We hopped in Dick & Karin’s car and hit the road about 8:30. The brewery tour was at 11:00 and we wanted to be there in plenty of time. Time to spare when we arrived, so Karin & I went through a couple of quilt shops while the guys checked out the Ehlers Cigar Factory and enjoyed visiting with some of the locals. Then it was on to the brewery tour.
The Spoetzl Brewery was founded in 1909 and bought by Kosmas Spoetzl in 1915. They produce seven different German beers under the name of “Shiner Beers”.
Here’s Dick, Karin & John waiting for the tour to start…
We couldn’t take pictures during the tour, so you’ll just have to guess as to what it looked like. It was interesting and everyone enjoyed sampling the different brews afterward.
After a quick burger for lunch, we went for a walk to see some of the beautiful historic homes and Welhausen Municipal Park.
This beauty was the Walters Boothe Home and was built in 1896. It had gorgeous gardens.
This one was the J. Wolters Home, built in 1895.
It had beautiful, intricate detail that appeared to have been recently refurbished.
Across the street was an old, rundown home with this on the porch! ?????
Then we decided to go check out the Kaspar Wire Works, but found out from the receptionist that they no longer give tours. Karin asked if someone could explain the various items they had displayed in the lobby and Brian, a 40+ year employee, was happy to oblige. He knew the answers to nearly everything we asked!
Next on our list was the Edwin Wolters Memorial Museum, the main part of which was located in a 1915 former home. It was free, but definitely warranted the donations we left. The curator happily showed us around, including several of the outbuildings – a home, jail and workshop. It’s always a little startling to realize that we remember many of the items in these museums from our childhoods. Yikes! Could we be “old”???
Didn’t figure we should leave town without seeing the Saints Cyril & Methodius Catholic Church that we had heard about. The church was named after two missionaries who first brought Christianity to Bohemia and Moravia.
The stained glass windows were imported from Bavaria and are gorgeous.
Shiner is billed as the “Cleanest Little City in Texas” and as the “Eagle Scout Capital of Texas”. We surely enjoyed our day there with good friends!
After getting back home and taking Bailey for a walk, we headed to the La Tejanita Restaurant for dinner. We do love Mexican food!
Sure hope to see y'all again SOON! Can't wait for our next adventure!! Wonder where it'll be to??
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