Friday, October 22, 2010

WILLKOMMEN







VEREINS KIRCHE First public building in Fredricksburg. Served as town hall, school, fort & church

Friday, 10-22-10, we check out of the brand-spanking new Luxury Suite Hotel in Blanco where Ann had convinced the owner, Bharat Patel, to discount our room even below their corporate rate. She has done this several times on our trip and has earned the reputation as The Negotiator. As we left, the pavement was wet from rain showers and the sky had low dark clouds racing about. We decided to go 35 miles off route and check out Fredricksburg Texas. Our friend Paula, and several people we have met, have this quaint German town on their "don't miss list." We left Blanco on 1623 and for 5 miles enjoyed a flat section of road that paralleled the Blanco River. We then encountered some gradual climbs reminding us that we were still in Hill Country. At about mile 10, the hills became more pronounced-long with steep grades. We had to hold on very tight on our descents because of strong crosswinds. Ann commented that she had to use her granny gear for the first time; however, it wasn't enough and the last 50 feet were conquered by a walk. We saw large rock outcroppings similar to terrain on the high desert Colorado Plateau. We connected to Ranch Road 1888 and stopped briefly in Luckenbach where we saw no sign of "Willie, and the boys." Six miles on US Hwy 290 into Fredricksburg brought us back in touch with the traffic we had escaped all morning. A weekend Food & Wine Festival is on tap for the weekend. Willkommen signs were everywhere in town as were tasting rooms for wine and beer. Main Street Fredricksburg is full of interesting historic buildings housing art galleries, shops, museums, and German restaurants. It was founded in 1846 after a treaty with the Comanches It is said this was the only treaty with Native Americans that was never broken. A bronze monument in a lovely garden by the Marktplatz commemorates this occasion.

2 comments:

Kelly said...

Patches the Negotiater! I can see that.

Tim said...

So glad you got to see the bustling metropolis of Luckenbach! It's a great place to spend a few hours decompressing.