Little Bavaria

Since moving to Michigan about seven months ago, my husband and I have visited our home state, Virginia, a handful of times for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and birthdays. In all that time, however, our new home was kind of a mystery to our friends and family, who had not gotten the chance to come see us. Well, that streak was officially broken last week when my parents drove up for a few days, and I am happy to say that our first attempt at hosting house guests was a success! There's something incredibly special about showing off where you live to the people you love, especially the first time you're able to do so. So, where did we take my mom and dad for their grand welcoming? Why, lovely little Frankenmuth, of course. I've been to Frankenmuth three times since December, and there's little wonder in why I wanted to take my parents there and why I, myself, keep going back.

We left on Valentine's Day afternoon for the German-inspired town, lucky that snow and frigid weather decided to hold off for a day. Our first stop was Around the Farm Antiques, a cute store I'd wanted to visit since we first drove past it in December. The Virginia native in me loves a good antique shop, and with my deal-hunting dad along for the day, it was definitely the perfect place to start our afternoon.

Lazily browsing the old knick-knacks with my family made me feel as though I was back home for an afternoon, spending a day away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. Add another point on my list of reasons why I like Frankenmuth—it feels like home.

After taking a trip down memory lane, we drove down the road to Bronner's Christmas Wonderland, an obvious "must-visit" Frankenmuth attraction. My mom had visited Bronner's once as a little girl (probably while visiting her Michigan-dwelling grandparents), and was definitely excited to be back. While watching her take photos of everything in sight, I was reminded of how happily overwhelmed I was the first time I visited the store.

If you've never been to Bronner's, I highly suggest that you take the time to go. The first time I went, it was right around Christmas and completely packed, but the store's (and whole town's) festive spirit stays alive even after the season ends. On this particular Valentine's afternoon visit, there was almost no one in the store, but the warm, welcoming atmosphere combined with soft Christmas carols was relaxing and had me momentarily envying the people who worked there. And just because Christmas is over, don't expect the good people at Bronner's to ignore you or lose their holiday spirit—each person we encountered on our most recent visit had a smile on their face and a friendly story to share (and as a sidenote: for those of you who use Twitter, tweet a message telling Bronner's that you're in the neighborhood. They always personally respond with your own individual welcome greeting.)

After Bronner's, we took a little walk down the road to a place I hadn't yet been: the Frankenmuth Clock Company. The store was overwhelmingly adorable—from cuckoo clocks, to modern clocks, to grandfather clocks, to trinkets that weren't clocks at all, this place was the ultimate souvenir store. After shopping for a few minutes, I picked out the perfect little Frankenmuth jewelry box, while my parents decided on a Christmas clock (exactly the same as one my grandmother has). Unfortunately, we found out after we got home that both of our pre-packaged items were damaged, but after my dad called the people at Frankenmuth Clock Company the next morning, the store sent us replacements right away. Now, we are now the proud owners of our own little pieces of Michigan's Bavaria.

Next, we headed across the street to Frankenmuth's River Place Shops, where specialty foods and Michigan souvenirs welcomed us in a Busch Gardens-esque setting. It was truly the best time I've had in a while, and the happiest I've seen my parents since we moved away last summer. My parents even kept referring to our outing as a "vacation," so I'm assuming they enjoyed themselves, too.

And how do you end a long day of shopping? By fueling up on food, of course! We were set on trying one of the "world famous" Frankenmuth dinner spots, and decided on the Bavarian Inn Restaurant: a cute, castle-themed building that looked like it belonged in a fairy tale book. My mom and I each ordered a combination lunch plate, while my husband and dad got their money's worth with a couple of the all-you-can-eat dinners. I'll tell you what—they definitely don't let you go hungry at this place.

After dinner, everyone was stuffed to capacity...so, we tried strolling around a few more downtown shops, but were pretty tuckered out (plus, it was Tuesday and almost everything had closed for the evening). Gathering our souvenirs and leftovers, we hopped in the car and made the trek back to the house. Auf wiedersehen for now, Frankenmuth. Best day I've had in a long time.