Every Michigander knows about Frankenmuth. There seems to be some debate about whether this is a worthwhile destination or road trip stop. After visiting, I would say Frankenmuth is a must-visit place if you’re in the area, and I wouldn’t mind staying a weekend there! I’ve heard this touristy Bavarian village described as “kitschy,” but I didn’t really find it to be tacky at all. It was really cute, albeit a bit cartoonish in a Main Street Disney sort of way.
If you’re looking for something fun to do, it’s a great place to go for the day! As a plus, it’s definitely dog-friendly and you don’t have to spend a lot of money to have fun.
Ben and I took our big summer trip over Memorial Day weekend. We opted for a classic Michigan road trip– up to Mackinac Island, across the bridge, and up to the UP. This trip served as summer vacation, a celebration of our fourth anniversary, and our babymoon, since we’re expecting Baby Boy Johnson in September!
On the way back, we decided to check out Frankenmuth at the Bronner’s CHRISTmas wonderland that I keep hearing about.
I actually wrote two or three articles for clients about Bronner’s, even before Michigan was on our radar. It’s one of those unique roadside attractions that everyone talks about, and I was very excited to actually see it in person!
Bronner’s bills itself as “The World’s Biggest Christmas Store,” and I believe the claim. This place is huge! There are probably a million or two different ornaments inside, You could be perfectly happy wandering around and just looking at the different options, or wandering through the small forest of Christmas trees. I did end up buying some ornaments, because why not get a head start on Christmas shopping in May?
What I liked best about the inside was the international approach. There were ornament sections representing every area of the world! Of course, you can also shop by color, theme, or object.
We had to take turns seeing the store because the dog was with us, but it wasn’t bad because there are dozens of Christmas displays to check out in the parking lot and lawns around Bronner’s.
The best part by far was the Silent Night Memorial Chapel. This is an exact replica of the chapel of the same name built in Austria to commemorate the writing of Silent Night.
You can go inside and learn the history of the song. It’s a peaceful place, and the sort of place that makes you want to stop for a moment and pray.
Outside, they have the lyrics to Silent Night in dozens of global languages! We hunted down the languages from places we have lived.
Once we finished with Bronner’s CHRISTmas Wonderland, we went to the River Place Shops downtown. The shops were pricey, but most allowed dogs inside. We enjoyed the cool air and the chance to give Kito a bit of crowd training. I don’t know if it was the heat, the long car trip, or just her virtuous soul, but Kito was very well behaved and didn’t touch a thing!
Our favorite shop was Hello Cats & Dogs, which is basically a toy store for pets. Kito was pretty excited to go inside! She was very good and didn’t grab any toys off the shelf, although she definitely thought about snatching a tennis ball.
We rewarded her behavior with a hamburger patty treat, which was kind of ridiculous at $1, but worth it to give the poor dog something nice after such a long, hot car trip.
Kito quickly became the center of attention in the village. She was so cute and well-behaved, everyone wanted to pet her! If you know Kito, you know she can be a bit crazy! I was glad she was calm during this excursion and didn’t romp around when people came to give her attention.
After exploring the various shops, we wandered across the river. We looked down at the river cruises, which looked like a lot of fun. They are actually not to expensive, and I think dogs are allowed, but we didn’t have time to take one. We contented ourselves with walking across the covered bridge. Call me a dork, but I was pretty excited to see one in person for the first time!
It was getting late, so we hunted down dinner. It’s apparently traditional to get a chicken dinner when visiting Frankenmuth, but that seemed a little expensive and overrated to me, and we couldn’t do a restaurant with the dog, anyway. We opted for pretzels, because what’s more German than a freshly baked pretzel?
I found $3 pretzels in the basement bakery of the Bavarian Inn, and we settled outside the hotel to eat them on a bench. Luckily, we were just in time for the free glockenspiel show they do every few hours! The show included music, as well as a Pied Piper story using adorable clockwork figurines imported from Europe. What a fun way to end the day!
It was particularly fun for me to see a German settlement, since I am mostly German and it doesn’t look like I’ll make it to Germany any time soon. I’m sure the town looks a lot different than it did when immigrants first settled here, but I’ll take what I can get.
In total, we spent about $45 dollars in Frankenmuth, including dinner, Kito’s reward, and Christmas shopping. You could do it for less, or go all out with the big dinners, carriage rides, hotel stays, and tours. Frankenmuth is fun either way!
Is Frankenmuth worth stopping for? Resounding yes! If you have the time, don’t miss out on the photo ops and the fun.
