Our ULTIMATE 2 days in Austin & the Texas Hill Country!

Austin, Texas has played a big role in our story. It's where we met while working at a local burger shop in 2011, graduated college, adopted our dog Kona in 2013, and got married in 2014. While we now mostly travel full-time, Austin is where we currently stay between trips in our van or abroad. And after a big change in our summer plans, we are unexpectedly back in Austin for a bit. So for the next two days we're going to explore some of our favorite spots in Austin and the Texas Hill Country, plus some places we have wanted to check out for a while. Today our plan is to explore around the Austin area. We just grabbed some coffee at Cosmic Coffee, which is in a garden-like outdoor space with coffee, beer, and food trucks. It has a really cool vibe and is just a fun spot to hang out. But now that we're caffeinated, we're off to a spot that truly encapsulates Austin's slogan, This is the Cathedral of Junk, a towering art installation started by a local named Vince back in 1988 as a personal creative project. Here you'll find a maze with over 60 tons of discarded junk, from bicycle wheels to car parts, toys, CDs, games, and so much more, which have been arranged and often color-coordinated to give them a new life as art. And some items are a blast from the past. I found a toy that I used to have when I was a kid, a spaceship from Star Trek right here. I used to have that exact one. Maybe it's yours. It might be mine. Who knows? Austin has changed a lot over my 25 years living here, but this is a spot that embraces the city's more creative, quirkier roots and still keeps it weird. So I have been here once before, but this is one of those places that even if you've been here, it is constantly changing and on every single visit something will be different and you'll see something that you did not notice last time. There is so much to look at in here and you can even climb up to different levels. There's literally junk everywhere you look. Not only is it like stacked up and like put in places in the walls, but it's even like built into the concrete. I also love all the plants that are like kind of growing all in between it. I don't know how many pieces of junk there are here. Probably literally thousands, but it's kind of fun to think about all the stories behind each single piece. Like who drank out of this bottle? Whose car was that license plate on? Who rode that bike? Like whose car door is that over there? Whose little toy is that? It's kind of mind blowing. It's like thinking about how many stars are out there. How many stories are just in this backyard? Since this is on the owner's property, you do have to call ahead to make sure you can visit because he is not open every day. And also it is donation based, so make sure to bring some cash to donate. Makes me want to cry. It's so beautiful. It is no secret that we are huge Texas barbecue fans and Austin is loaded with some super solid spots, including a few Michelin star winners. But there's a unique spot we've been wanting to try for a while now called KG Barbecue, which is Texas barbecue with an Egyptian and Middle Eastern twist. And as you do at a barbecue spot, you get quite a spread. And this is one of the most beautifully plated spreads we've ever gotten. So we got some sitar and pomegranate pork ribs, their lamb chops, which we hear is one of the best things to get here. This is their Egyptian mac and cheese with nutmeg and basil. This is their beet, no beet buttermilk, pink buttermilk. This one's a tongue twister. This, I can't even say tongue twister. This is their pink buttermilk potato salad with a beet puree. Say that five times fast. And this is their brisket rice bowl, which is loaded with goodies. It has baladi salad, tahini, cinnamon, candied nuts and pomegranate seeds. And for dessert, we have the cardamom pistachio rice pudding. Where do you even begin on this? Oh, man. Everything just has like so much seasoning. It looks like it's going to be so freaking good. I haven't been this excited for a plate of barbecue in a long time. Oh, my God. I could eat that every day. You can taste the smoke on there. Good salty flavor. Got the nuts. But man, it's like perfectly cooked. It's so tender. And you can just see all the juices on it. Oh, my gosh. These ribs are fall off the bone tender. Not glazed. It's sweet, but also has this savory element from the za'atar. That flavor combination is off the chart. I almost don't want to dig into this. It's so pretty. It's like a mosaic. So many different flavors in there. Love the sweetness from the raisins, freshness from the cucumbers, the savoriness of the sauce. And then, of course, the super tender and juicy and perfectly cooked brisket. There's so many textural elements in there as well. Normally in Texas barbecue, the thing that people critique a place on are the sides. Sometimes the sides can be a little lackluster, but not these. These are both just loaded with flavor. This mac and cheese is, oh, it's ooey and gooey and creamy and has tomato in it too. So it kind of gives it a different flavor component. And I'm not normally a potato salad person, but this is some delicious potato salad. I have been so excited for this dessert. It's just been staring at me as I eat all the savory items. Look at this. It's just this creamy looking pudding, all the goodies on top. Oh my gosh. Downtown Austin is located on the Colorado River, which growing up we called Town Lake, but it's now officially called Lady Bird Lake. And it is so much fun to get out on the water and go kayaking or stand up paddle boarding. And there's also a hike and bike trail that goes all around it with amazing views of the water in downtown. It is probably our favorite spot in the entire city. Oh, the shade feels nice. Our biggest struggle since being back here in Austin has been the heat and humidity. Even when we get up early in the morning to go for our walks, we end up completely drenched, which is why we are super grateful for Element to help keep us hydrated when we decide to be brave enough to leave the AC. Element has been our go-to electrolyte drink mix for years now. Not only does it have magnesium and potassium, which are both important electrolytes, but it also has a thousand milligrams of sodium, which may seem like a lot, but research shows you actually need two to three times more sodium than the government recommends. To make it, you simply add it to the water amount of your choice. We personally like ours pretty salty, then shake it up and you're ready to go. Or if you want something even easier, we love their sparkling electrolyte water. They are just as flavorful and salty as the packets, but with some fizz. If you want to try it for yourself, Element is offering our viewers a free sample pack with any order, which includes two packets of each of their four most popular flavors. To get yours, go to drinklement.com slash A plus K or scan the QR code on the screen and it will automatically be added to your order. But besides staying hydrated, our favorite way to beat the heat on a hot Austin day is to head to Barton Springs Pool. Barton Springs is a three-acre pool that is filled with water that comes from an underground spring and has been an Austin institution since the 1920s. On a hot day, you can expect to find thousands of people of all ages here laying out or going for a jump off the diving board. With the spring water, it's between 68 and 70 degrees year-round, which is colder than it sounds. But I will say, it's so hot out today that it actually doesn't feel as bad as normal. My mom is joining us for the rest of the day because we hitched a ride with her to work this morning and she's probably wondering why we are taking her down this alley right now. So down the alley and through a door is a taco spot called Taqueria de Diez, which serves my favorite tacos of all time, al pastor. And not only that, they serve it in my favorite way, which is on the trompo, which is the spit that spins around and cooks the meat and then they best way to have al pastor tacos. And these look so good. You can see the mound of masa in the corner. They're making the tortillas from scratch here and the pineapple on top. I love the energy in here. It has the same similar feeling to a lot of the taquerias we've been to in Mexico. The pork is cooked perfectly, a little bit of crispiness to it, but also nice and juicy. And then the salsa is on there out of this world. And then you get the freshness from the pineapple. It is just a perfect combo of flavors. Besides barbecue and tacos, Austin is also famous for bats. The city is home to the largest urban bat population in all of North America, with over one and a half million Mexican freetail bats. They call the Congress Avenue Bridge home from late spring to early fall. You can watch tons of them fly out from under the bridge around sunset. So tonight we're going on a sunset bat cruise with Capital Cruises. I remember coming down here multiple times in elementary school to see the bats and the last time I tried to come down here was in high school and they never came out. So I'm hoping we have better luck tonight. The tour started with a gorgeous sunset cruise with views of downtown. Getting to see the city turn from shades of gold to purple, plus the buildings beginning to light up, was worth it alone. But then we headed to the Congress Avenue Bridge, where millions of chirping bats were preparing for their evening flight and waited for the show to begin. And what a show it was. We watched as thousands upon thousands of bats flew out from under the bridge, forming into wavy lines as they zoomed across the sky in search of insects to eat. Over the span of 20 minutes, it was a non-stop stream of bats. And just when we thought it was over, more emerged. It was hard to believe that that many bats could fit under that bridge. Just, uh, make sure you keep your mouth closed when you go under it. I had never been down here to see the bats and that blew me away. Just the sheer number of bats you see, that was way cooler than I thought it would be. I don't think I've ever seen that many before. That was wild! This morning we made the one-hour drive to the Texas Hill Country, which is a region here in Texas that runs from west of Austin down south to San Antonio, with a lot of small towns and state parks to explore. And today we're in New Braunfels. Growing up when I thought of New Braunfels, the top thing that came to mind was Schlitterbahn. But beyond that, New Braunfels is also known for its German heritage. The city was founded in 1845 by Prince Karl of Sam's Braunfels and was named after his hometown in Germany, which led to a wave of about 6,000 German settlers to the area. Today, the city still embraces its German roots with an annual festival called Wurstfest, plus with some German Eats. We had heard that no trip to New Braunfels is complete without a stop at Nagelin's German Bakery, which was founded in 1868 and is the oldest continually operating bakery in Texas. They have a bunch of different pastries to choose from, but we heard the apple strudel is the thing Alright, first impressions of this thing. It looks small, but it's mighty. It's pretty heavy, and there is lots of filling in there. It looks like the dough is just underbaked, so it's going to be a little chewy and tender. It's also super sticky and gooey. This is going to be good. Yeah, this is definitely a solid choice. It has nice big chunks of apple, a subtle cinnamon flavor, and I like that it's not overly sweet. It looks like it would be pretty sweet, but it's the perfect level for me. That just tastes like a handheld, except we're eating with a fork because it's so gooey and messy, but a handheld apple pie. New Braunfels is located on the Comal River, and one of the most popular things to do here is to go tubing, which I have never done before, but wanted to do for years. But before we hit the water, you have likely heard about the horrific flooding that happened here in the hill country this summer. Over 100 lives were lost, including many children, and it has been an extremely heartbreaking and tragic time for many of the communities out this way. If you're interested in helping those who have been impacted, we hope you'll join us in donating to the Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country, which is helping local families, small businesses, and the crisis response efforts. To donate, go to communityfoundation.net or scan the QR code on the screen, and then click the Donate to Kerr County Flood Relief Fund. Bye! It is very slow moving. If you want to go anywhere, you gotta paddle. They said that with the current flow rate, the section of the river that we tube will take three hours. So this river has three chutes, which are kind of like a water slide with rapids that you get to tube through. There are three of them along this route. We're about to get to the first one, and it's the most intense of them all, and I'm pretty scared. I'm very excited for it. It looks like a ton of fun. You do have the option to get out and walk around it and not do it, which I have been debating all morning. I don't know. I don't want to chicken out, but it does kind of freak me out. I hear it's kind of like being in a washing machine, and it's pretty scary. I think it's going to be a game time decision. I am going to take my sunglasses off for this because the last time I was out here, a long time ago, I flipped and it flipped backwards, and so they went straight off. The last time I went tubing, it was on snow. I had a sunglasses tragedy. Oh, my sunglasses went. They just crash landed. I broke my sunglasses. Did you? Yeah. So I'm going to try to avoid having that today. I decided to do it. Oh, I'm so nervous. They told me to just get my butt really low in the tube. You don't want to have all your weight on the top of you. Oh, here we go. Oh, gosh. Oh, gosh. I don't want to go backwards. Oh, my gosh. My heart was racing on that. All right, we're about to go down chute number two. That was fun. So this river is spring fed, and it just has this crystal clear, light blue water. It feels like we're at the Caribbean or something. It is so beautiful. All right, now it's time for our third and final chute, which is a tiny little one, and I think we can go together. That was a ton of fun. It was a perfect mix of relaxing with some exhilarating moments. We decided to take the long way back to Austin so we could stop in Blanco to check out a spot that was recommended to us a while back called Oro Bianco Italian Creamery. This is the only water buffalo dairy creamery in the state of Texas using milk from their herd of 400 grass fed water buffalo in South Texas to make both cheese and gelato. We both got pistachio because pistachio is kind of like the benchmark for gelato, and then Adam got this janduya, which is kind of like a hazelnut and chocolate, I believe, but heavy on the hazelnut, and then I got a peanut butter stracciatella. It is dripping everywhere. I don't think we've ever had water buffalo anything before, and I've heard great things, so I'm very excited to try this. Oh, wow. It's so creamy. That might be some of the creamiest gelato I've ever had. I feel like it has a slightly richer flavor as well. The peanut butter in here is just really strong on the peanut butter. You really just taste the flavor of what it is. Oh, my gosh. Look at this mess. Texas in the summer. Nothing's gonna last out here very long. I barely last out here more than a couple minutes. They also have the lids that cover the gelato behind the counter. That's how you know it's legit good stuff and they know what they're doing. And they know what they're doing. This is phenomenal. Heck yeah. It has been a fun couple days exploring our backyard, and I cannot think of a better way to end it than with this gelato. Normally, when we're back here, we don't really leave the house. We just work, so it was awesome to actually get out and do things and finally check off some spots off of our hill country bucket list, but we have decided that it is time to ditch the Texas heat, and we actually booked a last-minute trip to a country in Europe that we have wanted to visit for years. A few hints for you. It is a smaller country that isn't as well known as its more famous neighbors, but it has epic mountains, a sliver of coastline, and a famous lake, and the winner of a recent major sporting event is from there, so comment below if you think you know where we're going and stay tuned to see if you're correct.