𝓕𝓾𝓷 𝓓𝓪𝔂 𝓲𝓷 𝓝𝓮𝔀 𝓑𝓻𝓪𝓾𝓷𝓯𝓮𝓵𝓼 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓖𝓻𝓾𝓮𝓷𝓮, 𝓣𝓮𝔁𝓪𝓼

Texas is filled with stories, probably too many to ever begin to know, and all of us have been part of those tall tales, real or imagined.  Our day began with food, lunch in New Braunfels.  Hobby Lobby was our next stop to pick up some art I had framed.  They do a great job.  New Braunfels is big now unlike the very small town of my growing up where we would go for family reunions or a drive along the Guadalupe River Road riding in the back of a pickup truck or a swim in the cold Comal Springs. 

It was a Saturday, too crowded to stop in Gruene at the Christmas store Red and Gruene or Cotton Eyed Joes which has been our customer for almost the entire time I have been in business, more than thirty years.  But not to crowded to have my husband Bill drop me off so that I could just make a quick visit into Cotton Eyed Joes to say hello.  They have a several glass ornament designs that we have created for them featuring Gruene and the ornaments are in stock right now.  Don’t miss out on these Gruene, Texas designs as they will be gone before Christmas.  I remember driving through the ghost town of Gruene when I was young.  Cheers to people with vision who created Gruene as it is today.  The shopping, food, the oldest dance hall in continuous use in the state of Texas, history, lodging, toobing, and more are to be found in Gruene, Texas.

The temperatures were blazing which made walking around less desirable.  I had wanted to go to the farmers market which is so fabulous and located next door to the restaurant Krauses’, but that didn’t happen as you have to make it early.  We drove to the top of the hill to see the Sophienburg Museum which is located on the spot where Prince Solms Braunfels, the man who brought the settlers to Texas and named the town for himself, wanted to build a home for his wife Sophia. She never made it to the new world, but there is a Museum named after her.  The Sophienburg, has a great collection of documents and books telling the story of New Braunfels and also a very nice gift shop which features our ornaments.  They also have a booth at the Wurstfest, The German beer festival known in Germany as Octoberfest and at the Weihnachtsmarket or Christmas Market in November where they sell our ornaments.  My family came over as some of the first settlers with Prince Solms so they are featured in the books and letters housed in the Sophienburg Museum.  What a place to research and to learn more about those early German settlers who so bravely came to a wild place like Texas. The group with Prince Solms had originally planned on settling in the Texas Hill Country near Fredericksburg, but when they saw New Braunfels with that beautiful spring they decided to stay.

We are naturally biased, as all Texans are, but this part of Texas is beautiful, filled with history, and so much to do.  I recommend it highly and if, by chance, you run into one of our ornaments along the way so ahead, buy it!!!  They are special and rare just like the Texas we love.