Tanna Wasilchak

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WHAT IT’S LIKE TO VISIT FREDERICKSBURG, TEXAS IN JANUARY

Did you know that Fredericksburg, Texas is considered the wine capital of Texas? This is due to the vast Texas Hill Country wine region, which stretches across 9 million acres, making it the second-largest wine region in the United States. If you're interested in visiting, Fredericksburg is approximately one hour north of San Antonio, around four hours from Houston, and just an hour and a half from Austin. During spring, summer, and fall, Fredericksburg thrives with vibrant green scenery. However, winter brings a different atmosphere with less greenery but still incredible wine, beer, and vibes. In this post, I wanted to share what we did and include what the scenery looks like because this was my first time visiting and for some reason I expected it to be alive and green — which was ridiculous of me. Now, let’s get into where we stayed and what we did in Fredericksburg during the winter season.

WHERE WE STAYED

Ridgeview Guest House on Airbnb

This Airbnb was a freaking gem. We found it last minute and honesty I think it was meant to be. We absolutely LOVED this place. It was about 15 minutes from Fredericksburg which gave us magical views of the sunrise and sunset to enjoy on the back porch. The place had two bedrooms and two bathrooms which gave us a lot of privacy as we were with our friends. Additionally, each bedroom had doors that opened up t the back porch so we would meet each other on the porch for breakfast or at night to place cards and hangout. The hosts also did something that I had never seen before was that they had cute little baskets with medicine, makeup wipes, toothbrushes, toothpaste, etc. AND they had little baskets with coffee, tea, etc. You would be so surprised how many Airbnb’s don’t go the extra mile and this was SO NICE to have… Andrew and I have always talked about wanting to have an Airbnb and always have the little details perfect and this place did!

WHAT WE DID

Grape Creek Vineyard

After researching many different vineyards, we decided to check out Grape Creek because we only had time for one. I chose this one because, during the winter, it’s not super pretty on the properties of most vineyards because everything is brown. Grape Creek has beautiful Spanish-inspired architecture that is gorgeous year-round. Even the freaking entrance to the property is BEAUTIFUL! When you walk up, you’re greeted and immediately told where to go and what to do so you don’t end up wandering the property lost. I love that! When you walk in you can choose to pay for a counter tasting, a private tasting room (reservations required ahead of time for Saturdays), a tour, or to grab a glass outside on the patio. The counter tasting was $20 for 6 tastings and you get to keep the wine glass, like what?! It was super affordable. We had a wonderful time during our tasting and our ambassador, Kim, was absolutely AMAZING. She truly made or experience incredible because of her knowledge and great conversation.

After our tasting, we headed to the patio to grab a cheese board, by the way there is a separate window from the restaurant to just order cheese boards so if you see a long line, walk around it and go to the window! haha unless the line is for the cheese board window LOL! I tried a lot of the sweet wines and my favorites ended up being the Cabernet Blanc and the Grand Rouge. Overall, we had a wonderful time at Grape Creek Vineyards and I highly recommend it.

Main Street Fredericksburg

Main Street is undoubtedly the place to check out multiple times while visiting. The historic buildings and little parks are what really made me love it. It’s a place where when you walk the streets you feel the German influence and history and can even taste it too!

Another area to swing by to learn a little bit of history and enjoy some nature is the Marktplatz von Fredericksburg. The park surrounds on all sides one of the most revered treasures of the City, the Vereins Kirche. The octagonal-shaped building was the site of the first church and the first school in Fredericksburg. Marktplatz hosts festivals, concerts and an ice skating rink in the holiday season. Read more about this iconic park here.

Cross Mountain Park

If Enchanted Rock is booked for the day or a little too far for you to drive, you can always check out Cross Mountain Park. We actually had planned on going to Enchanted Rock and then when we got there they weren’t allowing people without reservations in AKA us… So we had to last minute figure out somewhere else to go. Cross Mountain Park is definitely smaller than Enchanted Rock but gives you a spectacular view of Fredericksburg as you can see below. The hike is only about 15 minutes and is a great place to chill at the top or even have a picnic. You can even create your own little rock tower at the bottom of the mountain. There were tons of these at the bottom and I thought they were so cool!

WHERE WE ATE

The Old German Bakery and Restaurant is my favorite German restaurant on Main Street for breakfast (get the German pancake) and of course, the Fredericksburg Brewing Company is my favorite place to grab a German beer, soft pretzel, and a scotch egg!

Pritzer Sweet Shop has the most delectable treats, I mean.. look at them. Are you drooling yet? Pritzer Sweet Shop offers the famous sweet German pretzel along with cookies, candies, ice cream, and more right on Main Street! I love the sweet German pretzel but my all-time favorites are the giant coconut macaroons and sometimes they are drizzled with chocolate. I swear they are heaven on earth for my coconut lovers. Shown in the photos below are the sweet German pretzel, lemon cookie, salted caramel cookie, monster cookie, and two coconut macaroons!

Overall, Fredericksburg was a wonderful place for us to relax, bond with my friends and significant other, and truly experience this place together. We wined and dined and will always remember this amazing trip to Fredericksburg! I highly recommend bringing your mom, sisters, or significant other to Fredericksburg for a trip you’re sure to remember for years to come.

Have you ever been to Fredericksburg before? We’re definitely going back during the summer this year to truly experience the vineyards!

XOXO

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