2 Welcome to weird Getting to Know Austin Our 4th FlyingLab to SXSW, the FlyingLab team is thrilled to be heading back to Austin. Whether this is your first time, or you have also grown attached to the city over multiple visits, we would like to share with you some fun and interesting ways to explore Austin’s truly Texan roots. From mutton bustin’ to honky-tonk, from Texas wine country to Tejano music, you can dance, zip line, or ride (horse or race car—take your pick) your way into the heart of wonderful, weird Austin. Hats Off to Austin! Turning heads again in 2019, Austin was voted the No. 1 place to live in Ame- rica for the third year in a row by U.S. News & FlyingLab Austin City Guide City Austin FlyingLab World Report. While excellent job prospects and affordability translate into a high standard of living for its residents, this state capital has a rich history stretching back to its founding in 1839, long before high-tech firms and the SXSW festival would transform the city into a global hub for twenty-first century creatives. 3 Once upon a time in Austin The Past in the Present Anglo-American settlers put down roots in the area that would become Austin in the 1830s. At that time, it belonged to the Mexican state of Coahuila y Tejas. In 1835, how-ever, Texas declared itself independent from Mexico, lead- ing to the Texas Revolution that ended in 1836 with the formation of the independent Republic of Texas, which was in turn ratified in 1845 as the 28th state of the Union. Over the period of European settlement that began in the 1600s, Texas would be claimed by France, Spain, Mexico, The Republic of Texas, and the U.S.A. These cultures can still be felt in FlyingLab Austin City Guide City Austin FlyingLab Austin, along with African- American and Native American history, as well as the influence of German settlers who immigrated to Texas in the 1800s. 4 Ride him, cowboy Hold on to Your Hat! To witness the visceral connection between man and animal, just sit yourself down for a few hours of bronco and bull riding, steer wrestling, and calf roping at Rodeo Austin (March 14–28, 2020). Be prepared, however, to lose any romantic notions of the cowboy’s life you may still harbor. Grit and guts and then some are required to master the steeds of the wild west. After the ProRodeo, calm your adrenaline rush at one of the many live music performances— from country music to punk rock, you’ll like what you hear. See established artists perform on the rodeo main stage or two-step the night FlyingLab Austin City Guide City Austin FlyingLab away at the 100X Dance Hall. Even more live acts perform throughout the week at the out- door stage on the fairgrounds, where this family-friendly carnival offers thrilling rides, tasty food, and shopping galore. Hold on to Your Hat! 5 And, if you’re curious about the many breeds of farm animals that populate North America, stop by the stock show. Learn about the horses and cattle, goats and poultry, that farmers depend on. And see for yourself an honest-to- goodness Texas Longhorn! rodeoaustin.com FlyingLab Austin City Guide City Austin FlyingLab 6 A little night music Every Rhythm Tells a Story SXSW is brimming with the hippest grooves from across the globe. While in Austin, why not indulge in the local vibe as well, live at a historic venue in the city. Tejanos—Texans descended from Spanish-speaking residents of Coahuila y Tejas—created their own musical style influen- ced by the diverse cultures that settled in Texas. With a combination of Hispanic and European roots, música tejana (Tex-Mex), developed in the early twentieth century. At that time, traveling musicians visiting Tejano FlyingLab Austin City Guide City Austin FlyingLab ranches and farms and performing Mexican folk music encountered European settlers, many of whom had fled to Texas during the Mexican Revolution (1910–1917). The musicians adopted the new sounds, like the waltz or polkas, that these immigrants from Germany, Poland, and the Czech Republic had brought with them. Every Rhythm Tells a Story 7 This cultural exchange eventually combined the European oom-pah sound with the Mexican bajo-sexto and the German button accordion to create a new musical genre. To attend a live performances of Tejano music while you’re in town, check out three of the top venues in Austin: Texas Club of Austin, OK Corral, and El Nocturno Dance Club. texasclubofaustin.com facebook.com/OKCorralVIP m.facebook.com/ElNocturnoAustinTx Or maybe you’ve always wanted to dance the Texas two-step. Inspired by traditional European dances like the German polka, the Waltz, and the Polish Varsovienne, the Texas two-step was FlyingLab Austin City Guide City Austin FlyingLab ultimately derived from the foxtrot. It reversed the latter’s “slow, slow, quick-quick” and repla- ced the hop with a cool, country glide. Well, there are plenty of honky-tonks in Austin to fulfill this wish, and we picked out two that fit the bill perfectly: Every Rhythm Tells a Story 8 the legendary dance hall The Broken Spoke, founded in 1964, features live music nightly, and The Little Longhorn Saloon bills itself as the “honkiest, tonkiest” beer joint in town, with a full roster of live, local country music performers. brokenspokeaustintx.net thelittlelonghornsaloon.com FlyingLab Austin City Guide City Austin FlyingLab 9 The country life Head for the Hills! Within an hour’s drive of Austin, the 9 million square acres (ca. 14,000 square miles or 36,000 square kilometers) of rolling landscape known as Texas Hill Country—stretching to the west of Austin and south to San Antonio with Fredericksburg at its heart—embodies the uniquely Texan convergence of Hispanic and German culture in its food, beer, wine, archi- tecture and music. It is also the home of Texas wine country with over 50 wineries. Fifteen varietals comprise the wines produced in this region, with the most common being Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, FlyingLab Austin City Guide City Austin FlyingLab Touriga Nacional, Tannat, and Sangiovese. Spa- nish missionaries established the first vineyard in North America in Texas in 1662, near the border with Mexico and New Mexico. With a limestone soil base and relatively stable precipitation, Texas Hill Country provides solid Head for the Hills! 10 ground for producing excellent wines, with diurnal temperature variation and frost posing the primary challenges to vintners. To explore Texas Hill Country from Austin, check out the popular “Salt Lick & Winery Shuttle” provided by Austin Detours, or book Texas Tipsy Tour’s “Best of Texas Wine Country” for you and your friends. Or, rent your own private limousine tour with Discover Texas Wine. austindetours.com texastipsytours.com discovertexaswine.com FlyingLab Austin City Guide City Austin FlyingLab 11 Back to the roots Grüß Gott, Austin! Are you compelled to dig a little deeper into the Texan-German roots of Hill Country? Then the Gruene (pronounced “green”) Historical District of New Braunfels, Texas—just an hour outside Austin—is your destination, named after Ernst Gruene, a German immigrant who settled there in the 1840s. After more than a century of upheaval and eco- nomic hardship, this jewel of American frontier architecture had become a Ghost Town by the 1950s. Its surviving buildings were saved from demolition at the last minute by the intervention of a young architecture student who discovered FlyingLab Austin City Guide City Austin FlyingLab the remains of the town while kayaking on the Guadalupe River. He convinced developers to restore the buildings and revive the town, which is now a thriving tourist destination founded on its original, his- torical structures like the main attraction, Gruene Hall, the oldest dance hall in Texas. Grüß Gott, Austin! 12 Its storied stage has hosted live music since 1878, and is now a leading venue for established artists and rising stars of country music. And for the collector at heart, visit on the third weekend of the month, when the Historic Market Days (Saturday & Sunday) showcase over 100 craftspeople selling handmade regio- nal arts and crafts. Austin Detours offers a day-trip package, called the “Gruene Getaway”. austindetours.com FlyingLab Austin City Guide City Austin FlyingLab 13 Living like a local Austinites Unite! Imagine what it was like to be a leading citizen of Austin in the nineteenth and twentieth cen- turies— from the Civil War to the Mexican Revolution and Prohibition—with a tour of the Neill-Cochran House Museum. This fully restored Greek Revival mansion embodies the lives of its owners. Get to know Austin through their lives, and the historic architecture, furni- shings, and decorative arts they collected. nchmuseum.org Those Were the Days Can’t imagine life without your smartphone? Then a visit to Jordan-Bachman Pioneer FlyingLab Austin City Guide City Austin FlyingLab Farms will reset your technology clock. This open-air historical site spanning 90 acres of wooded land captures the reality of pioneering life in Texas in the 1800s. From a German immigrant farm to an Indian encampment, the 6 historic sites bring the American frontier experience to life through Austinites Unite! 14 walking tours and special, hands-on events, like knife-making, the archery range, or a moonlit Ghost Tour. And to celebrate St. Pat- rick’s Day, the Farms hosts a special celebra- tion of all things Irish. Visit on Sunday, March 15, 2020 to enjoy Celtic music, Irish dancing and language, food and drink, and of course, plenty of good craic for everyone! pioneerfarms.org stpatricksdayaustin.com FlyingLab