Fredericksburg

Located northwest of San Antonio in the heart of the Hill Country is the unique community of Fredericksburg. It's national claim to fame is the Nimitz Museum, a hotel once shaped like an ocean going vessel, that once belonged to the family of Admiral Nimitz, the hero of World War II. In my youth when most of Texas was dry, that is, no alcohol allowed in public, everyone needed a friend at Fredericksburg. Most of the residents spoke German as well as English and almost everyone had a wine cellar. When I was in high school I had a Fredericksburg girl friend and yes her father had a wine cellar. It was quite an experience to slip into the wine cellar and liberate a bottle. My girl friend not only drank wine but she loved to dance and she taught me how to do some of the Hill Country dances. This was quite a contrast to the strict protestantism in East Texas where the bootleggers usually were church members. Today Fredericksburg is a tourist town and much of the original flavor has disappeared, but it is still worth a visit.