Frankenmuth, MI aspires to be a fairy tale and comes close to it. With a river and a covered bridge (Holzbrüche), a clock tower with animated characters portraying the Pied Piper, a cheese castle housing 14-year-old cheddar, an auto-harp band playing tunes on the pavement, and the famous Bronner’s indoor market, celebrating Christmas 24-7 year around, the town has abandoned time-bound reality.
We stayed two nights at the Bavarian Inn on one side of the river and crossed it each day to walk the street along the river lined with clothing and souvenir stores, restaurants, and folk musicians. At sunset we saw the Pied Piper enacted in the clock tower of the Bavarian Inn Restaurant (below). The tower of the Cheese Castle tower proclaimed the wonders of cheese in Germany, France, Italy, and the U.S. The auto-harp orchestra performed on a patio adjoining the walk through town. They recruited audience participation by passing out maracas and sticks and playing with some gusto.
My only disappointment was the quality of Dunkelbier, which seemed a little thin when it was available. One winner was served up in the Ratskeller in the basement of our hotel, a milk stout with hints of coffee. Otherwise, flavored water was the dark fare.
Saturday night we had reservations for the All-you-care-to-eat Fried Chicken Dinner at Zehnder’s, right near the bridge crossing onto Main Street, Frankenmuth. The appetizers outshone the main course of chicken, stuffing, potatoes and mixed veggies. Appetizers included chicken liver pate and cheese spread, cranberry relish and cabbage salad, a high-quality cole slaw. Fried chicken was over-rated.
View of our hotel from the far side of the Cass River
Holz Brucke
Sunday morning we returned to T. Dubs to enjoy the breakfast pizza. As I write we are still enjoying the leftovers in our refrigerator at Sally’s Place, Stratford, ON.
We have no photos of Bronner’s world famous Christmas store. It seemed smaller and ordinary compared to the exotic memories we had of its immensity and variety. We left after a half-hour strolling and wondering where the excitement went.
On Sunday we headed east, with the marvelous breakfast pizza and a few souvenir trinkets in tow.
