Spent the last couple of days exploring
Frankenmuth, a small town just southeast of Saginaw. It was settled
by Bavarian missionaries in 1845, looking to convert the local
Chippewa to Christianity. The Lutheran Church here was founded at
the same time, and the current church is a beautiful blend of old and
new.
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| One of the beautiful stained glass windows in the church |
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| Unusual looking Kroger Grocery Store with Bavarian timbers |
Today, the town capitalizes on its
Bavarian heritage with many buildings having Austrian/German
architectural details – even the Kroger grocery store.
We had afternoon dinner in the
Edelweiss Room at the Bavarian Inn.
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| The Bavarian Inn |
Afterwards, we sat in the
adjacent plaza to watch the Glockenspiel tell the story of the Pied
Piper. They didn't sugarcoat it with the Pied Piper enchanting all
the town's children to run away with him when the town council
refused to pay him for removing all the rats.
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| The Pied Piper leading the rats out of town |
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| When the Town Council refused to pay him, he led the children out of town, never to be seen again. |
We stopped at a few shops and checked
out a Black Forest clock shop – we had bought one when we were
Germany and the cuckoo clocks had us reminiscing about that trip.
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| Another famous restaurant known for its family-style chicken dinners. |
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| Frankenmuth Visitor Center |
Just south of town is the world's
largest Christmas store – Bronners. It is more than 1 ½
footfields long and crammed with every Christmas ornament available.
I should have bought the one ornament that said “You can not over
decorate” but instead bought a little something for my Dickens' mini Village.
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| The humongous Bronners Christmas Store |
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| Overwhelming array of everything Christmas! |
They also have a pretty little memorial chapel on the grounds that is a replica of the chapel in Austria where the Christmas hymn, Silent Night was first sung, accompanied by Guitar!
A fun couple of days in a Bavarian style village, celebrating a low-key Christmas in July.
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