I have been wanting to visit an American Bavarian town since watching ‘I’ll Be Home for Christmas’, the 1998 movie starring Jonathan Taylor Thomas, where the characters find themselves staying the night at a novelty hotel in a fake Bavarian village, Edelbruck.
When I learned there was a Bavarian town in Michigan, a 5 hour drive away, I knew we had to visit. So, finally this year we decided to head to Frankenmuth for a quick anniversary trip.
As we drove under the ‘Willkommen’ sign, we were immediately greeted by Christmas lights and displays, especially as we drove by Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland.
We got checked into our hotel, which was decked out in both Bavarian and Christmas decor and then headed out to wander around in the Christmas lights before heading to Frankenmuth Brewery, Michigan’s oldest microbrewery, founded in 1862.
They have a great selection of beers and a good food menu, including a giant Christmas Town pretzel which was delicious!
Throughout the town, there were all kinds of decorated areas, perfect for photo ops. You could also participate in the ‘Stop and Snap’ challenge, where you could check in at 15 locations to earn a free souvenir ornament.
We had fun making our way around town, checking in and taking photos. Once you’ve checked into at least 15 stops, you can make your way to the visitor centre to collect your ornament!
While you’re there, be sure to check out the giant Frankenmuth Christmas tree beautifully lit up.
One of the most famous stops in Frankenmuth is Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland, the world’s largest Christmas store.
Started by Wally Bronner over 75 years ago, the store is now the size of one and a half football fields with every inch filled with the sights, sounds and spirit of Christmas, including over 300 Christmas trees in all colours and sizes, over 150 different nutcrackers and 6,000 different ornaments!
It is definitely something to see and has some great photos ops both inside and out.
On the same property is the Silent Night Memorial Chapel, which was built in 1992 as a replica of the original Silent Night Chapel in Oberndorf, Austria, the site were ‘Silent Night’ was first sung on Christmas Eve in 1818.
Outside, you can find the lyrics to Silent Night written in numerous languages. Inside the small chapel, Silent Night plays and there is a pretty mantle set up with a few pews.
There are lots of great shops along the main street, as well as the River Place Shops, an outdoor shopping area with some restaurants and cute Bavarian buildings.
Nearby, is the Holz-Brücke, German for “wooden bridge”, a beautiful covered bridge that stretches 239 feet across the Cass River.
A few of my favourite shops include, Frankenmuth Clock, a shop filled with elaborate cuckoo clocks, each one different and intricately carved.
While not cheap, they are certainly beautiful!
Frankenmuth Cheese Haus, which has over 270 kinds of cheese, including chocolate cheese!
And Frankenmuth Fudge Kitchen, which is filled with fudge and smelled amazing. Here, you could watch them making the fudge as you wait to place your order.
There are also a number of fun gift shops with Christmas ornaments, decor and more and some great little coffee shops with seasonal drinks, perfect to enjoy while wandering around town.
For dinner, we opted to check out the famous chicken dinner at the Bavarian Inn Restaurant and it did not disappoint. It’s got a fun Bavarian decor with murals painted of scenes from various fairy tales written by the Brothers Grimm.
The servers wear traditional Bavarian outfits and the whole atmosphere is fun!
Our server was amazing and just kept bringing out the food. The dinner came with a number of sides including Our breads are made fresh in our bakery! Stollen (fruit & nut bread), backofenbrot (housemade white bread), noodle soup, coleslaw, pasta salad, cranberry relish, a Michigan seasonal salad, baked dressing, vegetable du jour, Michigan Russet mashed potatoes and gravy and buttered noodles to go along with the chicken.
Then, when you feel like you can’t take another bite, they end the meal with delicious homemade ice cream!
Below the restaurants, you’ll find the Castle Shops, which include a number of souvenir shops and the Bavarian Inn bakery which has some delicious treats like traditional German Stollen and Raspberry Butterhorns ( a tasty pastry)
If you are looking for a fun place to spend a couple days getting into to the Christmas spirit, while enjoying Bavarian food and shops, then Frankenmuth is the perfect getaway for you!
Tales of a Travel Addict 
Recent Comments