Owned and operated by the Dirks family, who relocated to New Braunfels from Germany in 2009, Friesenhaus is a true taste of Germany in the heart of Texas. The restaurant is large and decorated in an authentic style, with heavy wooden tables, German flags hanging from the ceiling, and a staff dressed in traditional German clothing. There’s also a large outdoor biergarten and live German accordion music every Friday and Saturday night, which adds even more to the experience.

Popular menu items include schnitzel, fish specialties such as rollmops, and German sausages like weisswurst and bratwurst. No good German restaurant is complete without an expansive beer list, and Friesenhaus has that part covered. From the Hacker-Pschorr dark lager to the Bitburger blonde pilsner, there’s nothing quite like a traditional German beer in such a unique atmosphere.

Friesenhaus is open 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sundays.

Friesenhaus
148 S. Castell Avenue
New Braunfels, TX 78130
(830) 625-1040
www.friesenhausnb.com
www.yelp.com/biz/friesenhaus-new-braunfels

CC-BY-SA-2.0/Flickr/cyclonebill

The kids are already excited about carving pumpkins, but they’ll absolutely love to visit a pumpkin patch to choose their own before getting started. But wait, is there a pumpkin patch in our area? If you want to take your children to pick pumpkins but don’t know where to begin, these two websites can help!

PickYourOwn.org
This information-packed site is filled with great ideas for all types of farms and orchards, so of course its list of pumpkin patches is quite extensive. Simply choose our state’s name from the complete list and read up on the various pumpkin growers in our area. There are even maps that pinpoint the exact locations of pumpkin patches, orchards, and other local purveyors.

Local Harvest
This well-respected site is one of the most cumulative resources for all things fresh, organic and local, including pumpkins. Its interactive map offers markings for each of the possible facilities near us, and there are also ratings from other Local Harvest users so that you can decide which one seems like the best choice for your family. Choose the U-Pick option from the initial drop-down search bar to filter your results to only pumpkin patches.

CC-BY-2.0/Flickr/Nadia Prigoda-Lee

The Dolores and Bill Schumann Arboretum is a unique community attraction that aims to study, display, and preserve many different types of trees. The arboretum first opened in 1982, and since then it has acquired more than 80 different species of trees, evolving to become one of the most diverse arboretums in all of Texas.

With each visit, guests can learn about the botany and arboriculture of the trees housed here. The 1.25-mile walking trail winds through the entire expanse of the arboretum, and the city offers guided tours several times each season. Self-guided tours are also very popular as the Parks Administration Office sells an informative arboretum guide that describes each tree you’ll encounter along the way.

From cleaning the air to enhancing the area’s ecosystem, the Dolores and Bill Schumann Arboretum has a great deal of positive impact on the New Braunfels area.

The Dolores and Bill Schumann Arboretum
Golf Course Drive
New Braunfels, TX 78130
(830) 221-4000
www.nbtexas.org/index.aspx?nid=1441

CC-BY-2.0/Flickr/Anthony Sokolik