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Das Mueller Haus!

Our New Year’s Adventure in Fredericksburg, Texas

I can’t recall how Dawn got the idea to spend New Year’s Eve 2007 in a rental house in Fredericksburg but it was a great idea. It’s a quaint German town in the central Texas hill country. It’s Main Street has numerous touristy shops and restaurants and museums. Nearby are Enchanted Rock and Pedernales Falls which are both great places to hike and experience nature.

She found a nice little three bedroom cottage near the center of town called Das Mueller Haus. We immediately found ourselves saying “DAS MUELLER HAUS!” loudly and with vigor in a guttural German accent. This set the tone for our complete mangling of the German language during our stay, but it sure added some fun to the trip.

The drive from Houston took about four hours through some very pretty country. There are certainly no shortage of peach farms in the area. Of course, peaches were not in season but we decided we must come bank some day if for no other reason than to buy some of the local peaches at one of the road-side stands that line the highway.

We spent what was left of that day getting settled into “DAS MUELLER HAUS!” and finding a place to have dinner on Main Street. We walked through some of the many shops while looking for a restaurant and settled on the Rathskellar which is, yes, in the cellar of a building. This was a good choice and it introduced us to some of the local wine. We had some Texan/German white wine by a nearby vineyard named Becker that was quite good. Of course, the restaurant was thereafter referred to as “RATHSKELLAR!” (don’t forget the loud, vigorous, guttural German accent).

The next day we walked up and down both sides of Main Street enjoying the beautiful weather and the crowds. There is a small museum about Texas history in a restored nineteenth century school house that is worth browsing. The city library is really a gem. It is a nineteenth century building as well that has beautiful stately architecture that we all wish was still being used today. The National Museum of the Pacific War is a landmark there and also of interest to history buffs.

A must stop on Main Street is Rustlin’ Rob’s. They specialize in jams, jellies, and hot sauces and you can sample them all and there are literally hundreds of them to try. Bowls of crackers and knives are provided and you can sample until your heart’s content…or until you’re full. “FAHRVEGNUGEN!” (I have no idea what that means but we said it many times while we were there. Remember the Volkswagen commercial?)

Dinner at Wheeler’s Restaurant was our chance to dine on authentic German cuisine. There was no shortage of bratwurst and sauerkraut on the menu and it was all excellent. We spent New Year’s in our beautifully decorated for the holiday cottage, say it with me, “DAS MUELLER HAUS!”. We brought in 2008 sipping wine, eating cheese and crackers and reading, all without leaving bed the whole evening. (Thank you, Bob and Kathy for buying us that great gift basket from the Napa Valley)

New Year’s Day we went to Enchanted Rock and climbed what is said to be the largest hunk of granite in North America. The weather was perfect and we thoroughly enjoyed the exercise on such a beautiful day.

There were very few restaurant’s open on New Year’s Day but we did find one and like the others it did not disappoint. After dinner we found a movie theater in town and enjoyed a movie. After another quiet evening at “DAS MUELLER HAUS!” we headed home to Houston.

We highly recommend a visit to Fredericksburg. Spend a few days, relax, eat, shop, enjoy the outdoors, and relax some more. You’ll want to go back.

“AUF WEIDERSEHN!”

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