Michigan's Little Bavaria, Frankenmuth was
founded in 1845 by fifteen German-Lutheran missionaries who came to this area
to teach Christianity to the Chippewa Indians. Today tourism and farming are
the main economic income producers. The town draws over three million tourist
annually.
People visit Frankenmuth to enjoy the great
German food, architecture, festivals, shopping and the welcoming town. The
calendar for 2016 lists 24 festivals. There are so many free things to do
including "Go Gnome Hunting", take a walk across the historic bridge
or visit the Silent Night Chapel at Bronner's. Just strolling along the main street of Frankenmuth is a pleasant experience.
We had lunch at the Bavarian Inn Restaurant.
It was founded as the Union House Hotel in 1888 and renamed Fischer’s Hotel. In
1950 the Zehnder family purchased it and toward the end of the 50's expanded
the building. That expansion had an authentic Bavarian exterior with stucco
walls, woodcarvings, flower boxes and other German accents. The new German
entrees were served by "Bavarian" costumed servers. We were very
pleasantly served wonderful German meals by wait staff carrying on that same
tradition. The restaurant has 12 dining rooms and can serve 1,200 people. After
our meal we wondered through the hotel shops and then along Frankenmuth's
sidewalk, filled with a variety of shops.
We HAD to shop at Bronner's
billed as the "World's Largest Christmas Store". Bronner's Christmas
Wonderland shop is a huge draw for the town. It
opened in 1945 and today over 27 acres of beautifully landscaped ground
surround the huge store. Bronner's building is 320,000 sq. ft. (approx. 5.5
football fields of space), with the salesroom with 96,000 sq. ft (1.7 football
fields of space). While shopping, we took a few breaks finding benches nicely
placed throughout the sales floor.
Bronner's giant outdoor Santa towers 17 feet.
Coming up next Belle
Isle Park, Detroit, Michigan.
