Drive to Austin
The agenda on the day after the solar eclipse was a drive from San Antonio to Austin. Leaving San Antonio we passed what our guide said was the world's largest pair of cowboy boots created by an artist I'd never heard of. I took a picture from inside the bus instead of going outside in the rain for a better shot.
On the way to Austin the tour planned an extended stop in the town of Fredericksburg originally founded by German immigrants in 1846. Months before this Texas tour I used Google Maps to explore Fredericksburg's location and noticed the town of Luckenbach nearby. Hey, I thought, this must be the town mentioned in Waylon Jennings' well known country song! So, out of curiosity, I zoomed in to the satellite view and noticed there was hardly anything in Luckenbach. Aside from momentary amusement provided by the Luckenbach discovery, I thought no more about it. So it was quite a surprise when our tour guide said we were stopping at Luckenbach on the way to Fredericksburg.
Luckenbach, named after an early German settler, turned out to be a fun mixture of authenticity and tourist trap.
The post office building was filled with antiques.
Behind the post office was an older building and a small music hall with a stage for performers. Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, and others have performed here.
After Luckenbach we traveled on to Fredericksburg, about 13 miles away. We were given several free hours to roam around on foot and find a place for lunch. Having some German food in this German-founded town seemed like a good idea, so we set off to find a German restaurant. The first restaurant possibility was guaranteed to be crowded, so we tried a second candidate many blocks further down the main street. The midday temperature had risen to about 90 degrees and we started sweating during the trek. Along the way we passed a building which originally served as the Gillespie County Courthouse from 1882 until 1939. It is now the Pioneer Memorial Library.
A unique wood carving, called the Eagle Tree, stood on library grounds. It was carved from a diseased tree by chainsaw sculptor James Brazeal in 2006. Notice the partially clear sky in the background - one day after the eclipse.
Tiring in the heat after several blocks, we eventually came to a German bakery/restaurant where we hoped to find a reasonable chance of finding a seat. Unfortunately, the bakery was small with relatively few tables, all filled. A long waiting line stretched along the sidewalk outside. So on we slogged for another block where we decided to settle on a restaurant without an obvious German name. This restaurant had plenty of empty tables and wonderfully welcomed air conditioning. To our delight we found they served German jagerschnitzel. The jagerschnitzel was excellent and the restaurant was quiet enough for normal conversation! It's getting harder to find a quiet restaurant these days when so many have roaring background levels with blasting music.
After lunch we walked back along the main street stopping in several shops along the way. I liked these two artworks made of clock parts in one of the shops.
A crystal shop had an enormous chandelier near the entrance.
Beautiful crystal sets were on sale, but I found the high prices shocking!
I guess somebody buys these things, but not anyone I know! The shop also displayed this very cool Greek warrior statue.
Fredericksburg was an interesting place. It would be nice to spend more time here on a cooler more leisurely day. This is the birthplace of famous WWII Admiral Chester Nimitz. There was a WWII National Museum of the Pacific War which we didn't have time to visit. But soon it was time to return to our bus. It felt good to sit in air conditioning again. Soon we were on our way to Austin.
Arriving in Austin in late afternoon, we hoped to walk from our hotel to a nearby restaurant for a light dinner. That plan was canceled when thunderstorms and heavy rain began. So we settled for a rather disappointing dinner in the extremely noisy hotel restaurant. Tomorrow would be our last tour day.
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