German Escape

Frankenmuth "Michigan's Little Bavaria"

Although I haven't been lucky enough to travel through the marvellous country of Germany, my mom, Nikki, and myself visited the next best place: Frankenmuth, Michigan! Who knew a small German town would be able to capture a country so well?


History
Frankenmuth boasts a rich history of German immigration resulting a "must-see" location when tourists are visiting Michigan. The town's name mean's "courage of the Franconians" where the word "Franken" symbolizes the Province of Franconia (Kingdom of Bavaria) and "Muth" means courage.

In 1844, thirteen German volunteers of Bavaria began their journey for a missionary cause to Saginaw Valley, MI where they would start a new life in order to provide spiritual comfort to the German pioneers currently living in hardship. Two years after settling down and building homes, school cabins, pastors, and farms, 90 more immigrants settled. Even more so later on due to recession and more hardships back in their motherland. Even though it wasn't the best place in some people's eyes, they made due and Frankenmuth was born. Several changes have been made in the town since its inception, definitely for the better.

Bavarian Inn where we dined with lederhosen-clad waiters.

Around Town
Things to do in Frankenmuth are endless whether you choose to visit in the summer or winter, for a weekend getaway or half a day, for the festivals, boat cruises, and horse-drawn carriage rides, to the shopping, chicken dinners, and experiencing the beauty of the culture. On my family's visit, we went underneath the two restaurants to check out the marketplaces. Both were filled with fudge and candy shops, bakeries, beer and wine, and toys. Outdoors, we walked by many Bavarian-style buildings now used as shops along the main street like the Cheese Haus, Old Country Store, Frankenmuth Museum, Christmas Museum, and plenty of pubs for beer lovers. In any case, everything was overdressed for the holiday season which made the small town gaudy, but appealing at the same time.

Visiting the main attractions of Frankenmuth, MI.

The Famous Chicken Dinner
After walking around cute Frankenmuth for a couple of hours, it was time for dinner. It was a tough decision on which restaurant we would go to. Our two choices were Zehnder's or Bavarian Inn, as it should be. As a group we chose the latter and it was by far the best choice in the end. We were invited to our seat by a lovely woman dressed in garments the German ladies would wore back in the day as well as greeted by our waiter wearing lederhosen. Such a hoot, but made our stay at the restaurant very authentic. The three of us splurged on all-you-can-eat style chicken dinners. We ordered chicken and schnitzel which were both delicious and each meat came on a separate platter stacked as high as possible! Our many sides included carrots, homemade mash with chicken gravy, egg noodles, coleslaw with homemade dressing, cranberry and apple relish, corn salsa, stuffing, and noodle soup (with more egg noodle!). And I can't forget to mention Bavarian's own homemade vanilla ice cream accompanied by ginger cookies...all for $21.99! Well worth the 45 minute wait, the three of us could barely move out of our seats to go back to the hotel. A very satisfying meal and highly recommended to those of you planning to make a visit. Just remember to bring stretchy pants!

Only some of our buffet style German dinner. Chicken and Schnitzel!

Final Thoughts

Visiting Frankenmuth for the first time was overwhelming with joy and celebration of the German culture. From the moment we drove past the welcome sign there was surprise after surprise of gems around town. I can see why so many foreigners as well as locals flock to Frankenmuth to getaway from reality. Auf Wiedersehen!

Visit here to learn more about Frankenmuth!

...Nonsensical Jade...

Ringing in the New Year

Goodbye, 2012

Last night marked my final moments of 2012 and start of 2013. It did not disappoint. My New Year's Eve plans led me all the way to downtown where I spent my evening on the top floor of Artful Dodgers, a cute little pub. Not only did I celebrate the New Year with four of my friends, I also rang in 2013 with at least 100 other interesting people.

By interesting, I mean most of them are part of an online travel community named Couchsurfing, like myself. Couchsurfing is a great way to connect with people from all over the globe who share an open-mind to meet new people and perhaps crash on someone's couch (hence the title of the organization). Some are amateur travellers, travelling for the first time during a gap year while others have been on the road and "getting lost" for fifteen years! But it doesn't matter what kind of travel expert an individual is because we all share the same passion and I believe that is all a group needs to be able to share their stories, witness new cultures, and meet new friends.

At the pub, I was lucky to meet some outstanding people, most of them not a local like myself. There were a handful of locals, but the foreigners outnumbered us. I personally ended up chatting with Couchsurfers from the following countries: France, Spain, Germany, Guatemala, Chile, Nigeria, Hong Kong, Sweden, Belarus, Australia, England, United States, and Italy! The fact I was at home celebrating the New Year with so many travellers made me imagine I was also away from home and think about all of the adventures I have been on. What I learned was most of the Europeans moved to Canada for various reasons with the number one issue: recession. Other reasons were backpacking as much as possible before heading back home, or finding a new and exciting adventure in a different country. All of them are my Couchsurfing family and I hope to keep in touch with a bunch.

There were so many bodies to meet and unfortunately it wasn't possible to introduce myself to everyone. With that said, I learned a great deal about new people, had drinks, played pool and darts,  got my own "I <3 CS" pin, and rang in 2013 with the WORLD! This night will never be forgotten.

A bunch of us at midnight! Photo: Hayden, Event Creator.

A Single Resolution

I'm not a good follower of resolutions like many others and I intend to keep it that way. There is a promise I must keep for myself, though: to attend as many Couchsurfing meetings downtown as possible to meet even more fellow travel enthusiasts!

On that note, I wish everyone the best this year and many more to come!

Myself, Sarah, and another CS with my new pin! Photo: Hayden, Event Creator.

Cheers!

...Nonsensical Jade...