We picked Fredericksburg as our host city...and spent a few nights at a wonderful bed and breakfast...Hill Country Guesthouse and Gardens with hosts Peter and Corinne. We stayed in the Sunroom Suite of the house that was built by Corinne's parents in 1920...the house where she grew up.
They purchased the home some time ago...complete with all furnishings and have opened it to guests for the past fourteen years.
We experienced true German Texas warmth and hospitality...
...and the best breakfasts we could have wished for!
We stayed in the bedroom that Corinne at one time shared with her sisters...
...complete with adjoining sunroom. Corinne gave us a tour of the home...
...which featured 10 foot ceilings throughout and all original woodwork.
The bathrooms had claw foot tubs...
...and in the hallway hung the very hats that were once worn by our hostess's parents and aunt.
The red Formica countertop in the kitchen was the original one her mother had installed around 1950...the first Formica countertop in Fredericksburg!
We so enjoyed our stay...it was rather like visiting Grandma's house. From our home base at the B&B we explored the area.
Fredericksburg is in the heart of the hill country...was founded in 1846 by German settlers and is a charming heritage destination today. The population is somewhere around 8,000 people...but the tourists flock here in droves. The roots of the city are in agriculture...but tourism is now a big part of the economy. 
Every second shop seems to be selling antiques...and I would have found many treasures to bring home...were it not for the baggage restrictions on Air Canada!
The shops had interesting German names...and I was glad that I still recalled a little of the German I once knew. (Der Kleider Schrank means The Clothes Closet.)
What once was the hospital is now a kitchen boutique...and I had a whole lot of fun in that shop. I came out with a bag of all kinds of goodies...that weighed next to nothing and Air Canada gladly flew home for me!
How well I remember our local 'five and dime' store from my childhood...and when I stepped through the door of Dooley's...it was like stepping back in time. I didn't know any stores like this had survived the changing times (what some would call progress). Our hostess at the B&B informed me that she bought all her supplies at Dooley's...she would rather support a local family than the new Walmart on the outskirts of town. 
...and rightly so, since there seemed to be a church at every street corner.
Hello! I am not sure if I have commented on your blog yet or not but wanted to say how much I enjoy reading your updates. I loved this post about your trip to Texas and the Bed & Breakfast y'all stayed in. I love staying at B&Bs! Each one is so different and it is really like staying in a friends home - very different from the hotel experience.
ReplyDeleteHave a wonderful week...
xo
Very interesting.. this provides a great overview of this part of your stay...and interesting enough that I think that I would love to see this area as well...thank you for the tour!
ReplyDeleteThis is a fun opportunity for me, to get to visit parts of Texas that I have not seen, all by sitting at my computer and reading your blog. You do have a gift of writing, of drawing the reader right into the places you visited. Very fascinting, especially having German roots like I do. I like that Bed and Breakfast and would love to stay there.
ReplyDeleteWhat a quaint B&B. It looks as if you were well cared for and blessed with that good home cooking for breakfast.
ReplyDeleteAnd the shopping...particularly the kitchen shop. Hope that you are going to share your treasures in greater detail. I'm interested to know what you found.
Yay for spring weather...perhaps it'll show up here in a bit.
Loved Fredricksburg!! Your posts are making me want to plan a visit!
ReplyDeleteLovely B&B and shops. My mum is German, I had no idea there was a "german pocket" in Texas!
Blessings
Niki
Oh my what a charming B&B. I love that she supports the "little man" Dooleys! What a fun trip! Thanks for the tour!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great host you are for "us". . . I love that B&B, and the interesting rooms it had.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the comment above, I would love to see this area as well.
I feel like I've been on a little visit to Fredrichsburg myself now.
ReplyDeleteI like the sign, "Der Alte Fritz." Had to check out the details of the old rooms and I love the personal charm and welcome! Oh, there's so much to see and learn, isn't there?
What a pretty B&B! I love the German flavor of Fredericksburg! How unique and interesting. I would have been very tempted at those antique shops. I'm glad that Dooley's has loyal .customers! I remember five and dime stores too -- we had Woolworth's
ReplyDeleteThe German's know how to do it?
ReplyDeleteB & B's have such a flair of their own. I have enjoyed many of those and hope to stay in some Gast Homes in Europe this spring.
I love their way of hospitality.
Each room is so unique.
How fascinating, and what a lovely glimpse into the B/B that you stayed in. Thank you for the tour, I shall never get there, but almost feel as though I've been!
ReplyDeleteHow fun to have a peek inside the B&B you stayed in. Fredericksburg looks like an interesting place to visit. I have a book about an herb farm in Fredericksburg. I am going to dig it out and have another look.
ReplyDeleteI love how your hostess feels about supporting a local family business rather than Walmart. I agree with her thinking.
What a fun and interesting stroll through Fredericksburg TX this morning. Thanks Judy. I really enjoyed viewing the inside of the B&B, so lovely.
ReplyDeleteWe've thought about doing something like this in "Philipbsurg" someday...hmmm maybe.
We haven't been to the hill country in many years. Thanks for sharing these terrific photos. I miss Texas.
ReplyDeleteSam
This is a great post, thankyou. Your trip looks wonderful and what a delightful Bed & Breakfast. Looking forward to the next post.
ReplyDeleteYou chose well when you chose to visit Fredricksburg! The Hill Country area of Texas is a little slice of heaven in springtime. I'm missing the bluebonnet season right now, but remember also that it is followed by months and months of HOT HUMID weather!
ReplyDeleteI love B&B's..you stayed in grand style Judy! What a gorgeous place!
ReplyDeleteWiener roasts are such fun..they can be had almost in any kind of weather but I do prefer 'without snow'..
I love the B&B. It looks like such a warm and cozy place. It looks like you guys had a great vacation.I look forward to more pictures.
ReplyDeleteFredercksburg is one of those towns that always seems to be mentionned in Country Living magazine. No wonder!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tour of the B&B - I know where I'd stay if I went to that part of the world.
Thank you for the lovely tour. My parents retired in the Hill Country, and my youngest daughter and her family recently bought land there and hope to build next year. Nothing is prettier that the Hill Country in April, when the Blue Bonnets and Indian Paintbrush are in full bloom.
ReplyDeleteWe love to stay in Bed and Breakfast Inns, and have met some wonderful hosts. I would love to check this one out!
Looks like you were having a great time. I clicked on the kitchen with the red formica. How charming was that! That sink with the huge drain boards. Now that would be practical before automatic dishwashers.
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