Austin, Texas

Austin, capital of Texas

In November 2008 I traveled to Austin for a conference. I was anxious to see the city, having heard so many reports of how Boulderish it was. Like most pre-conceived notions, my mental image of Austin was shattered the moment we arrived.

Stalled Saturday traffic taken through the tinted window of my hotel

Austin is not small like Boulder and its party strip (6th Street) is more like Bourbon Street than Pearl Street. Being a larger city, it suffers from all of the typical woes, large traffic jams, a large homeless population, and vandalism.

The Texas State Capital was completed 1888 and its style is classified as Renaissance Revival, which is characterized by classical orders, round arches and symmetrical composition. The structural exterior is red granite, quarried just 50 miles from the site.

The same crests on the floor are on the exterior of the building.

The capital positively glows at sunset.

We had a bird’s eye view of the traffic because our hotel room overlooked the main freeway through town. We were amazed to see on a Saturday that it was at a dead stop. A local friend told us that weekends could be worse than weekdays because folks north of the city road trip south to San Antonio and these hordes have to pass through Austin.

The floor of the state capital showing all of countries that have at one time or another controlled the territory.

The large homeless population was not surprising given the climate, but was a detractor none-the-less. I was staying at the Sheraton near the Capital, but my conference was at the convention center. It was a 9 or so block walk between them. The route passed right by a very large homeless shelter and across 6th Street. Not a terribly scenic walk and one I did not like taking at night alone. If you visit the city, I would suggest staying south of 6th Street. There are more restaurants there and the area is just nicer.

Looking up into the capital dome

A few months before our arrival, someone tried to torch the governor’s mansion. Apparently, this was just pure mayhem and not so much a political statement. It is sad indeed to live in an era where such things are possible and probably condoned by a large number of people.

Exterior of the National Museum of the Pacific War. This side of it is Admiral Nimitz's childhood home.

Despite these revelations about Austin, we did have a great time. We took a road trip to Fredericksburg and the National Museum of the Pacific War, ate fantastic BBQ at the Salt Lick, and spent time in the LBJ Presidential Library on the University of Texas campus. We also dined at the Four Seasons and had fantastic “slap your mama” steak in an elegant atmosphere.

Tail end of the midget submarine. There is no way to photograph the entire thing. The display behind and under the submarine is that of a normal sized sub, so you can see the difference.

I had wanted to visit Fredericksburg because it is in the center of the hill country and I had heard that the region was both picturesque and filled with wineries. Toss in a premier WWII museum and you have the makings of a great side trip.

The exterior had monuments like this to all the Presidents who served in WWII

The drive through the hill country was very pleasant and once again very different from what I expected. I had been told it was comprised of rolling hills and trees. This is true, but one must recalibrate one’s idea of trees. I had pictured tall deciduous trees when in reality; the trees were short scrub oaks. I liked them very much because they reminded me of my hometown in California. I was hoping to catch a glimpse of a famed longhorn on the drive but instead kept spotting exotic animals. Apparently, the ranches in the hill country are known for raising exotics. At one point I was gazing out the window when a camel flashed before my eyes. I yelled out, “Holy F…, I just saw a Camel.” My two travel companions quickly looked as well and committed equally unpublishable verbal peccadilloes.

Plaques placed in the walls dedicated to ships and individuals

The town of Fredericksburg was nothing remarkable. It has a few shops that one can traverse in 10 minutes or so and only one winery in the downtown area. This winery happened to be a chain, which was very disappointing. Because we had a date with a side of pork, we did not have time to wander the countryside in search of tasting rooms. Instead, we focused on the Museum.

The garden, dedicated to the dead was the home of many creatures, oblivious to the deeper meaning of their habitat.

The National Museum of the Pacific War is a treasure not to be missed. It started out as a small museum dedicated to native son Admiral Nimitz but has grown extensively through the patronage of former President, and Naval hero, George Bush Sr. There is a large garden with plaques imbedded in the concrete commemorating ships and sailors, a Japanese peace garden, and a main building that provides a historical narrative for every single battle of the Pacific War. You need two days just to read all this material. In two of the larger bays, are an authentic Japanese midget submarine dredged up from the bottom of Pearl Harbor, and a bomber plane. Off site is another annex filled with larger planes. You cannot tour this additional facility on your own, but must go with a tour guide. We were out of time, unfortunately, and had to miss this part. It was on to the Salt Lick and our side of pork.

A propeller from a WWII ship made into a fountain.

I was really looking forward to sampling the many varieties of Texas BBQ. There were so many places to choose from the decision was not easy. Our local guide however indicated that the Salt Lick was THE place to try. We had quite a wait on the weekend but enjoyed listening to the outdoor music on the oak en-canopied patio. The Salt Lick does not serve alcohol, so it is BYOB. It is also “out in the sticks”, so purchase your beer before you leave Austin. I was impressed by the tenderness of the meat and the portions of all the sides. I was not too hot on the sauce. Every BBQ joint in Texas has a proprietary sauce. I am not sure I could describe this one very well except that it was pink. The interior of the place is dark and somewhat smokey from the large pit by the entrance. All the tables are family style so be emotionally prepared to sit neck and jowl with 20 of your closest friends. Despite the sauce, I would eat there again in a heartbeat.

The bushes around Fredricksburg were filled with butterflies

My final thing to say about this trip is a brief description of the LBJ Presidential Library. Presidential Libraries are actually archives and museums. There are 13 of them in existence but this was my first visit to one. I was born in 1965 so many of the events during LBJ’s term in office I have seen only in the pages of books. The museum presents his life chronologically and he was of course the President during the bulk of the Vietnam War. The parallels to modern day were quite striking. At one place in the chronology, you see a large picture of him with his head in his hands and a quote saying something like, “I know I shall be reviled for all I have done…at the time I saw no other solution, nor did I know how to get out of it”. They have taken his oval office and recreated on an upper floor. That was interesting to see, particularly the 60’s communications technology. On the top floor is a gallery of paintings of all the Presidents and a separate one for First Ladies. It was amusing to see Hillary Clinton in the one group and not the other! The museum is located on the University of Texas campus, which was very close to where we were staying and a nice place to walk around.

The waiting area for the Salt Lick. Much beer was being consumed.

The dark interior of the restaurant. I have no idea who the people were sitting next to us. Everyone was concentrating on the feast. If you go, I suggest not eating for about 3 days.

The fire pit of the Salt Lick. Those are ribs.

This was a great trip to see someplace new. If you are a live music fan, you will get more out of the city than I. I turn into a pumpkin by 10PM and most music venues are not even started by then. Still, Austin stylizes itself as the live music capital of the world, so please check it out. Every red-blooded American should visit Texas at least once in their life. It is a unique place with great people, great food, and wide-open vistas.

The LBJ Presidential Library on the University of Texas campus

Kenosha Pass-East

Distance: 8 miles round trip
Elevation: 10,000 ft to 10, 418 ft
Elevation Gain: 418 ft (net), 836 cumulative

Aspens and view abound on the east side of Kenosha Pass

The east side of Kenosha Pass is a wonderful fall hike. Within a half mile it traverses one of the largest Aspen groves I have seen (although certainly not the largest in the state). Additionally, the earth tones of the distant South Park combined with the crisp air will make you want to rush out and buy a pumpkin pie. Note I did not say bake one. I am not that domestique!

Entering the Aspen grove. This year the colors have been quite muted.

It is actually the Continental Divide Trail that transects Kenosha Pass so you can walk in either direction for literally hundreds of miles. We only walked 4 miles however, before turning around. The last time I walked this trail, I turned around at 2.8 miles because I has just returned France and was still suffering from a wicked virus. You can read about that trip on my Aspen Gauntlet post. It was one of my first blog posts. Tha post has a couple of pictures.

My friends had to drag me out the grove. I could spend the whole day taking pictures there.

The east side of the pass contains bathrooms, albeit not very clean ones, and a small parking area. During prime leaf peeping, this lot will fill up by 9am and then cars will begin to back up all the way to the road.

The first view of South Park

On our route, the east-side trail hits the Aspen grove at 0.5 miles, views of South Park appear at 1.76 miles, and the trail starts to descend at 2.89 miles. The trail is rocky in places with occasional nooks with stellar views. It winds in and out of coniferous forest, open meadows, and Aspen groves (some large, some small). I found the trail very easy to walk on and we made very good time.

At this point the trail begins to descend. You can see the Ponderosa Pines that dot the area.

There were a lot of mountain bikers on the trail, which got annoying, particulalry near the trailhead on the return. The Aspen grove was mobbed with toddlers and their parents and the bikers, kids, and dogs made for a gaggle we were happy to escape from.

An open meadow near our turn around point

This trail also makes great snowshoeing, but acheives true glory when the Aspens turn. Just get an early start or be emotionally prepared to mingle with the herd.

Another view of South Park on the return

Germany: Hamburg

View of Hamburg and its mixed of historic and modern

I spent a week in Hamburg this month on business. I had about a day and a half to enjoy the city itself. I took a small pocket camera with me, so the photos in this post are not the greatest, but since they are mostly tourist shots anyway, I suppose it does not matter.

A view of the North Atlantic after 6 hours of flying. I took a bunch of pictures of England and Scotland from 38,000 ft, but with my small camera, none of them were worth posting. It was fun to see though. Lots of farm lands and few trees.

We took the subway from the airport into the city. This platform was in "the burbs" and surrounded by beautiful trees just starting to turn.

In my wanderings about the city, I must have been stopped at least 4 times by people asking for directions... Woe ist.... I can not believe I looked that German and normally don't like to look approachable in crowded urban settings. The first two times I was suspicious that it was a distraction and that my euros were under threat. After a while I got used to it. I quickly learned to say Ich sprecht nicht Deutsche!

My hotel was right next to the trade center and the iconic radio tower of Hamburg. It was impossible to get lost as long as it was in view.

My hotel also boarded the expansive botanical gardens. Many of my colleagues chose to run through them for exercise.

Hamburg is very modern looking and does not have the historic allure of other European cities. The reason is simple. The charm, history, and most of the people of Hamburg were wiped-out by the Royal Air Force in WWII during a fire bombing raid in July of 1943. Hamburg had always been an important commercial port and in WWII its harbor, oil refineries, and U-boat docks were continually targeted. The July raid was different though. For 8 days, 3,000 aircraft dropped 9,000 tons of bombs, including incendiaries. A hot dry spell that month aggravated the conditions. A tornadic firestorm swept the city. The operation caused at least 50,000 deaths, mostly civilians, and left over a million other German civilians homeless. I overheard some Brits on an English-speaking tour talking about this with some measure of pride. It is hard for me to comprehend how this level of enmity can remain after all these years. I did not live through the bombing of London, however, nor the landings at Normandy. I have no memories of the Vietnam war, which seems like ancient history although it is not. Wars have existed throughout history, and allegiances come and go. Such is the transient nature of human relationships. It seems wasteful to focus on old enemies and old wounds when the hot breath and malevolent gaze of our current enemies is directly ahead in the dim shadows of the future yet to be.

Views of Hamburg from a top St. Michaels

Looking east towards all the churches. St. Michaels is the farthest west.

When you are in down between the buildings, it is hard to know a harbor even exists.

I do not want to put in writing the number of pounds I gained on this trip. You would think walking for 7 hours would drop pounds, but I love German food and did not hesitate to enjoy myself. German breakfasts are the best in the world. Hearty dark bread, stinky cheeses, salamis of various sorts and dried or stewed fruits. It was difficult not to over indulge. Our hotel also had wonderful loose leaf teas, so I did not have to go without my morning Green Tea either. I tried at least 7 different German beers on this trip which has undoubtedly added to my waistline, but confess I did not like any of them. I am more of a wine drinker anyway and the beer all had a bitter aftertaste. After a while I switched to Riesling, at which the Germans excel. I had some average dinners of Schnitzel and pasta and some exceptional dinners of local fish or pork. The former came from one of the fish places harbor and the latter from a place right next to the St. Michaels. Regional food was hard to come by. We were staying near the university and most of the restaurants were Italian, Indian, or Middle Eastern.

Shots of various older buildings

Music Hall

St. Jacobs

Very modern Hamburg with the ruins of St. Nicholas in the background

The King Tut exhibit happened to be in town while I was there and I was able to get a ticket after work one day. What an unexpected treat! I thought at first the pieces were all reproductions because there was no glass or visible protection between the antiquities and the people. The were real though. The artistry is like nothing in our modern era and the interlocking shrines are a marvel to behold. This exhibition is traveling around the world. I missed its US tour and am fortunate indeed to have been in Hamburg during its 30-day run.

The ruins of St. Nickolas

Now a war memorial, the burned out shell of Hamburg's cathedral is raw, jagged, and grim. Too often we tear down or paint over such damage. This place was solemn. A moment of quiet solitude and you could hear the stones begin to weep.

One solitary chunk of wall

Old cobblestones

I did wander through Hamburg's world famous red light district, St. Pauli. Frankly, I found it rather tame compared to other places in the world (e.g. the Philippines and Thailand). The zone is quite large, however, and the various sex shops, peep shows, and other more sedate entertainment venues are quite numerous. All the prostitutes dressed the same. They all had long bleached blond hair and white leather boots with white accouterments. You can tell they are playing upon the German stereotype.

Area around the Rathaus

The Rathaus, Hamburg's parliamentary building

Canal

Modern street with old building in the distance

Flags at the Binnenalster pier

Looking across the Binnenalster. There are ferry boats that travel up and down the lake.

Swans in the Alsterfleet canal

Fountain in the inner courtyard of the Rathaus

Fountain detail

Before the trip, I had checked out the forecast and perused some web cams to see what the locals were wearing. Everyone had a coat on, which made me bring mine and a scarf. I also brought turtlenecks and long sleeved shirts. I would have been better off with short sleeved shirts and a rain coat. The humidity blowing in from the North Sea was high and five minutes of walking had me breaking out into a sweat. All the locals were bundled up, however, in dark jackets and ubiquitous scarves. It just amazed me. I guess our climate here is colder than we think. Fifty percent of the women were wearing boots and all the shoe stores sold them in droves. I love boots but that is something else you don't see people wearing in the states.

Church of St. Michael. 5 euros gets you a tour of the crypt, a peek at the ongoing interior renovations, and a trip up the tower for 360° views of the city.

Two different pipe organs

The interior. The renovations looked close to completion.

The low ceiling of the crypt. Early church goers found burial in a church crypt to be less malodorous than burials in the church floor itself. The crypt contained displays on copper and how copper roofs are manufactured. Most of the churches in the city were having their roofs replaced.

A stone relief in the crypt

Bronze statue of St. Michael, the church's namesake. The statue is quite large. You can gaze on the backside of it from the window behind.

The steeple from a nearby church with interesting bronze statues

After a particularly hefty meal one night I did get up and go running the next day. I ran from my hotel down and around the Aussenlaster, a large man-made lake. The lake is lined with beautiful homes, sailing docks, Weeping Willows, and flower gardens. My route was 6 miles long and had I known that I was going to spend half the night walking, I would not have run as far. By the end of that day I was quite foot sore and there was not a spa in sight!

Another statue from the church mentioned above

How did they find out?

Wandering around Hamburg is easy with a map and I must have crisscrossed the old part of town a dozen times. I spent one afternoon shopping. I bought a nice dressy winter coat and a scarf. I have a drawer of these that I never seem to wear here in the states. I was surprised at how quickly I was learning German. This was a good thing for outside of the clerks in our hotel, I did not run into many English speakers. This was contrary to what others had told me, but I found even clerks in museums did not speak much English.

A bread/sandwich shop I passed while out walking. I never did find it again even though my stomach grumbled for it.

The door knocker on the door to church of St. Peter.

Travel across the Atlantic from Denver is brutal and exhausting. I am not sure Hamburg would be my first choice for a European destination but as a business excursion it was ideal. Our hosts were gracious, our hotel well situated, and the city entertaining. It highlights were the perfect size for my limited free time. Another half day and I might have seen it all.