Frankenmuth, Michigan

Today wasn’t terribly exciting, a lazy start to the day followed by a 4-hour drive up to Birch Run, Michigan. Birch Run is just outside of Frankenmuth, which is famous for being a bit of Bavaria in America, so of course I had to go walk around it some and have a good German dinner there!

Frankenmuth didn’t quite do it for me, though – it seemed like a strange cross between a normal small town and a theme park, just a bit too touristy for my taste. I took a few pictures, but not many. There was this nifty covered bridge (built relatively recently) which I drove and walked over, a walk along the river, and the seemingly famous Bavarian Inn where I ate. The food was good but I’ve had better German meals. This one struck me as an Americanized version of a Bavarian meal, designed to appeal to the tourists who have never experienced real German food.

And as to the Bavarian Inn’s claim to have the largest selection of German beers in Michigan? They did have several, but they were virtually all in bottles! The only one on draft was the regular Hofbräu beer, but they also had a Dunkel which was brewed especially for them and it was wonderful.

Frankenmuth was fun to see and I don’t regret stopping, but I have no desire to return 🙂