Waking up our last morning in South Padre we were ready to go. It was time to escape the fog and humidity and get back to what we thought was the most beautiful part of Texas, the central Hill Country! Our first stop for this part of the trip was the River Road Tree Houses in New Braunfels roughly halfway between San Antonio and Austin.
Julie loves tree houses!! A few years back she discovered the show “Tree House Masters” on Animal Planet and has been obsessed ever since. Normally most places that we have traveled through on this trip Julie has searched to find out if there was a tree house guesthouse to stay in. Up to this point nothing had yet come up however a week or so prior to coming back to Hill Country she finally found one online and available to rent. So off we went. The drive itself was pretty neat. The terrain changed from flat coastal ranch areas, through San Antonio then up into the Hills and trees of central Texas. As it was a 5+ hour drive (meaning an all day drive for us) we didn’t get there until 4pm or so. We went from driving on the highway to a 4 lane parkway, 2 lane highway and smaller 2 lane roads. Finally though we arrived!
The tree houses (there were 6 of them) are set up on the banks of a steep creek. The backs of the houses were level with the ground but the front porches were 30 feet above the large creek. The houses were then held up by steel as well as by trees underneath them. There were also numerous bridges across the creek as the parking area was on the other side. It was pretty neat and we were pumped to be spending the night here. Once checking in we drove out to a corner store to pick up a few Lone Star beers and stopped at the local BBQ shack called “The Real Pit BBQ”. Central Texas is known for its BBQ and anytime you see a BBQ shack where you order out of a window and the only seating is in the form of communal picnic tables….well you know your in for some good food. After getting our food in some to-go boxes we headed back to our tree house and proceeded to eat on the adjacent deck. Day turned to night and the stars came out. This was truly Julie’s dream moment come true. She was in her own tree house and under the stars in a beautiful spot.
The next day we awoke, ready to see more of what the Hill Country had to offer. In the morning we checked out the biggest town in the area, New Braunfels. The town is currently best known for the huge water park called the Schlitterbahn. We had seen a few of these along our coastal drive but the one in New Braunfels was the original. We drove around the park then parked downtown and walked around. New Bruanfels was a cute town although as it was a weekday morning not too much was going on at the moment. We did wander into Naegelin’s bakery as their sign said “Oldest Bakery in Texas”. Julie wanted to try a Kolache, which is a Czech pastry. We had seen them all over Houston and south Texas and figured this would be the place to try them. When we stepped in however the line was almost out the door. While things did smell amazing in there we figured that we would find another one and kept on our way.
Next stop on the tour for the day was the town of Gruene (Pronounced Green). It was just a few minutes drive from New Braunfels but felt a world away. Gruene is famous for having Texas’s oldest dance and concert hall. The day we were there people were really playing the part. A country band was shooting a music video in the old dance hall and there were people lined up outside who wanted to be part of the video. They were all dressed to the nines in Texas style cowboy apparel. Cowboy boots, jeans (or jean skirts), and of course a plaid shirt. We wandered in and out of a few of Gruene’s stores picking up a few cards before going back to Bubbles. From there we headed off to the KOA for the next few nights in Fredericksburg.
We woke up in Fredericksburg the next morning ready to hit the town. We had passed through Fredericksburg a few weeks earlier on our way to Houston and had been wanting to come back ever since. Central Texas for those that do not know was settled in the mid 1800’s by German and Czech immigrants. Fredericksburg in particular drew in German immigrants in droves. Today the town resembles a small German village. The architecture, food, and even some of the signs in town are duel English/German language signs. As Julie had lived in Munich for a year in college she was head over heels for this town already. After parking Bubbles we walked over to Main Street and immersed ourselves in Texas German culture. We walked by German beer halls & restaurants, furniture shops, and souvenir shops cashing in on this cultural oddity (Shirts saying”I don’t give a schnitzel”, “Hier Fur Das Bier” or my favorite “Prost Y’All”. Very Texas and pretty awesome.) Our friends Debbie & John back in Tucson had told us that we had to eat at a place called The Old German Bakery while in town, so of course we did and it was a treat. It was half bakery and half restaurant and all good. Julie had the Jager schnitzel (gravy covered battered & fried pork chop) while I had currywurst (bratwurst in a ketchup/curry sauce). They both were huge but we could not stop eating because it was so good.
After rolling ourselves out of the Old German Bakery we wandered down the street stopping in a few of the shops trying to work off the big lunch that we had. This area of Texas in addition to being known for their BBQ and central European foods is also known for their wine. While the majority of the wine is actually grown in the panhandle of Texas most of the winery tasting rooms are around the Fredericksburg area. As this was the case we also stopped into Fiesta Winery for a taste. While the server was pleasant we didn’t really think the wine was all that good. After stopping in a few more shops we called it a day and headed back to the KOA. (Side note here – the Fredericksburg KOA was one of the best we had stayed at. It was an easy 2-minute drive to town. They had chickens on property and were selling a dozen eggs for $1. They also had Longhorn Cattle on property. Taking walks in the evening past wandering chickens and the pair of Longhorn Cattle sure made it fun).
The next day we woke up, had breakfast and headed out. Today we would be doing a peddle bike tour in the afternoon. So in the morning we thought that we should check out a park and headed over to Enchanted Rock State Park. The park was only about 20 minutes north of Fredericksburg so it didn’t take too long to get there. Enchanted State Park is named for a giant granite rock dome in the center of it. It is one of the highest points in the area with a beautiful view if you can muster the energy to reach the top (no rock climbing equipment necessary). We drove in, parked Bubbles, grabbed some water and we were off. The rock rises above the rest of the surrounding area by 430 feet so we knew the views were going to be good. The hike climbs slowly the entire way until the end where you walk right up the rocks surface. It was steep in spots but we made it up in less than half an hour. From the top the views were pretty stunning. You could see for miles around. It was pretty awesome. In addition to the views on the top there were also small pools of water in crevices in the rock that grew their own mini ecosystems. From moss to small cactus and even tiny shrimp called fairy shrimp, they all lived and thrived at the top of the rock. After taking in the view one last time we headed down the mountain and back to Bubbles for some lunch. On the way back to Fredericksburg we received a call that our pedal tour was canceled as our bike had broken down and was still in the shop. Bummer for us. So instead we hopped on the internet determined to find a better winery. We found it in Pontotoc Vineyard Weingarten.
The tasting room is located inside a 19th century building with a Weingarten (Wine Garden) outside. Once inside a group had just started a tasting and the owner Carl had us join. We learned about the building that we were sitting in, where his grapes are grown and the processes used to create the wine that we were tasting. The entire experience at Pontotoc was outstanding. After the tasting finished we headed outside with a glass of sangria, enjoying the wine garden and talking with Carl. It was a great end to a fun day.
Next up…..Julie’s family comes to visit in Austin!
