By Andrew Ganz
Tuesday, Jul 27th, 2010 @ 12:00 pm

Where cultures collide, a cacophony of sights and sounds emerge.

Geographically deep in the heart of Texas, the Lone Star State’s Hill Country is where Spanish colonies met the American Wild West, native tribes interacted with Bohemian immigrants and rough and tumble frontiersmen encountered nature at its rawest.

Today, of course, the frontier is closed and Central Texas does its best to be a refined and gracious part of the 28th state. But you can check your preconceptions at the exit to Interstate 35 when the terrain starts to take on a decidedly craggy and hilly appearance.

To make the best of a weekend road trip where rockin’ music, long neck beers, eclectic art, cowboy culture and washed up hippies collide today, we set off in a shiny 2010 BMW 335i Convertible. The same blue folding metal hardtop we sampled earlier this year, the 335i was pretty well equipped for road trip duty. Boasting BMW’s magical six-speed manual transmission, a soon-to-be-dropped twin-turbo inline-six (we’ll try out the new twin-scroll single turbo soon) and, of course, the must-have Sport Package, the 335i only lacked one glorious road trip must-have: Satellite radio.

But we were in for our fare share of live music during the road trip.

Starting base
Located just off of Insterstate 35 – one of the nation’s main north-south arteries – Gruene, Texas, (pronounced like the color “greenâ€) is a town-within-a-town about halfway between Austin and San Antonio. The Texas Hill Country was ground zero for German immigrants seeking a new life in the Western United States after escaping turbulence at home and Gruene fits the mold of the region. Established by recent arrivals in the mid-1800s, the small town was essentially abandoned by the 1970s when a group of preservationists recognized its significance and brought it back to life.

Today, Gruene is a year-round tourist destination that exists within the city limits of the still very Germanic bedroom community of New Braunfels. Historic homes have been converted into boutiques and arts and crafts stores that pleasantly avoid the “tacky tourist†trap of so many other visitor-oriented towns.

For many, though, the big draw is Gruene Hall, Texas’ oldest continuously operating dance hall – a must see for any music fan and a “must play†for any aspiring or established artist. First conceived as a place for ranch hands to unwind a bit in the late 19th century, it has become something of a legend in the annals of music history. Gruene takes advantage of its proximity to Austin, the anti-Nashville live music capital of the world, by providing an intimate, historic and downright fun music venue.

After an afternoon of strolling through Gruene’s boutiques and antique shops – thankfully, the 335i’s trunk capacity is modest at best – we slipped through the screen entry door of the whitewashed music icon. At just about any reasonable hour, as well as some not so reasonable, Gruene Hall is alive with energy and the distinct rhythm of music blasting well beyond its walls. Despite its start as a honky tonk and its regular two-step classes, Gruene Hall is not strictly a country music venue. The focus these days is on Texas country, a mix between Southern rock, Western twang and traditional folk music, but you’ll find diverse music like mainstream rock, bluegrass and even a little jazz if you look closely at Gruene Hall’s upcoming schedule.

We had dinner plans and tickets to a bigger show later in the day, so we only hung around long enough to down a beer or two with a few locals who wore cowboy hats and boots as though they were extras from a spaghetti western (nope, just locals). Gruene Hall is as much a local favorite as it is an attraction for out-of-towners.

Just a stumble away is the town’s historic Gristmill Restaurant, a converted cotton gin, which now serves a wide menu of local specialties and plenty of ice cold beer to tables that overlook the beautiful Guadalupe River that meanders through town.

On a hot day, you don’t have to enjoy the view for long before catching sight of dozens of sun worshipers floating in black inner tubes down the impossibly blue-green river. We had another winding course or two to discover the next day – one of the paved variety – but we’ll be back for some relaxing tubing for our next encounter.

Musical enlightenment
After an enjoyable meal of local, German-inspired dishes, Gruene Hall beckoned again. On tap for our early July visit was the folky rock of the Bodeans. Although hardly the biggest name to drop by Gruene Hall this year (Los Lonely Boys and Jack Ingram have already stopped by), the show was pleasantly busy. We can only imagine the scene when Willie Nelson is in town.

It’s standing room only – what few benches you’ll find serve as height boosters for those seeking a better view. The huge bar doesn’t serve much in the way of food, but it does offer a good variety of bottled beer. You’ll be missing out if you don’t sample the German-style Shiner Bock (carefully brewed nearby since well before the age of trendy microbrews) or the almost-local Llano Brewing Company’s Fireman’s 4 blonde ale. Skip the macrobrews for local favorites and you can rarely fail.

Even with the sun down and the lights dimmed, non-air conditioned Gruene Hall is sauna sweaty; just don’t plan on wearing that same shirt tomorrow and you’ll enjoy yourself. Wrapped up in music even out on the adjacent courtyard (where horseshoes and spontaneous dancing are simple indulgences), Gruene Hall is an experience all its own.

Late into the night when the music finally stopped, we slipped next door to the Gruene Mansion Inn, a sort of mega bed-and-breakfast that offers up frontier-style furnishings with a distinctly German flavor. One the home of Gruene’s most prominent citizen, Henry D. Gruene, it now features a meticulously restored main home and a handful of more modern – but still charmingly rustic – rooms that overlook the Guadalupe River.

The hills beckon
Living up to its name, the Gruene Mansion Inn provided a feast befitting a noble for breakfast. We sampled every bit of the Inn’s homemade baked goods, including a few German specialties. Bellies filled, were tempted to crawl back into bed, but we knew that great driving roads awaited us mere miles away.

With an eastern terminus that straddles Interstate 35, the Texas Hill Country serves as the geographic gateway into the southwest. Rolling hills descend from the flatlands around Houston and Dallas before eventually rising up into the mountains ranges of West Texas. Naturally, where there are hills, there are bound to be some pretty good roads – and, given the area’s relatively sparse population, traffic is light.

We left Gruene on Texas Highway 46 in the direction of Bergheim, but the real fun began on Rebecca Creek Road. A winding two-lane byway, Rebecca Creek Road meanders up and down through small elevation changes and past scenic ranch after ranch.

From there, we turned off the 335i’s navigation and went exploring. The myriad winding roads are a treat to the senses; although the area has developed heavily over the last 25 years as Baby Boomers seek out ranchettes to call their own, you’ll rarely find much traffic. We recommend a stopover in Fredericksburg, a larger German town that caters heavily to tourists, as well as Luckenbach, the post office-of-a-town made famous by Willie Nelson.

Whatever the route you choose, a nice vehicle and driver cool down is River Road from scenic Canyon Lake back to Gruene. It’s not for speed demons; it winds along the popular Guadalupe River, which overflows with sun seekers and hot tubs. If you’re back in Gruene in time for a soak, any service will drop you off a couple of miles upriver and let you float back into town.

Now that’s what we call relaxing.

Words and photos by Andrew Ganz.


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