So, our trip was pretty awesome. We left EARLY on Saturday morning to drive down. We stopped about halfway to get some IHOP, and then continued on to Johnson City, where we checked out the LBJ Visitor's Center/Museum. It was pretty cool. Then we drove the last 30 minutes or so to Fredericksburg.
We couldn't check in to our B&B until 3PM, so we decided to grab some lunch. We went to the Auslander, which serves German food and also has an outdoor biergarten. We both got different sausage plates, and we were very pleased with the results! Tyler got the knockwurst (sausage with cheddar inside!), and I got Opa's sausage. While we were at lunch, a guy came up to the window we were seated next to and practically put his face on the glass to look inside. It was kind of funny and a little creepy.After lunch, we decided to walk Main Street and see what was there. There are tons of cute shops, with everything from antiques to dog accessories. We walked for a really long time, seeing what was what. Then we decided to get a coffee, and then go to check in to our B&B. We walked down to the inn, but the owners weren't there, so we had to walk a LONG way to their antiques/home furnishings store. By this point I was already sunburned, but we got there finally and received our keys and instructions. Then we had to walk back down Main to get to the inn.
Once we got there, we unloaded our suitcase and other stuff from the car and went inside. Our room had its own entrance off the veranda, which was nice. We put our stuff away, and then decided to read a little while in the air conditioning. After that, we took a shower and then took a nap. All that walking in the high heat (probably 95) made us tired, not to mention getting up at 6AM on a Saturday.
After our nap, we walked down the street to the Fredericksburg Brewery for dinner. We ordered some beers while we waited, and then got down to the good stuff. I had jagersnitzel (breaded pork loin with mushroom sauce), and Tyler had the uberbacken scheinesnitzel (a baked porkchop with mushrooms, cheese, and other stuff on top. For dessert, we ordered the German chocolate cheesecake to go, since we were too full to eat it after our snitzels.Later we walked back down Main to the B&B, where we met all of the other people staying there. We had 3 couples staying in the upstairs suite above us. All of the husbands knew each other growing up or from school. 2 of the couples had 8-month old twins, and the other couple had a 4-month old. All of the babies were present with the parents. They were all adorable and did NOT help my baby fever. The people were very nice, and we had a good time talking with them and drinking some more beer. We went to bed pretty early while listening to a really loud bullfrog in the fountain outside.
Sunday we woke up to the smells of breakfast cooking and coffee brewing. We went out into the dining room and greeted everyone, and then went through the buffet line. We got a little history of Fredericksburg from the owner, who also told us about some of the restaurants in the area. After that, we ventured back out onto Main Street to really check out the stores. First we headed to Der Kuchen Laden (The Kitchen Store). This was located in the old Keidel Memorial Hospital, which was in honor of the same people that originally built and owned the B&B we stayed in. This store was a-mazing! It was like the kitchen section of Bed, Bath, and Beyond times 10! They had every conceivable kitchen gadget you could think of or want. We got ourselves a few things: a tea infuser ball and some loose tea, a splatter screen for our skillet, a spoon rest for the top of the stove, and one of those measuring cups like Alton Brown uses:
From there, we continued down the street, checking out shops here and there, as well as taking frequent breaks to sit and rest. We really learned our lesson after the first day! We also found a store that had an awesome gnome lawn ornament with a built in solar lantern. Just like the one featured here on my website! Unfortunately, it cost $100, so we didn't buy it. I did find it online later for around $60, so it's on my wishlist for later! I did take a picture with the gnome, at least. I also took a picture with some local landmarks, one of which was necessary due to my job/schooling.
I also bought some lavender sachets for my dresser drawers and linen storage, so I'm pretty excited about using those at the new apartment! We ate lunch at a place called the Buffalo Nickel, where we both had salads. We needed something light since it was so hot. Mine was called the Pocahontas Salad, which was spinach with sliced strawberries, candied pecans, goat cheese crumbles, and raspberry vinaigrette on the side. It was AWESOME. DH had a club salad and a Blue Moon wheat beer, which was served properly (with an orange wedge!), and was very refreshing. :-) We wandered some more after lunch, stopped at the Fredericksburg Bakery for some pastries and candy, tasted some wine and bought a bottle, and then headed back for a shower and reading. For dinner we ate in the cellar of Der Kuchen Laden at a restaurant called Rathskeller. We ordered some spinach artichoke dip for dinner, which was the best we've ever had. My entree was excellent as well, it was a hollowed-out eggplant, which was then fried and filled with crab meat and shrimp and covered in white wine cream sauce and some cheese. Tyler got German food, but this was not the place for it, so he was kind of disappointed. After that, we returned to the veranda of the B&B and joined our upstairs neighbors for some drinks and conversation before turning in for the night.
That was the bulk of the trip. The next morning we woke up, had breakfast with everyone, and packed up our stuff. Then we took one last walk, stopping in at a store called Dogologie to pick out a new collar for Pongo and some bakery treats to bring home to him. I'll post a picture with his new collar once I get one! Then we headed to a hidden bakery/cafe I had read about on TripAdvisor. It was the best decision of the entire trip, I do believe! We both ordered sandwiches, which have since been declared the best sandwiches EVER. I don't normally like sandwiches for the most part, but mine was amazing! It was fresh mozzarella, fresh basil, and tomato, with field greens on focaccia bread. Simply.amazing. We really wanted to buy a loaf of the bread, but they don't normally sell it until after lunch. The waitress took pity on us and asked anyway, but they had just started another batch in the oven and it wouldn't be done before we left town. :-( Maybe next time! They also had amazing looking pastries and desserts, but we were too full.
All in all, we had an amazing time. We definitely want to go back as soon as we get a chance! There are lots of places we want to stop at again, and more places we'd like to buy stuff when we have the extra cash.
That's all for the trip. I'll probably post some more fun pictures later on. Also, I'll update about what's happened since, and our moving adventures after this coming weekend! Stay tuned. :-D
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