About The Banks County news. (Homer, Banks County, Ga.) 1968-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 4, 2012)
PACE 8B THE BANKS COUNTY NEWS WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 4, 2012 Exploring Fredericksburg, Texas GERMAN BAKERIES IN DOWNTOWN Old German Bakery and Restaurant and Fredericksburg Bakery in the downtown area both offer wonderful pastries. A traditional German kolache and pastry from Old German Bakery and German pretzels from Fredericksburg Bakery are shown. Photos by Angela Gary German culture with a Southern twist found in Texas Hill Country BY ANGELA GARY A charming Southern town filled with German culture with a Texas twist makes a great vacation destination for North Georgians look ing for a fun get-away. Located a one-hour drive from San Antonio, Fredericksburg, is in the heart of Texas Hill Country with its scenic beauty and rolling countryside. EARLY GERMAN TOWN HOME The architecture in the downtown area is wonderful, with many “Sunday houses.” These were the small homes the early German settlers owned in town and where they came on weekends after working on countryside farms during the week. Fredericksburg is rich with the culture of the Germans who settled in the area and formed the town 160 years ago. The food, crafts, architecture, music and history of Germany is found throughout the town and is one of the reasons visitors keep return ing to explore the area. Begin your trip with a stop at the Fredericksburg Visitors Cen ter, which offers lots of brochures on area attractions, dining and lodging, as well as friendly staff to answer your questions and make suggestions on how to best explore the area. Plan to spend some time ex ploring the downtown area where you will find more than 150 spe cialty shops and boutiques. Art work, fashion, jewelry, antiques, home decor and more are to be found. The unique and individual shops are not the same kind of shops you find in malls across the country. Instead, you will find one- of-a-kind treasures. There are also 14 art galleries in the downtown historic district. For food lovers, Fischer & Wieser, ChocolatandOpa's Smoked Meats, are great places to visit and find special treats to take home to remember your trip and share with your friends. They also all offer sam ples, so it’s a fun way to try different things and decide what you want to buy. Fischer & Wi eser started out as a fruit market and now offers a vari ety of jams, jellies, sauces and other specialty items, in cluding the Origi nal Roasted Raspberry Chipolte Sauce, the number one specialty condiment sold in Texas. It is great spread on cream cheese and served with crackers. At Chocolat, creator of the Eu- ropean-style liquid center choco lates, there are so many decadent choices it will be a challenge to decide which ones to try. Visitors can also see the chocolate-mak ers at work, as well as watching a short video on the business. Opa’s Smoked Meats, which has been in operation since 1947. offers traditional German style smoked meats, bacon and sau sage. Lots of great choices are to be found, including turkey jerky. The architecture in the down town area is wonderful with many of the “Sunday houses” to be found. These were the small homes the early German settlers owned in town where they came on weekends after being outside of town in the countryside work ing their farms during the week. Some of these homes are open for tours, providing a glimpse at life of the Germans in the early days of the town. Another great way to get a feel for early German life in Fred ericksburg is through a visit to the Pioneer Museum Complex, where a log cabin, school house and Sunday house original to the site are among the buildings open for tours. A stop in the Vereins Kirche Museum in downtown provides some history, photos and mementoes from the early days of the town. For those who love history, be sure to visit the ‘Texas White House,” the home of Lyndon B. Johnson, the 36th president of the United States, as well as the Lyndon B. Johnson State Park and National Historic Park. The park features the Sauer-Beck- mann Living History Farmstead, a working farm that recreates Texas pioneer life in the 1800s, as well as nature trails and recre ation areas. Live entertainment in the Fred ericksburg area includes theater and live music venues, including The Rockbox Theater and Fred ericksburg Theater Company. Check the schedules for what is coming up. Another fun spot for enter tainment is located only a short 20-minute drive from Fredericks burg, where you will find Luck- enbach, Texas, made famous in the Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings song from the 1970s. The dance hall is a laidback area with a large dance floor in the front with benches and tables in the back. The 10-acre site also in cludes a general store. Other stops to make while in Fredericksburg include the amaz ing National Museum of the Pacific War, outdoor adventure at Enchanted Rock and several wineries located throughout the hill country. Festivals are also held year-round with something going on most every weekend. Some 260 special events are held each year in Fredericksburg and Gillespie County. WHERE TO DINE Lots of wonderful dining is to be found in Fredericksburg with chefs using local products in their cuisine. A few restaurants that are must-stops include: •Fredericksburg Brewing Company in downtown, which has a wonderful Bratwurst sand wich, made with Bratwurst and sauerkraut on a toasted hoagie smothered in Swiss cheese. The cheddar ale soup is a wonder ful start to your meal. It's a fun place to stop while shopping and checking out downtown. •Auslander Restaurant and Biergarten has some wonderful German cuisine. The Texaschnit- zel is a great choice. It's a local twist on an old world favorite— schnitzel covered with ranchero sauce, Monterey cheese, sour cream and guacamole. The pota to pancake and sauerkraut make great side dishes. For dessert, the buttermilk pie is a simply amaz ing sweet treat. •Farm Haus Bistro at the Fred ericksburg Herb Farm offers fine dining in an elegant setting. A great choice is the shrimp risotto made with fresh herbs, white wine, onion and parmesan cheese and served with fresh vegetables. For a starter, try the French onion soup or snails in smoked tomato butter. A nice way to finish the meal is with a peppermint brown ie or chocolate mousse. The grounds include Sunday home-style cottages for over night guests, a spa and a gift shop. •Airport Diner at the Hanger Ho tel is a fun spot for a quick meal. The warhawk burger withonionrings and Mexican vanilla ice cream for dessert made a great lunch after a morning of exploring Freder icksburg. The hotel is designed as an exterior of a World War II hangar from the 1940s. An up stairs deck faces a small airport and guests can watch the planes as they land and depart. •August E’s at 203 East San An tonio Street offers nouveau Texas cui sine. The lobster bisque and ahi tuna made for a delightful dinner. A full sushi bar with fresh Hawaiian fish is also offered. Be sure to check out the wonderful artwork in the dining area. •Navajo Grill, where the chef describes the menu as ‘Texas food with a Mexico influence paired with game,” The grilled hill country quail and lamb with a south cherry sauce are both won derful options, with steaks also offered. Great starters to your meal are the herb roasted beet salad and gulf crab cake. For des sert, the chocolate chipotle is a fight, tasty way to end the meal. •Old German Bakery and Restaurant, where owner Lutz Henschel, who moved to Fred ericksburg from Berlin 15 years ago, uses old German recipes. The German pancake is great with apple sauce. The glass case filled with pastries is wonderful and you can't make a bad choice. I tried several options and found them all to be outstanding. The traditional German kolaches (sausage rolls) are really good. The crumb cake with Bavarian cream is also a great choice. The business is open for breakfast and lunch. •Fredericksburg Bakery is known for its sweet German pretzels and they are a wonder ful snack, as is the cream cheese Danish. Open since 1917, it is the oldest running business on main street. The business, located in an 1889 general store building, also includes a gift shop with lots of fun and unique items offered. A bed and breakfast is located up stairs and outdoor garden dining is offered in the back of the build ing. •Fredericksburg Pie Company is a must-stop for pie lovers who will find the most amazing array of options with mile-high fight Italian meringue topping. Co conut cream, chocolate cream, chocolate pecan, pumpkin pie, buttermilk pie, bourbon orange pecan.. .the fist goes on and on and they are all a delight. The pies have no preservatives or ad ditives. Dining at the pie shop is like sitting at your grandmother’s table. •Java Ranch Espresso Bar and Cafe is a great choice for a quick breakfast with the breakfast bur- rito and coffee being a filling and tasty way to start the day. •Clear River has homemade ice cream, coffee and a bakery, as well as a gift shop with unique and fun items offered. WHERE TO STAY With more than 375 bed and breakfast establishments and guest houses and hotels, visitors to Fredericksburg have lots of op tions as far as accommodations go. The variety makes the town a great destination for family re unions, romantic trips and girl friend get-aways. The Fredericksburg Inn & Suites is located only a short walk from the downtown area and is a convenient and comfortable place to make your headquarters while visiting. The hotel also of fers some history as it is fronted by the Mueller-Petmecky House, a Texas historic landmark. A free breakfast and beverages are of fered daily in the house, which was built in the mid-1800s by Willis Wallace, who was granted the land by the German Immigra tion Company. For more information on plan ning your trip, go to www.Visit- FredericksburgTX.com or call 1-888-997-3600. Get the local school, church, sports and other community news delivered to your home each week! Just clip the coupon below to begin saving today over the newstand price! Name Address. City State Zip Subscription rates for The Banks County News are as follows: $19.75 per year for Banks and adjoining counties; $17.75 per year for senior citizens in Banks and adjoining counties; $38.85 per year for delivery elsewhere in Georgia; $36.85 per year for delivery elsewhere in Georgia with senior citizen discount; $44.50 per year for delivery out of Georgia; $42.50 per year for delivery out of Georgia with senior citizen discount; $42.20 per year for the military with APO address. Enclosed is my check for! Expiration Phone or □ MC or □ VISA # MainStreet Newspapers, Inc. 33 Lee Street, P. O. Box 908 Jefferson, GA 30549 706-367-5233 Fax: 706-367-8056 Website: www. mainstreetnews. com LOTS OF SHOPPING The downtown Fredericksburg area has more than 150 specialty shops and boutiques. Artwork, fashion, jewelry, antiques, home decor and more are found.
