THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, March 5, 1995 TAG: 9503030080
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEPHEN HARRIMAN, TRAVEL EDITOR
LENGTH: Long : 126 lines
CONFOUNDING VISITORS who imagine Texas as the dusty plains out west or the neon and steel towers of Dallas and Houston, the Hill Country is lush with live oak and juniper, blanketed with acres of bluebonnets in the spring, laced with rivers, and rumpled with hills that won the hearts of German, Czech, Polish and Scandinavian settlers in the mid-1800s.
The Hill Country, a region about the size of Connecticut, begins less than an hour's drive northwest of San Antonio and about the same distance west of the high-tech mecca of Austin.
On a flying day trip from San Antonio, I visited Kerrville and Fredericksburg, the Hill County's two main towns.
Tourists have become a mainstay of Fredericksburg, but enough charms of the old German settlement remain along Main Street, which is lined with cutesy restaurants, shops and antique stores. A few beer gardens offer schnitzel and sauerbraten, mostly for the benefit of visitors.
Lots of sturdy, chalky limestone buildings and split-log homes chinked with limestone mortar here. Tin roofs predominate; locals say they're the only thing that will stand up against frequent hailstorms. When that happens, this must be the loudest place in Texas.
Also more or less unique to Fredericksburg are little ``Sunday houses,'' small dwellings built by German pioneers who lived and ranched in satellite communities but came to town on weekends to get supplies, visit with neighbors and attend church services.
Most European - and endearing - of all Fredericksburg attributes is its proliferation of bed-and-breakfast lodgings, the backbone of Old World touring. As is the practice of B&B stays abroad, guests have the chance to spend rest periods off the road in homey, historic places rather than cookie-cutter hotels. B&B travelers often make new friends along the way, sharing a cup of tea, glass of wine or breakfast with hosts and fellow guests.
Fredericksburg's B&B abundance has fairly mushroomed in recent years, numbering around 200 today - a remarkable count for a town of around 6,800 people. Descriptions vary widely, from tiny, cute cottages to big Victorian homes or rambling ranch houses. Inside, owners have created atmosphere with decor that's anything from country charm to sophisticated luxury.
The average stay at a Fredericksburg B&B is about $75 nightly for two, not including tax. Simpler places are as cheap as $60, while a fancy dwelling may command $130 or more. Rates include breakfast, which may be of the lighter continental variety or an elaborate multicourse affair.
FREDERICKSBURG at a glance:
Why go: To shop and eat, mostly. Good enough reason?
To do: Fredericksburg's Kristkindl Markt is an Old World-style affair staged at Market Square in the center of town, Dec. 9-11. The Fredericksburg Shopkeepers Guild creates a Christmas village featuring music, German foods, handcrafted toys and gifts, art and sweets. Admission is $4 for adults, $1 for children. For details, call the guild at (210) 997-8515.
Shopping: Main Street, wide enough to turn a team of oxen, is thick with boutiques and stores, selling everything from candles, books, quilts and pewter mugs to straw hats, peach jelly, primitive antiques and ranch-style housewares. Dried herbs and flowers, herbal bath gel and soaps, herbal teas and edible flowers are sold at Fredericksburg Herb Farm's shop at No. 222.
Things to see: The Admiral Nimitz Museum, Japanese Peace Garden and Museum of the Pacific War, 340 E. Main St.; (210) 997-4379. Open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day except Christmas. Admission is $3, $1.50 for children.
Dedicated to Fredericksburg native Adm. Chester W. Nimitz, architect of America's victory at sea in World War II and last of the five-star admirals, it is housed in the old Nimitz Hotel, recently restored to its 1890s appearance. Its construction is rather like that of a steamboat, and it is said that in the 1850s, it was the last major resting place, and a refuge from Apaches, Comanches and bandits, for land travelers between Houston and San Diego. Col. Robert E. Lee visited many times, always requesting the same room; his last stay was Feb. 18, 1861, on the way back to Virginia to resign his U.S. Army commission. They're adding a George Bush Gallery this summer, featuring more displays on the war in the Pacific.
Also nearby: LBJ National Historical Park includes the late president's boyhood home, one-room schoolhouse, the LBJ Ranch and his grave; and the little town of Luckenbach, a ``metropolis of mirth'' exalted in song by Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings and Jerry Jeff Walker.
Watch for: Armadillos. Luckenbach also is the home of the Armadillo Breeding and Racing Association. This burrowing, prehistoric creature with the body armor is the Texas state mascot. It's often called the Texas speed bump.
Sleeps: B&Bs are the thing to do here. Contact Gastehaus Schmidt (210) 997-5612; Bed and Breakfast of Fredericksburg, (210) 997-4712; or Be My Guest, (210) 997-8555.
Eats: Lots of inviting German-style restaurants. I can only recommend what I've tried. For schnitzel, bratwurst, burgers and Tex-Mex, try the Altdorf Biergarten and Restaurant, a down-home sort of place at 301 W. Main St. Excellent. I got some amaretto pecan and peach ice cream at the Clear River Pecan Co. that was worth writing home about.
Info: Fredericksburg Convention & Visitors Bureau (210) 997-6523.
KERRVILLE at a glance:
Home of popular folk music festivals around Memorial Day and Labor Day weekends, this small city has grown significantly from what once was a sleepy artist and health colony. In the early part of the century, railroad trains carried carloads of tuberculosis patients to Kerrville for ``the cure'' in the cool Hill Country air. Today, it is a popular retirement destination for executives from San Antonio, Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston. People who have been converted to the Kerrville way of life call themselves Kerrverts.
Why go: The seat of Kerr County is easily the spiritual epicenter of the Hill Country, straddling the peaceful Guadalupe River. Nearby is the Y.O. Ranch, a 40,000-acre spread founded in 1880, offering the chance to explore land populated by herds of longhorn, sheep and goats (the town calls itself the Mohair Capital of the World), plus about 10,000 free-ranging exotic animals from around the globe. This is considered North America's largest collection of exotic wildlife.
To do: In addition to music festivals, showcasing 100 or so artists in folk, blues, soul and a few other music styles, the principal cultural diversion is the Cowboy Artists of America Museum. The superb little museum and reference library features the paintings and sculptures of about 30 living cowboy artists, some of whom are considered the country's foremost artists of Western American realism. If you like Remington and Russell, you should see the the remarkable work of their successors.
Tubing: Floating the Hill Country rivers attracts thousands of tubers through the summer (April to October, except for August, which is a season unto itself).
Sleeps and eats: The top three stays are the Inn of the Hills River Resort; the Y.O. Ranch Hilton; and Lazy Hills Guest Ranch. Each has its own brand of Texas grub.
Info: Chamber of Commerce (210) 896-1155. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
STEPHEN HARRIMAN
The Nimitz Hotel in the Hill Country town of Fredericksburg, Texas,
is home to the Admiral Nimitz Museum.
by CNB