I guess I should warn you that there are a LOT of pictures in this post, so I apologize if it takes a while to load up, but I think it is worth it.

I took so many pictures this weekend that I am actually going to split up the weekend into three posts. I thought I would start today with a little bit about Fredericksburg itself, and some pictures of the churches and architecture there, which was amazing! Fredericksburg was settled in the 1860′s by German settlers, and it holds a unique place in Texas. Most of Texas has a more Wild West meets Mexico heritage, with plenty of good spicy Mexican food, stories of the Alamo, and pictures of Cowboys. But Fredericksburg holds fast to its German heritage, and serves the best German food I have had since I lived in Germany itself. We ate everything from Jagerschnitzel (schnitzel covered in dark gravy and mushroom sauce) to Schweinebraten (roast pork in wine and mustard sauce), Knackwurst (probably our favorite of the weekend, a good German sausage), Rouladen (roast beef wrapped around pickles, bacon, and onions covered in brown gravy), and Spatzle (a very unique German noodle with cheese side dish). We left Fredericksburg with very happy stomachs indeed.

And the architecture! The churches, as seen below, look like they were picked up from Europe and transplanted directly over here when the town was founded. I think I was in awe the entire trip over the beauty and history of the buildings themselves…

(on any of these galleries, you can click “SL” for a slideshow or “FS” for full screen version of the pictures)

(the big red building that says “Science, Religion, Patriotism” is the Catholic school that is across the street from the church with the historic marker in front)

We spent a lot of time driving around the town just looking at the building and the historic sites… the next picture gallery shows historic Fort Martin Scott, which was the original Army post here in the 1800′s. You will also see a few black and white pictures of a small German village. This village was constructed on a back street in town, and although I have no idea how old it really is, it was beautiful and quaint, and I just happened to have black and white film in the camera when I took the pictures. The last picture is of an abandoned building that was near our hotel. It just seemed to catch my eye…

Tomorrow, I plan on showing you pictures of the World War II memorial and the Japanese peace garden, so stay tuned for more pictures!

(on a side note… I was really pleased with the way the pictures turned out from this weekend. All of these are undoctored, straight out of the camera, and they make me happy!)

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