Day Trip to Frankenmuth, MI

Last Christmas our son, Jeremy, gave us $100 gift cards to Bronner's and Zehnder's in Frankenmuth.  We made a day trip on December 28th, but Bronner's was so busy we opted not to go there that day and only went to Zehnder's.  The gift card was only partially used, so we decided to go back yesterday and use it up.  

After my knee therapy, we headed to Frankenmuth, an 84 mile drive from our house and the weather was perfect - high 70's and partially sunny.  Frankenmuth is always busy since it's a tourist destination, but because school just started back it wasn't overly crowded.

Bronner's appears first when entering the city from the north, so that was our first stop.  It's a HUGE year-round Christmas store - 320,000 sq. ft. [or approximately 7.35 acres] with more than 20 acres of outdoor space.  They boast of being the world's largest Christmas store, open 361 days of the year.  

It's a wonderland of seasonal magic.  Even though Christmas is only 116 days away, it's hard for me to think Christmas in August.

Close to the entrance we used [there are several entrances and exits] was a large cookbook display that captured my attention, and I used a chunk of the gift card on two of them.

My daughter loves cardinals and there were a few cardinal Christmas displays, so I bought her a male and female pair of salt and pepper shakers.  I wish now that I would have bought a pair for myself since I have cardinal dishes, teacups and a teapot.  I may call to see if they ship, since there is still money left on the gift card.

~ One of many outside displays ~

Bronnor's is a family owned business of Christian believers.  When I got home and looked in my bag of purchases, there was an enclosed religious tract that told how the hymn What a Friend we Have in Jeusus was written.

From Bronnor's we headed northward into town and parked at Zehner's Restaurant.  It was approaching 3:00 o'clock so we were ready for our famous Chicken Dinner with all the trimmings.

I couldn't resist getting Jerry's head inside the Zehnder's Chicken!

Once inside, we were seated in the original room of the restaurant, built in 1856 and rebuilt in 1957.  It was our first time to dine in this room.  We've been there many times and have eaten in most of the other dining rooms.   There were no waiting lines.

We got their family style dinner, which begins with homemade Chicken Noodle Soup, Stolen Bread and Red Raspberry Jam, assorted Breads and Garlic Toast with Cheese Spreads and Liver Pate, Creamy Cabbage Salad, Cottage Cheese, Cranberry Relish.

Are you hungary yet?  ;-)  After the appetizers, came our Chicken Dinner, which included their famous Golden Fried Chicken [we opted for white meat only], Creamy Mashed Potatoes with Chicken Gravy, Dressing, Buttered Egg Noodles and Corn on the Cobb. Everything was yummy!

Our dessert was a dish of Orange Sherbet.

Directly across the street from Zehnder's is the Bavarian Village that serves the same food in a German atmosphere.

After dinner I browsed the basement shops and a nearby boutique, but didn't see anything that called my name, so we got back in our car and made our journey back home.  It was a very enjoyable outing.

Lunch at Zehnder's in Frankenmuth, MI

On this first day of November my hubby and I drove to Frankenmuth, MI for one of Zehnder's famous chicken dinners, and it didn't disappoint.  We made plans about two weeks ago to go with some friends, and when they weren't able to go we decided to go by ourselves.  It's about a 90 mile, 1 1/2 hour drive from our house, and since the construction on I-75 is all completed it was a pleasant drive.

As you can see, some of the trees were still holding onto their fall colored leaves.  

          

The long colonial porch of the restaurant.

Entrance to the dining room where we ate, but there are several dining room in the restaurant.

The entire restaurant was beautifully decorated for Christmas.

We didn't order the family style 'all you can eat' dinner including soup - too much food!  We ordered the chicken dinner off the menu, and it was more than enough.  Our waitress brought the coleslaw, cranberry-orange relish, stolen bread & jam, and our drinks first.  Instead of hot tea, I opted for hot cider.  'Tis the season for it!

Mashed potatoes and gravy, dressing, and two pieces of chicken [white meat], and a side of  yummy noodles.

I was too full for dessert, but Jerry ordered a slice of chocolate torte...and wished afterwards that he would have gotten pumpkin pie instead.  The torte was good, but so rich after a big meal.

After we ate, we browsed in the shops downstairs.  I took a few photos of their Christmas decorations in the lobby.  Going to Frankenmuth before Thanksgiving is a nice way to kick-off the holiday season for us.

Isn't this a cute Christmas teapot?

The weather was partly cloudy but dry, so we decided to walk off our meal by visiting the shops on Main Street. Workers were busily transitioning fall decorations to Christmas ones.  I took a photo of the fall wagon [below] from across the street, but a lady offered to take our picture in front of it while we were walking on that side of the street.

I couldn't resist taking a picture of the cute Halloween decoration below that hadn't been taken down yet.

In the Michigan-made shop was some locally blended tea, so Jerry purchased Cherry Blossom green [sencha] tea.  I'll give it a try tomorrow.

Even though the temperatures were only in the 40's, it didn't seem cold and we enjoyed our walk.  When we finished the shops on Main Street, we got our car and drove the short distance to River Place to browse those shops.

I bought a hat in Girl Talk Sassy Boutique [tomorrow's post], and thought these teapots on one of their shelves was cute.  I loved the middle one - "Wherever we are it's our friends who make our world."

The Enchanted Garden shop sold all kinds of fairy garden merchandise.  There were several fairy gardens outside their shop too.  Two of them are pictured below.

By now it was 4:30 in the afternoon, so we decided to forego stopping at Bronner's Christmas Shop, and save it for another visit.   We headed for home and concluded it was a very enjoyable day.