A Bar, a Bakery, and a Church

Old Stuff in Texas

As my wife can attest, I have a problem with travel superlatives. By that, I mean when I come across the longest something…or the biggest thing…I have to visit it. Certainly, as with many people, one of my favorite superlatives is the oldest. In my last trip through Texas, I had planned to visit the oldest bar in Texas. But, as I came to discover, my travel path brought me in close proximity to lots of old stuff in Texas. However, for the purposes of this post, I will limit my retelling to a bar, a bakery and a church.

Oldest Bar Quest

As many of you know, one of my first travel quests was my goal to visit the oldest bar in every state. To date, the quest is over 4 years in process with about 27 bars to my credit. I do not get to Texas often. So, I could not miss this oldest bar opportunity. While in Austin, Texas, Carol and I had lunch and beverages at Smolz Garten, Texas’ oldest bar since 1866

Smolz is a fine biergarten that celebrates the German heritage of the local neighborhood. However, the fine German lager, PBR, is NOT among their tap offerings. Despite this Germanic tragedy, it’s still a great old bar with a large outdoor biergarten in the back. Reportedly, the garten is a place where Texas liberals and conservatives can gather to discuss their differences. However, to enjoy the biergarten, you must get over the distasteful partial view of the Longhorn football stadium. Other than that, the garten is a great place to have a few cold ones. Smolz Garten is also near to the Texas capitol. Both attractions are worth a stop.

Bakeries can be fun too

After we visited Austin, our road trip continued south toward San Antonio. However, about half way there, we passed near New Braunfels, Texas. New Braunfels is home of Texas’s oldest bakery. So, as you might suspect, we had to take a side detour to Naeglin’s bakery.

After fighting in the Civil War, 24 year old, Eduard Naegelin came to New Braunfels to start a bakery. This bakery became a family owned and operated icon in New Braunfels until the early 1980s when they finally sold out to another family. The new owners maintain the old world traditions started by Eduard. Beyond being the oldest bakery, I was drawn to Naegelin’s for another reason. That would be the kolaches. Kolaches are a fruit or meat filled pastries some would say originated in eastern Europe. However, many around New Braunfels claim that kolaches are a Texas original creation. I have a starving artist friend that occasionally becomes obsessed with meat filled kolaches. Consequently, in his honor, I had to have a sausage and jalapeño kolache at Naegelin’s. These kolaches were voted best kolaches in the area by the renowned New Braunsfel Herald-Zeitung.

Don’t Forget the Church

Next, our road trip continued on to the great town of San Antonio. It was there that we visited Texas’ oldest cathedral. In fact, the Cathedral of San Fernando is one of the oldest churches in the USA.

As you can see, not a lot has changed at San Fernando Cathedral over the last 100 or so years. Actually, the church was started in 1738 and some parts of the original construction still remain. The church is rich in history, but my favorite snippet is in regards to the Alamo. It was here where Mexican General Antonio Lopez raised the flag of “no quarter” for all Alamo soldiers to see. Thus, signally the beginning of the Alamo siege.

Despite all of the rich cathedral history, my favorite part is The Saga. After dark, on the weekends (and Tuesday), there is an excellent light show projected on the front façade of the cathedral. It’s free to the public. Just grab a bench, spread a blanket, or sit on the ground to enjoy the light show. The Saga uses the light show to take you through the history of San Antonio. It’s excellent…

Of course, the romantic couple enjoying the show is Carol and PT. A nice couple behind us took all the pictures and shared them with us. The sad news is that I probably gave them COVID, as I tested positive on the very next morning. So, instead of going home on first class tickets with American Airlines, we drove 1,300 miles back to our house. Oh well, it was just another longer than usual road trip for PugsleyTonks and Carol.

Wrap It Up

Anyway, that’s about it. Ultimately, there is no real meaning to this post. It’s just a road trip to an old bar, an old bakery, and an old church that PT found interesting while wandering Texas. Have a wonderful day. PT

I hope you have enjoyed reading “A Bar, a Bakery, and a Church” on Traveling with PugsleyTonks.

If you want another post on old stuff… https://travelingwithpt.com/tired-of-crowds-try-dry-tortugas/

If you want to Saga in San Antonio, here you go https://www.mainplaza.org/san-antonio-the-saga/

P.S. Contributions from our Readers

On a separate, but related topic, I wanted to offer up a special shout out to Liz the Chow, the much beloved daughter of PugsleyTonks. This very weekend, she is enjoying a party weekend in Charleston, SC, with a friend. I challenged her to complete a blog mission to the oldest liquor store in the USA. The Tavern at Rainbow Row in Charleston has provided the sea faring crowd with liquor since the late 1600s. Today, any tourist is welcome to stop by for tastings and liquor to go. Liz the Chow stopped by on St. Patrick’s Day for a bourbon tasting and supplies. Well Done!