Did you know that there was a large wave of German immigrants to Texas in the nineteenth century? In San Antonio, there is evidence all around of that presence--we're staying at the Menger Hotel, for example, established in 1859.
Yesterday, my husband and I drove 20 miles north to New Braunfels, on the advice of our new friend Lori, in search of more German influence. There we saw several houses built by German settlers, including this small stucco and stone cottage built by botanist/ soldier/newspaper editor Ferdinand Lindheimer (1801- 1879.) I sat on the ground in the lovely spring garden and sketched his tiny house. (As always, click on sketch for bigger image.)
Afterwards we had lunch at Oma's House, a restaurant run by descendants of the original settlers of New Braunfels. The menu there gives new meaning to the concept of fusion cuisine, with its German nachos (filled with sausage and cheese) and its German egg rolls (filled with sausage and cheese,) recipes devised by the owner's German-turned-Texan grandmother. Mustard takes the place of tomato-based or soy sauces.
(I don't know why the text is underlined and hotlinked. I've tried and tried to eliminate this but have been unsuccessful. I'm tired and I'll deal with this tomorrow.) Lots more San Antonio sketches to come!
Gorgeous colors. I especially like the pink building.
Posted by: Jana Bouc | March 28, 2007 at 02:05 AM
beautiful. Your food paintings amaze me. They're are so beautiful, yet you must do them so quickly. And the GermAs---Texman--GerTex---TexGer--KrautTaco---RefriedBratwurst---I could go on, but I won't--style food is fascinating.
Posted by: Jane LaFazio | March 27, 2007 at 12:01 PM
You are so talented.
Posted by: andrea j | March 26, 2007 at 06:37 AM
La cathedrale, avec cette touche de bleu dans le ciel, est superbe.
Posted by: wagonized | March 25, 2007 at 09:04 PM
Wow, these are terrific, I love the food sketches!
Posted by: Felicity | March 24, 2007 at 11:38 AM
What fun to read your comments! Yes, the food at Oma's was good---surprisingly not as heavy as it looks or sounds. Jenny, thank you so much for the offer of help. I'll email you tomorrow. Thank you, thank you for your informative and supportive responses, one and all!
Posted by: Laura | March 22, 2007 at 08:37 PM