Who would ever guess the National Museum of the Pacific War resides in a town ensconced in the middle of Texas Hill Country and steeped in German heritage? Willkommen to Fredericksburg.

The Texas community lies just an hour from San Antonio and about 90 minutes from Austin in the colorful hills of the southwestern United States.

German nobility settled the area in 1846 after purchasing sight-unseen land grants, similar to folks who bought Florida swampland. Harsh conditions faced them when they arrived, but they endured, determined to build their planned community.

A church dominates the Marktplatz, the central market square, which is fronted by a spacious road designed to allow an ox cart to make a U-turn. Today the extra-wide Main Street thrives as a throughway with ample room on the side for parking.

As you might expect, the original settlers' Germanic heritage retains a strong influence in the local lifestyle. Streets and shops pass the white-glove cleanliness test. Events and festivals run with über-precision.

Little Fredericksburg currently boasts just 11,000 residents but offers wondrous and worthy activities in any season, whether you are a military history buff, wildflower lover, hiker, or gourmet food aficionado.

The town garnered the world-class National Museum of the Pacific War as the result of residents' desire to pay tribute to a hometown war hero, the five-star, island-hopping Admiral Chester Nimitz.

The Nimitz Museum sits at the