This spring, Trot Op! flew to Texas for a road trip to three of the state’s most exciting cities. From Dallas, the road let to Austin: the most progressive city in Texas as well as the Live Music Capital of the World. Is this self-proclaimed title justified or is it mostly hype? We were very happy to find out for you.
Without too much dilly dallying, the drive from Dallas (read the article here) to Austin takes about three hours. More than enough time for me to reflect on the experiences of the past few days. One of the more noticeable differences between us (Northern) Europeans and your average American, is the almost universal friendliness he’ll slap you in the face with. The contrast is especially striking in the South of the US. To such an extent, you might need a moment or two to get used to it initially. No one ever seems to be at a loss for words here. While in Belgium we deliberately look the other way at the tram stop just to avoid having to deal with any strangers, everyone in Texas seems ready for a chat all of the time. You’ll always get a friendly word at the supermarket checkout; waiters introduce themselves, know the entire menu by heart and will happily give suggestions, and “yes sirs” or “yes ma’ams” get thrown around all over the place.
“One of the more noticeable differences between us (Northern) Europeans and your average American, is the almost universal friendliness he’ll slap you in the face with – especially in the South.”
More cynical Europeans will usually dismiss this as just superficial small talk: a torrent of empty words you spill out because it’s expected, without saying anything truly substantial. This is of course nonsense. Southern hospitality is a genuine way of life here, woven into every aspect of society. People simply do their utmost to make you feel at ease. Fumble with a map somewhere in public, and it’s very likely someone will not only ask where you want to go but will enthusiastically offer a slew of tips as well. There’s also a subtle gentleness hidden in many interactions, that I somewhat missed when I was back in Belgium. One evening, I visited an old country bar where people were two-stepping to the music. Everyone was courteously asked for a dance; didn’t matter whether it was by some goofy twenty-year-old or the rugged outlaw type. Young danced with old, black with white, woman with woman: it was all good and everyone was having fun. If there’s one habit we could adopt from our US friends, let it be that gentleness. A simple greeting or even an unexpected smile on the street could elevate someone’s whole day from lousy to bearable. Wouldn’t hurt to try.
What to do in Austin: 9 new tips for a Texas road trip
On the way from Dallas to Austin, we made a brief lunch stop in Waco. This is a somewhat dusty town surrounded by lush natural beauty. Until recently, it was mainly known for a crazy murderous cult leader who hunkered down here in the nineties. This changed a while ago when they refurbished an old hotel into Hotel 1928 in the popular Netflix series Fixer Upper. Since then, people from all over the country come by to take a look. Good for the local businesses, and it must be said: lovely renovation and the food was fantastic.
“Austin is Texas’ most progressive bastion, but above all it’s a city by and for musicians. The number of live venues seems almost endless, and they can be found far into the suburbs.”
Austin itself is a tad more spectacular. The Texan capital is by far the state’s most progressive bastion. It’s a college town with a renowned university and has served as a safe space for the LGBT community for decades. There are rainbow crosswalks in the city centre; you can hop into several funky gay bars, and the rest of downtown Austin sometimes feels like one big party – “Keep Austin Weird” is not an empty slogan here. Pleasant atmosphere indeed, which might be one of the reasons Austin is bursting at the seams. Much more so than in Dallas, construction cranes are everywhere, and the skyline looks different every year. Above all though, Austin is a city by and for musicians. The number of live venues seems almost endless, and they can be found far into the suburbs. Almost every genre is played: from good old country to funk, blues and hard rock. Let’s dive in, shall we?
1. Immerse yourself in the Austin live music scene
Let’s be clear: Austin didn’t exactly steal its title as Live Music Capital of the World. Several musical legends are associated with Austin. Local mascot, fervent weed smoker and generally very old person Willie Nelson is probably the most obvious one, but other top artists like Stevie Ray Vaughan and Janis Joplin also made it big in Austin, as did local bands such as Spoon and Explosions in the Sky. There are more than 270 venues in Austin to enjoy a concert in, often well hidden in neighbourhoods you’d never visit as a tourist. To lessen the agony of choice, we enlisted the help of Austin Detours. They offer live music crawls on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings. Two local guides drive you around in a small van to visit three different places where they think the best mix of styles is being played that night. Our first stop was The White Horse: an old-fashioned pub with a dance floor where a country band was playing. Then we visited The Skylark Lounge: a blues bar you’d never find unless you knew it was there. Paul Val was playing: a fantastic local guitarist in the style of Vaughan. We ended our evening at the more well-known C-Boy’s Heart and Soul on South Congress Avenue, where a great funk band got the party started. Austin Detours isn’t exactly cheap ($85 for the tour), but you’ll have a great evening, guided by locals who truly want you to leave with the best possible experience.
2. Party the night away on 6th Street
Austin is not only known for its live music; it’s also the perfect place to party hard. 6th Street in the city centre is the wildest nightlife district. Picture masses of drunken students and tourists, and lots of out-of-control bachelor parties. The main part of the street is closed to all traffic from Wednesday to Saturday, giving partygoers free rein. This quickly makes the nickname ‘Dirty 6th’ a reality. It’s an absolute heaven for those looking to observe humanity in all of its wondrous glory, but in between the many dive bars where you order shots by the tray, there are a few hidden gems to be found. The Jackalope for example, is a chaotic bar where you can pose with a statue of a giant antlered hare (that’s what a jackalope is). The Driskill Bar is located in a hotel with the same name (the most beautiful and one of the most luxurious in the city) where you can sip your whiskey in a setting straight from the roaring twenties. Midnight Cowboy is a fun speakeasy with a more intimate vibe. The Blind Pig Pub on the other hand, has a rooftop terrace offering stunning views of the Austin skyline. The party options on 6th Street are close to unlimited, but the choice is all yours. Head there on a Friday or Saturday night and go all out. Just make sure you don’t have a flight to catch the next morning.
3. Go for an Austin Breakfast Taco Tour
I already talked about Texas BBQ in Dallas, but one of the other cornerstones of Texan cuisine is the taco. You can get them literally everywhere and they’re eaten all day long. Breakfast tacos are particularly popular, and understandably so. They’re savoury and cheap, you can quickly stuff your face with them and in terms of toppings you can do whatever you want: from your standard bacon, eggs and cheese to various exotic combos. You can hardly go wrong by stepping into any random taco shop in Austin, but to bring some clarity to the abundance of choice, we contacted Austin Detours once again for a Breakfast Taco Tour. They took us to their favourite spots in the south of the city. We started at El Chilito: a fun little place where I opted for a simple bacon and egg taco (which was very nice). Papalote was the next stop on the tour and perhaps my favourite of the bunch. I had a cactus taco (yep) and got a horchata to go with it: a refreshing milky drink made from almonds and cinnamon. The final stop was Veracruz All Natural: a popular food truck in an outdoor co-working hipster coffee bar. Perfect place to get a latte with your taco.
4. South Congress Avenue: go shopping on Austin’s hippest boulevard
South Congress Avenue (SoCo for the locals) is one of Austin’s most iconic streets and offers a glimpse of what most of the city used to look like. SoCo is a long boulevard across from the Colorado river to the south of the city centre, and offers an eclectic mix of quirky shops, funny street art, authentic restaurants and a bunch of live bars. Together, they form a lively neighbourhood: the perfect place to browse for your more unusual souvenirs. Start your walk at Jo’s Coffee. This is an immensely popular coffee shop where you can people-watch under a canopy outside. On the side of the stall, you can take a selfie in front of the famous “I love you so much” mural. Across the street is Amy’s Ice Creams, where you can order ice cream in all sorts of creative flavours. Almost right next to it is Home Slice Pizza, selling NY-style pizzas by the slice. Further still (past the “Willie For President” mural) you’ll find Big Top Candy Shop: a candy store that could have come straight out of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. South Congress Avenue is a delightful place to spend a few hours, both for shopping and for soaking up the atmosphere.
5. Get dressed like a cowboy in Allen’s Boots and Maufrais
I already covered two cities in Texas, and I’ve yet to mention the cowboy culture and its symbols. It is what it is, but if you don’t want to be the odd one out, take two small stops on South Congress Avenue and you’ll look like a real John Wayne in no time. First, take off your old sneakers, toss them into the nearest bin, and set foot into the legendary Allen’s Boots. Once there, pick and buy one of countless pairs of authentic leather cowboy boots. Next, head to nearby Maufrais and have your dome measured. They’ll immediately get to work, and a couple of minutes later you’ll have a real cowboy hat in hand, custom-fitted to your melon of a head. The lovely lady behind the counter will steam the hat to fold it perfectly into the right shape. This while casually chatting with you as if it’s no big deal at all. Interesting process to watch up close, and your new hat will immediately keep your noggin safe from the Texan sun as well.
6. Visit the Texas State Capitol and some of Austin’s museums
The most beautiful building in Austin is probably the Texas State Capitol. This is quite an impressive structure with a stunning dome on top you can actually climb, and because everything is bigger in Texas, they made it about four metres taller than the Capitol in Washington DC. For those looking for some enlightenment or culture, Austin has several museums worth visiting. Here are some of the main ones:
–Blanton Museum of Art: gigantic building on the university campus, with an extensive collection of European and American art, and plenty of Latin American works as well.
–Bullock Texas State History Museum: museum about the history of Texas, full of interactive exhibits and an IMAX theatre (no idea what they’re playing though).
–The Contemporary Austin: modern art museum on two locations. One is on Congress Avenue, the other near Lake Austin. The latter includes a large sculpture park.
–Thinkery: children’s museum about science, technology, art, and mathematics. An interactive place aimed at making learning fun.
–Texas Science & Natural History Museum: another museum on the university campus, featuring various dinosaur skeletons and fossils.
7. Watch millions of bats take flight from Congress Avenue Bridge
*Left picture by Grace Kim, right picture by Christopher Sherman
Every summer, you can enjoy an extraordinary natural spectacle in downtown Austin. Over one and a half million Mexican free-tailed bats come roost on the platform under Congress Avenue Bridge (They’re called “guano bats” in Dutch. Guano means bat shit, which means don’t be under the actual bridge when they’re there.). Just before sunset they all fly out, to eat around fourteen tons of insects every night. This is not only very considerate to everyone troubled by mosquitoes at night, it also makes for one of the most spectacular sights you can witness in Texas. So if you want to feel like Batman for a moment, you know where to go. Unfortunately you’ll never be the only person there. Want to escape the crowds? Book a boat tour or rent a kayak and watch everything from the water. The bats are in Austin from March to November, but I’ve been told the most spectacular swarms can be seen in August.
8. Have some Texas whiskey in The Yard
There’s plenty to do in the Austin suburbs as well. One evening, we headed to The Yard in South Austin. This is a former industrial area transformed into a varied assortment of breweries, wineries, coffee roasters, restaurants and sports facilities. Outside, food trucks and tables are set up: convenient if you want a little taste of everything. We visited Still Austin: a relatively new distillery making Texan whiskey, bourbon and gin. You can book a tour if you want. They’re quite interesting. The large steel tanks holding the liquor were named after various alcoholic authors, ranked by their level of debauchery. The Charles Bukowski tank stood somewhere in the middle of the pack, which says a lot about the names that still had to follow. The tour of course ends with a tasting session, which was very nice indeed. Nearby is one of the more photogenic sights in Austin: The Cathedral of Junk. This is a three-storey structure someone built in their backyard for some reason, using only junk and recycled materials. You just have to have the time for it I guess.
9. Go hiking in nature around Austin
*Pictures by Morgane Vander Linden of Morgane’s Travel Tales.
If you’re only in Austin for a short time, you can’t possibly see everything. Fortunately, I know someone who moved to the US for love and has recently settled in Austin permanently. And it’s none other than the lovely Morgane, who was the face of Wallonia for every Flemish travel journalist for many years (and recently became a travel blogger herself). I asked her to share her favourite spot in Austin below (in her own words of course, which I absolutely haven’t altered in any way).
“Thank you for letting me have my say, Jonathan. I greatly appreciate it, especially as you’ve always been my favourite and most sharply dressed travel journalist by far (I swear I didn’t mess with the text). The best hike you can take in Austin is the one following the Ann & Roy Butler Hike & Bike Trail. This lovely route transitions from a green, unpaved path to an impressive walkway built over the water. It encircles the entire perimeter of Lady Bird Lake (the dammed section of the Colorado River) and you’ll walk through lush nature you wouldn’t expect to find this close to a big city. The sections running over the river offer stunning views of the lake and the Austin skyline. Along the way, you’ll encounter a variety of wildlife as well: from hyperactive squirrels on the shore to funny turtles in the water, various large bird species, and even fireflies after sunset. Wonderful place.”
Practical information and hotels in Austin
Everything on Austin as a destination: www.austintexas.org
All info on what to do where in Texas: www.traveltexas.com.
Care for a Waco visit? www.destinationwaco.org
We stayed at the Hyatt Centric Congress Avenue Austin hotel. It offers lovely, practical rooms and is right next to the iconic Paramount Theatre (didn’t bother me at all by the way: no noise pollution whatsoever).
Read my article on San Antonio here: the next city I visited in Texas. Looking for some other road trips? Read my posts on Eswatini, Malawi, the Black Forest, Scotland, Croatia and Crete.
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