Michigan's little Bavaria (click me)

In the last nine weeks of traveling around the great states of Michigan and New York, there have been many wonderful moments happenings where I have chuckled to myself primarily because no one else was there to laugh with me. There was the angry counselor at that yuppy private school, the numerous counselors who asked me "are you a student?", the many individuals at various retail stores who were convinced that since I was wearing a tie I must be employed at that location. I am not sure one of these events can hold a candle to that which I experienced yesterday.

I had heard of the great village of Frankenmuth; after all, there are about 27 billboards advertising it as one travels across Michigan via the major highways. However, I never had made the trip up there to visit although it seems I was quite close in proximity every time I drove through Flint. That all changed yesterday when I was due to make a visit to Frankenmuth High School. It was every intention of mine to sample the "local flavor" of this well-noted city of Michigan, so I made every attempt to do so. As I was driving down the main stretch of the town, I just had to stop at the following location:

That's right. The Bavarian Inn. Owned by a wonderful local family called the Zehnder's. Let me tell you, these people own the entire town of Frankenmuth. Everywhere you look you can see their name on buildings and whatnot. I had a wonderful German chicken dinner (replete with stuffing and mashed potatoes). It was a real treat. With the meal was a generous allotment of breads including the traditional holiday Stollen bread. Talk about a real treat.

What a wonderful way to kick off the last week of this travel season.