song "Luckenbach, TX (Back to the Basics of Love)".
...now... I don't know what my problem is, but for some reason if I like a song about a place, I feel a strong urge to visit that place. There must be something about a certain location that would cause someone to write a song about it. That's why I was so excited a year ago when I got to visit Amarillo and El Paso for work. Yeah, it was for work, but the whole time I kept thinking about George Strait's and Marty Robbins' songs about those cities. Is it a blessing or a curse? I dunno. Probably a blessing, since I get to see some new places, and it was all paid for.
Anyway, there was little chance work would send me to Luckenbach, so this trip was on my dime. But I'm glad I went. Luckenback sits amid farmlands, vineyards, and cattle ranches a couple miles south of highway 290. There's a town loop that careens through the center of town which consists of a post office/country store and souvenier shop with a bar in the back. Behind it is a small stage where live music is performed nightly. Other than that, there's a hat shop, an outhouse, and a concession stand/grill. ...Basic.
Since I got a late start on my daytrip, I took it all in as quickly as I could. My stomach was growling, but I didn't want to kill my hunger with concession stand vittles, so I continued on the short journey to Fredericksburg.
A true "main street city", Fredericksburg's business and commercial district lines the highway and was hopping with visitors. I was pleased to see they still had their Christmas lights and decorations out. Few cultures do Christmas as well as the Deutsch.
My coworkers recommended a restaurant called Auslander on the main drag. I bellied up to a table and ordered something called Rouladen - a dish consisting of a pickle spear and bacon strips with onions all rolled up in thinly sliced roast beef, cooked and smothered in brown gravy. Throw in a side of fried potato cakes, sauerkraut, rolls, a link of spicy sausage with brown mustard. (oh.. now my mouth is watering just writing about it - perhaps a return trip is in order)
The National Museum of the Pacific is located in Fredericksburg which honors the World War II effort in the Pacific. Admiral Chester W. Nimitz commanded the war effort in the Pacific and is from Fredericksburg - the reason behind locating the museum in such a small town, my guess. Next time I visit I hope to spend more time visiting the museum.
Night was falling fast and most of the antique stores and other main street shops closed their doors at 5. I strolled over to the town square where they had their Chiristmas tree and the entire square sparkling with lights. It reminded me of "Glendale Glitters" back in Glendale, AZ. It was a chilly night, which was nice to feel the cold air during the holidays.
All in all it was a very enjoyable trip into the hill country. There are many other neat places west of Austin, and I plan to take advantage of my central Texas location and visit the various regions roundabout as the year progresses, and I look forward to sharing them with you, the reader.
Until then, Tscüβ!
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