Why is it that when people from large urban areas discover a
quaint little town and decide to move there and have a second home/start a
business they envitability turn the wonderful little town into the urban mess
they were trying flee?
I admit I do not like change. I don’t know a lot of people who do. I visited a favorite Hill Country town today
and was reminded once again why I haven’t visited in over a year. It’s because each time I go back, more of the
little town that I use to love is gone; replaced by tacky souvenir shops, wine
bars, coffee bars and more. The once famous Dietz bakery that made such delicious bread that required you to get there
early in the morning to get your kolaches and bread for the day or they would
be sold out, is now gone. Replaced by another gift shop. One of the best German delis in town serving homemade pumpernickel, rye and homemade desserts
is now a wine bar. Please understand, I’m not just talking bread. I’m talking about a scent that wafts down the street before the any of the shops have opened.
The smell of baking breads the rises to meet the dawn, yeasty, warm, and fragrant. Kolaches filled with rich peaches, ruby strawberry jam, magenta colored plums and fat sausage rolls. Rye breads and pumpernickel that were dense and heady, perfect for a slice of black forest ham or Jarlsberg cheese.
I spotted no less than five coffee bars spouting signs advertising that they have “Wi-Fi”. Great!
I thought the purpose of going to a hill country town for the day was to get away. Not to constantly be in touch. I even saw not one, but two sushi restaurants in Fredericksburg. That’s just not right folks. Sorry, but there ought to a law.
If you love Fredericksburg, love it for what it is, or was. A town originally made up of German settlers from Germany. When you need a little dose of beer and ratwurst, this is the place. But please, no more wine bars or coffee bars or sushi bars. There is one bakery remaining. Two German restaurants and one beer hall. Let’s do what we can to keep what little of Fredericksburg that is still uniquely German, that way. Otherwise, what’s the point? You can go just about anywhere
and find a coffee bar, wine bar, sushi and t-shirt/ sunglass shop. But
there will never be another Dietz Bakery.
Tags: Bakeries, bread, coffee bars, Hill Country, Houston, relaxiation, shops, sushi, wi-fi, Wine Bars
May 31, 2011 at 1:26 pm |
The people who live in F-burg every day probably want to be able to go to a coffee shop and surf the web while they sip a latte, or take their girlfriend out for a California roll. There’s nothing wrong with that. The problem is placelessness, and it’s happening everywhere–a cultural wash-out on a grand scale. I agree that people don’t have a lot of imagination (or aesthetic loyalty) anymore when it comes to opening their businesses, but there probably aren’t very many of those old German folks hanging around F-burg anymore, clamoring for pumpernickel loaves.