Amazing Austin: Bursting at the seams
Kristin Emery/For the Observer-Reporter
Taking in a Texas Longhorns football game with 100,000 other fans in Austin.
Capitol
Kristin Emery/For the Observer-Reporter
Kristin Emery/For the Observer-Reporter
The Texas state-capitol building anchors the center of town.
Kristin Emery/For the Observer-Reporter
Sixth Street bustles with live music every night.
Kristin Emery/For the Observer-Reporter
Austin is called the “Live Music Capital of the World.”
They say everything’s bigger in Texas, and the state capital of Austin lives up to that. This sun-drenched city is still only the fourth-largest city in the Lone Star state, but it’s also the fastest-growing large city in America. Why? Take a look around and you’ll understand.
Austin’s airport is relatively small, conveniently located and easy to navigate. It wasn’t until we hit Interstate 35 that we encountered anything that resembled a crowded city.
Dell Computers is based nearby, and the tech industry has really taken off the past two decades, spurring significant growth in jobs and population. The metro-area population topped 2.1 million last year with more than 55,000 new residents – that’s 151 new people each day. Population grew 23 percent in just seven years thanks to tech jobs. The sunny skies and a relatively low cost of living probably helped.
But all of those people have to go somewhere, and a lot of them are traveling I-35 and other surrounding highways and roads every day. In fact, the only complaint about living in Austin that we heard from anyone was how much traffic has exploded recently and what city and state planners were going to do about it. What’s even more interesting is that for all of the Austin residents we chatted with during our stay, none of them were born there.
Live music capital
One you get through the traffic and into downtown, you don’t need a car to explore the city. Not only are there convenient buses, but you can also zip around on one of the seemingly thousands of rentable bikes or electric scooters.
We chose the old-fashioned way and walked, starting out with a stroll down Congress Avenue to the SoCo area (South Congress) which is lined with everything from boutique hotels to shops carrying high-end cowboy boots and ostrich handbags and belts. This is home to the famous Continental Club, a historic landmark that has hosted live country, swing, rock and roll, rockabilly and blues music every night of the week since 1955.
Cross over the Congress Bridge back to downtown and walk up six short blocks to find out why Austin is called the “Live Music Capital of the World.” Saunter along Sixth Street and you’ll hear more live music than you ever imagined with bands on both sides of the street serenading you with blues while open-air rooftop bars host live rock ‘n roll and country acts. The scene is reminiscent of Bourbon Street (chill and fun on weeknights but touristy and raucous on weekends), so head to Second Street or Rainey Street for a more adult atmosphere and even more choices for music and dining.
Burritos, barbecue and breakfast treats
We couldn’t wait to taste some authentic Tex-Mex cuisine and the venerable Guero’s Taco Bar on South Congress did not disappoint.
Fresh corn tortillas, brisket tacos, rich mole and hand-shaken margaritas – with fresh-squeezed lime juice – are on the menu here along with live music on the outdoor patio each evening. The food truck scene is huge here and you’ll find them all around town serving up gourmet treats and libations. There’s also no shortage of great barbecue spots and some even serve up their pulled pork and ribs by the pound.
But the best thing I ate while in Austin was something I had never heard of that actually came from our hotel’s coffee shop. You might be familiar with the Czech or Slovakian treat called kolach (a pastry of puffy dough that holds fruit or cheese). Immigrants brought the idea to Texas generations ago and it morphed into klobasnik pastries stuffed with sausage or other meats. The breakfast klobasnik we had defied logic: tasty ham and a perfectly soft-boiled egg baked inside slightly sweet, puffy dough. The egg was intact until you bit into it to release the yummy, gooey yolk. We still aren’t sure how they created it.
Kristin Emery/For the Observer-Reporter
Kristin Emery/For the Observer-Reporter
Watching the Steelers game with Pennsylvania transplants while enjoying brisket nachos and kolache at a rooftop bar in Austin, Texas.
Going batty
The coffee shop serving up those creations sits in the lobby of the newly renovated Line Hotel at the corner of Congress and Cesar Chavez. We loved our stay here and found it was ideally located overlooking Lady Bird Lake and its walking trails.
The hotel is beautifully appointed and the staff is extremely efficient and friendly. Best of all, our room overlooked the lake and the Congress Avenue Bridge which gave us front-row seats to an evening show put on by Mother Nature. Not only were the sunsets spectacular, what happened right before the sun sank below the horizon blew our minds. Every evening, 1.5 million Mexican Free-Tailed Bats wing their way from nests in crevices below the Congress Bridge and take flight to feed.
The bat bonanza is best viewed by standing on the bridge, but we got a bird’s-eye view from our window. This is the world’s largest urban bat colony and they emerge nightly from March to October with the biggest bat bonanza happening in August, when the new bat pups join their moms on nightly feeding frenzies during which the winged rodents consume up to 20,000 pounds of insects. Just one more reason why the locals lovingly adopted the popular phrase, “Keep Austin Weird.”
For more information, visit www.austintexas.org.
Kristin Emery/For the Observer-Reporter
Boots
Kristin Emery/For the Observer-Reporter
Kristin Emery/For the Observer-Reporter
Handmade cowboy boots are displayed at a boutique on South Congress Avenue.