This summer, my husband and I were visiting Michigan for a wedding. We decided to visit two places that our daughter has never been to that we thought she would absolutely love: Frankenmuth…and of course, Mackinac Island! 

In the past, my husband and I had visited Frankenmuth in January, so being here in the summer was a nice treat. Frankenmuth is a German “Christmas Town,” and known as Michigan’s Little Bavaria. There are festivals and fun events year-round, so it’s definitely a place worth visiting!  

People come from all over to get a slice of the most wonderful time of the year throughout the year. There are many Bavarian influences here, from the architecture of the buildings, German spelling of the shops, to menu items at restaurants, like the German Pretzel. 

When my husband and I came here the first time, we tried the “world-famous chicken dinners” at the Bavarian Inn Restaurant and enjoyed hot chocolates and shopping. You could spend a day, a weekend, or a week here or more and have such a wonderful time. 

We started en route from Pittsburgh to Frankenmuth, which is about a 5-hour drive. We checked in at a local hotel and then went out to lunch at the Frankenmuth Brewery. We learned it’s Michigan’s oldest brewery! I had the Michigan cherry salad, my husband had the Sweet Mother Clucker sandwich, and our daughter had a chicken tender meal. Everything was delicious! We sat outside since it was a beautiful summer day. 

After lunch at the Frankenmuth Brewery, we stopped at the place we came here for: Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland! 

We’d visited Bronner's as newlyweds, and always hoped to come back…so much so that we’d talked up this place to our daughter! It’s so much more fun when you have little children with you, and you are seeing it through their eyes. 

Bronner’s is considered the world’s largest Christmas store. There are Christmas props on the outside, including a giant Santa, oversized bulbs from Christmas lights, and murals along the building that houses the treasures inside. As we walked inside, there were props for families to take pictures, shopping carts, and then you turned a corner to see an amazement of decorations galore! 

Wreaths, lights, trees, nativities, collectibles, garlands, stockings, advent calendars, toys, and thousands upon thousands of ornaments (totaling over 6,000 styles!). We spent hours in this store; you can do that very easily! I collect Christmas ornaments and love looking at our Christmas tree every year, adorned with special ornaments from life events and our travels. 

Coming here was such a treat! Our daughter loved this place. Anyone who loves Christmas will also love this store. 

After more than five hours spent at Bronner’s, we were hungry and wanted to have a snack. We visited the local outdoor shopping mall—and there was a food festival happening that weekend. My family and I love crepes, and came upon a creperie and café called La Crepe du Jour. This place reminded me of a little bistro in Paris. They offer crepes (including gluten free and vegan crepes) and an assortment of coffees to choose from to go with it! We chose three different kinds: strawberries and chocolate, strawberry cheesecake, and key lime pie. We each shared bites of one another’s crepe, and enjoyed the flavors and textures. There are so many unique flavors…and not just sweet crepes, either. There are breakfast crepes, savory crepes, salads, and a range of beverages from cappuccino, espresso, and hot chocolate, to teas, water, and soda pop. It’s a taste of “Paris in Little Bavaria!”

Our daughter wanted to get back to the hotel to swim, and we knew the next day we were traveling further up north heading to Mackinac Island. The first time we came to Frankenmuth, though, we had dinner at a place friends recommended to us, called Tiffany’s. I do remember we had to wait and make reservations for a table and the restaurant was packed. The food was pretty good, and I’m glad we went. 

Stay tuned for my next article about Mackinac Island!

Stasia Lopez is the Global Education Editor for Wandering Educators and is also a Faculty Instructor and Director of Career Development at the University of Pittsburgh. She is also an Adjunct Professor at the Community College of Allegheny County (CCAC),for a class on "The Job Search.” She also serves as the Co-President of the Career Counselors’ Consortium. She graduated with her Master’s degree in Educational Leadership in Higher Education and Student Affairs from Western Michigan University and earned her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree in Hospitality and Tourism Management from Robert Morris University. Stasia is passionate about international education, travel, college to career topics and loves working on a college campus. She’s lived in four different U.S. states (Florida, Michigan, South Carolina, and Pennsylvania) and also studied and lived abroad in Rome, Italy. Stasia lives in the Pittsburgh area with her husband, children, and fluffy, black cat. 

All photos courtesy and copyright Stasia Lopez.