Enjoying beer and pretzels in Fredericksburg
BIG CITIES , SMALL TOWNS AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN
While the sprawling countryside defines Hill Country , it ’ s the wide range of cities and towns that keep people coming back time and time again . Most visitors begin their journeys in San Antonio — home to the Alamo , River Walk and the Pearl District — or Austin — where ‘ weird ’ became cool thanks to South by Southwest , bat tourism , a raging art scene and some of the best breweries this side of the Mississippi .
Those two you know about . It ’ s the other , smaller towns that make Hill Country truly shine . Places like Fredericksburg , where the German heritage is so prevalent , bratwurst and homemade sauerkraut are often on the menus . Not only an amazing place to spend Oktoberfest thanks to authentic pretzels and the finest German beer , but the town ’ s quaint Main Street is lined with attractions , such as the Pioneer Museum and the National Museum of the Pacific War , as well as enough local art galleries to earn Fredericksburg the honor of “ Top Five Western Art Towns ” by Southwest Art magazine .
Mixing its German culture with rowdy cowboy flare , New Braunfels is about as laid back of a Texas town as you can get . In fact , locals particularly love to lay back on floats and lazily drift through the center of town on the Comal River , a scenic , spring-fed river that stays constantly warm all year long . If that doesn ’ t float your boat , then the town ’ s Historic District surely will . Here you can get your boot scootin ’ boogie on at the oldest continually operating dance hall in Texas , discover European antiques and watch expert potters in action .
If your tastes lean more to ratatouille than schnitzel , head to Castroville , aka the “ Little Alsace of Texas .” History buffs flock here to tour the Landmark Inn State Historic Site , a functioning B & B since the 1850s ; gawk at the Romanesque-style architecture of the 1870-built St . Louis Catholic Church ; and explore the Steinbach House , a structure that was built in the Alsace region of France in the early 1600s , and then transported , beam by beam , furniture and all , to Castroville in 1998 as a gift to the locals .
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