Fun in Frankenmuth Michigan: 8 Unusual Things to Do (Visit Bronners, Try Pretzel Rolling, See Michigan's Oldest Woolen Mill, Explore a Quirky Cheese House)
Fun in Frankenmuth Michigan: 8 Unusual Things to Do | By Sherry Trautman | Travel-Mi.com
Are you looking for unique, fun things to do with friends and family in Frankenmuth Michigan?
This lovely Bavarian village located in the Great Lakes Bay Region on the east side of Michigan is a great place to visit.
1. Visit Bronner's Christmas Wonderland!
My friend Jenny and I started our day in Frankenmuth Michigan like anyone with a Christmas spirit should, we visited Bronner's Christmas Wonderland! It's an absolutely unbelievable sight that left us awestruck.
Bronner's is the world's largest Christmas store, covering 2.2 acres which is 1.7 football fields!!! Yeah, it's that big! We wandered throughout the store, in absolute awe of the size of the store and the fantastic displays. They have around 300 trees on display that is very inspiring!
Bronner's Christmas Wonderland has every theme, color scheme and subject matter covered! Just finished a marathon? Looking for an airplane or sushi ornament? They've got it. My friend found a light set that she just had to have! Such fun in Frankenmuth!
- They have over 50,000 ornaments and items for Christmas!
Bronner's Christmas Wonderland, Frankenmuth MichiganBronner's Christmas Wonderland Fun Facts:
- Bronner's electrical bill averages $1,250 PER DAY!
- The staff personalizes 400,000 ornaments per year!!
- Guests purchases over 2 million ornaments each year!!
- 50% of the glass ornaments are Bronner's own design.
- In peak season Bronner's employ's over 700 people to handle the two million guests that visit annually.
- Bronner's ships over 200,000 each year around the globe.
- It's cool that the call center, catalog and website fulfillment are all in-house handled.
2. Visit the Silent Night Memorial Chapel in Frankenmuth Michigan
The Silent Night Memorial Chapel is located right next to Bronner's. I can't believe that I have lived in the area my whole life and never discovered this beautiful chapel until now.
In 1992, Bronner's erected a replica of the Oberndorf (Salzburg), Austria, Silent Night Memorial Chapel in tribute to the Christmas hymn, "Silent Night" and in thankfulness to God.
The Chapel is not not available for services, it is simply for viewing. The inside is very small and the front of the chapel is partitioned off with glass to preserve the beauty.
Outside is a very interesting display of verses in various languages. Enjoy several nativity scenes near The Silent Night Memorial Chapel.
3. Try Frankenmuth Bavarian Inn's World Famous Chicken Dinners!
By then we were starving and where do you go when hungry in Frankenmuth, Michigan? Duh, The Bavarian Inn!
I'm sure you have heard of the AWESOME chicken with the zillion sides, right? Well, you can order the large meal anytime (shown below), but just so you know, you can order a much smaller lunch.
We both ordered the two piece chicken lunch which came with a salad, bread, stuffing and mashed potatoes with gravy. Our server was very friendly and kind.
I love eating at the Bavarian Inn for the cheerfulness and comfort factor. After a morning of fun in Frankenmuth we looked forward to relaxing, chatting and eating CHICKEN!
4. Learn Pretzel Rolling at the Bavarian Inn!
So I had a fun surprise in store for my friend, PRETZEL ROLLING in the Bavarian Inn! I mean how cool is that!? We were so incredibly excited to go behind the scenes in the Bavarian Inn kitchen rolling pretzels! I mean, I am giddy for pretty much any tour so this was no exception.
To begin, we walked through the kitchen and got to check out the massive mixers, bags of flour, long counter tops and kitchen utensils. I adore seeing commercial kitchens so this was fascinating. This was a good start for our day of fun in Frankenmuth.
We then donned hairnets and silly pretzel glasses as we learned about the fascinating history of pretzel making. Basically, a priest designed the pretzels with a Godly influence and also was used to bribe the children to learn their Bible verses.
See? We were learning while having fun in Frankenmuth!
We were them instructed how to roll and shape our very own pretzels! Plus we learned the dough was only three ingredients...can you guess what they are?
Flour, yeast and German Beer!!!
We then headed back to the main shops while the pretzels were sprinkled in salt and baked. We had 25 minutes to wait until our piping hot pretzels were ready so we decided to do some wine tasting!!
5. Wine Tasting at The Bavarian Inn-Fun in Frankenmuth!
We saw a sign announcing "3 tastings for a $1" on our way to the pretzel rolling class and though, (UHH, HELLO! We are coming back here!)
We had time to spare so we bellied up to the tasting counter and had a great time trying a wide variety of wines! We greatly enjoyed the experience as the girl pouring the wines told us all about the different languages she was learning so she could better interact with their world wide customers.
The Bavarian Inn had a wide variety of wines to sample, ranging from dry reds to sweet whites to dessert wines. We tried six different ones until we noticed our hot pretzels were being rolled out.
6. Frankenmuth Fudge Kitchen
Frankenmuth Fudge Kitchen in Frankenmuth Michigan is a super fun store where you can see fudge, caramel corn and other treats being made. Continue your day of fun in Frankenmuth by checking out this adorable shop!
7. See How Wool is Made at Michigan's Oldest Operating Woolen Mill!
Come visit Frankenmuth Woolen Mill, Michigan's Oldest Operating Woolen Mill since 1894! The shop is fantastic and offers bedding options such as pillows, comforters, dryer balls and so much more!
Did you know that wool helps to regulate your body temperature so you can be comfortable in a variety of climates?
Get a glimpse at the process to make wool at the Frankenmuth woolen mill! Their wool is obtained from California, so all the work is sourced and completed in the USA!
8. Explore Frankenmuth Taffy Kitchen-Yummy Sweet Treats!
Frankenmuth Taffy Kitchen Address: 565 1/2, S Main St, Frankenmuth, MI
The Frankenmuth Taffy Kitchen, located right on Main Street, is a super cute shop that you must visit! The shop just recently underwent a renovation that opened up their kitchen space so you can see all the delicious treats being made!
The Frankenmuth Taffy Kitchen has lots of other candy choices and gifts so come check them out! So much fun in Frankenmuth!
Frankenmuth Michigan Guide: Top-Rated Things to Do + Best Waterparks, Shopping, Restaurants and Hotel Weekend Getaways You Will Love
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