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By Diana Rossetti
Copley News Service
There are those who enjoy the Christmas season, then there are those who love the Christmas season. For them, there is Frankenmuth, Mich.
At the midpoint in the lower peninsula, this holiday haven is Mecca for seekers of everything Christmas. You will hear it before you see it. A carillon of 35 bells in the glockenspiel tower at the Bavarian Inn sets the tone for the Bavarian-themed town. Looking up -- can you help it? -- you will see hand-carved wooden figurines acting out the tale of the Pied Piper of Hamlin.
Even in summer, when flowering baskets burst forth with color from the quaint-looking light poles or in autumn when leaves turn colors that exist only in Michigan, it is Christmas every day.
The first stop for many pilgrims is Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland, a bustling business founded in 1945. There, shoppers find holiday decorations the likes of which they have never seen. You’re looking for wine-themed Christmas ornaments? Blown-glass miniatures of pinot grigio or cabernet bottles will fill the bill. Your son is a race-car enthusiast? Well, don’t think Bronner’s can’t put a Christmas spin on that. Let one of their artists personalize Junior’s surprise.
And lights. Not your everyday chasing lights or flashing lights. No, your Christmas tree can twinkle like the stars in a night sky.
You’ve never found just the right nativity scene? Bronner’s displays 500 to choose from in its two-plus-acre showroom.
Though Bronner’s may be the initial attraction for first-timers, there is much more to Frankenmuth, enough options to entertain visitors of all ages and interests.
If you want to see the sights without hoofing it, climb aboard one of two paddlewheel riverboats -- the Cass River is close. Or opt for a leisurely horse and carriage tour. In the heat of Indian summer, the town’s two breweries are bustling. Those who prefer grape over grain will enjoy the St. Julian Winery.
How chicken dinners became synonymous with a town steeped in St. Nick is anyone’s guess. But it is not likely you’ll see dining rooms so large built around chicken dinners anywhere else. Zehnder’s, the eighth largest restaurant in the country based on sales, can seat 1,300 at a time. The younger Bavarian Inn is close behind with a capacity to serve 1,200 and a ranking as the 10th largest restaurant in the United States.
Together, the two restaurants collaborated in creating another tourist attraction, the Holzbrucke, a 230-ton wooden covered bridge. Take your camera, for the bridge over the Cass is a rare sight and highly film-worthy.
When you tire of the commercial offerings, take a stroll through the picturesque town’s 25 acres of parks. There’s also the challenge of two championship 18-hole golf courses, The Fortress or The Timbers.
If you stay until dark, and it’s likely you will, stake out a spot early in the Festival Platz and enjoy the free Lights Fantastic laser show.
Be sure to talk to the locals. Frankenmuth’s “Willkommen!” attitude is evident and authentic all along a two-mile stretch of specialty shops and into its well-kept residential neighborhoods.
FRANKENMUTH IN A NUTSHELL
The town name came from the German province of Franken. Muth means courage in German.
Fifteen German Lutheran settlers arrived in the Saginaw Valley in 1845 planning to spread the gospel to the Chippewa Indians. But by the time they had cleared the land and insured their own survival with food and shelter, the Indians had migrated west. So Frankenmuth became home to more and more German Lutheran settlers. Hard work were the watch words and colonists cleared acres of forest. German customs were adhered to with steadfast devotion.
Today, there are 4,400 residents who are unofficial hosts to more than three million visitors each year.
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