Frankenmuth - Michigan's Little Bavaria

When I visit Michigan, most of my time is spent in the southwestern area -- either in Grand Rapids or at our Latvian camp, Garezers. While I've made a few trips to northern Michigan (such as this one), there are many areas of Michigan I have yet to explore. One was the town of Frankenuth, which is known as Michigan's Little Bavaria. Because my sister and I both speak German and we as a family lived in Germany for a year at one point, we have a love of most things German. So, we a short family trip to Frankenmuth was planned. (Our mom did point out that we had both visited it a few years ago -- when we were about 3 and 4 years old!)

Located in the eastern part of the state, about half-way between Flint and Saginaw, Frankenmuth was settled in 1845 by immigrants from southern Germany. We arrived at lunchtime, and immediately headed to the Frankenmuth Brewery to eat. Having been founded in 1862, it happens to be the oldest brewery in the entire state.However, the building in which the brewery is located is relatively new, as the previous building was destroyed by a powerful tornado in June 1996. We all enjoyed our meals (enormous portions!), though the sauerkraut which came with the bratwurst dinner was underwhelming.

The brewery

The bratwurst

After lunch our plan had been to walk along the town's Main Street, but the uncomfortably chilly temperatures and off-and-on precipitation put a damper on our plans, so instead we headed to Bronner's, which bills itself as the world's largest Christmas store. This does not seem to be an understatement. We drove over in two cars, then had difficulties finding one another in the store itself -- even with entrances marked "The Southeast Entrance", etc. As I later learned from the website, the store is the size of one-and-a-half football fields. 

Welcome sign: Latvian is in 2nd column from left, Lithuanian in 2nd from right.

The store's thousands of Christmas tree ornaments are categorized into rather specific categories. Whether you are looking for something sports-related, or maybe a food or beverage-related ornament, you have plenty to choose from here! And to help orient you, store maps are available!

Every nook and cranny of the store is Christmas-themed, whether it's a choir of caroling teddy bears...

or Santa Claus himself...

Today the town of Frankenmuth is home to about 5,000 people and offers wholesome (maybe because the original founders were conservative Lutherans who apparently came to the U.S. to try to convert others) family fun. My sister, brother-in-law, and the kids stayed at Zehnder's Splash Village, which is popular with families as it has a two large indoor water parks. Because we didn't need a water park, my mom and I stayed at the Marv Herzog Hotel, which I can highly recommend. Each room has a balcony - with either a view of the river or of Main Street, plus amenities include parking underneath the hotel (nice bonus on this visit as it did ice overnight), an evening happy hour, and an enormous breakfast buffet in the morning.

After enjoying our wine, cheese, and other snacks during happy hour, mom and I met up with the rest of the family for dinner. Frankenmuth has two large competing restaurants, both supposedly famous for their fried chicken dinner. Confusingly - or helpfully - they are located across the street from another. We chose to eat at the Bavarian Inn. 

All of the portions were gigantic - whether for the kids' meals, appetizers, or dinners. My broiled chicken was surprisingly moist and flavorful, and my sister and I both particularly enjoyed the cranberry relish side dish, which was a mixture of cranberries and apples. With its German heritage, the restaurant does offer some German dishes as well -- the apple strudel dessert was absolutely delectable.

The next morning I was happy to discover Harvest CoffeeHouse, which certainly has the best caffeinated beverages in town. Soon it was time for me to head to the airport for my flight home, but I certainly would not mind returning to Frankenmuth in warmer weather!

Winter...What to Do?

Many people in the Northern Hemisphere often do not look forward to winter. I am one of them -- although my parents are from northern Europe and I grew up in the Midwest, I much prefer warm and sunny seasons to the colder and darker ones. Come November I begin to feel slightly anxious about the approaching winter. With the two last Washington winters having been rather harsh, I have been thinking about how to improve my relationship with winter (seeing as moving south from November through March is not a viable option!). The first step was purchasing a "happy light", which I have already begun trying to use almost every morning as the sun has been rising later and later, and setting earlier.

An October sunset

It seems my second step might be trying to adjust my mindset. The Atlantic recently published an enlightening article about Tromso, Norway, a city so far north that its dark winters are frighteningly long -- between November and January, the sun does not rise! This, of course, is in direct contrast to the summer, when between May and July the sun never sets. The article's author, Kari Leibowitz, received a Fulbright scholarship to research how people in Norway address winter, and spent ten months in Tromso doing research. I urge you to read the entire article -- it's fascinating. Additionally, during her time in Norway Ms. Leibowitz kept a blog, in which she features stunningly gorgeous photographs of various trips around the country in addition to pictures which show that the winter light there is quite beautiful.

In the vain of Tromso residents who look forward to winter, I figured one method of doing so is by constructing a list of activities to plan and look forward to this winter. Herewith I present....(drumroll, please!)....My Winter Wish & Plan List! This is not a "to do" list, nor is it a bucket list -- it is collection of activities which I would enjoy and that I may do in the coming five months. 

My Winter Wish & Plan List 

- Visit the National Postal Museum for the first time. See the PostSecret exhibit there.

- Catch new movies, especially "Bridge of Spies," "Suffragette," and "Sisters."

- Read! Particularly looking forward to Sherry Turkle's new book, "Reclaiming Conversation" (as I loved her work "Alone Together"). Have also heard lots about Lauren Groff's novel "Fates and Furies." I recently began reading "Notorious R.B.G.: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg," which is quite good.
- Visit the National Cryptological Museum (on the grounds of the National Security Agency, sometimes referred to as "No Such Agency").

- Interview at least one person for a blog post.
- Check out Artomatic 2015, an enormous free art exhibit.

- Bake cookies with my awesome new Latvian cookie cutters.
- Visit the newly re-opened Renwick Gallery.

- Host a literary evening.

- Of course: celebrate Latvia's Independence Day, Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Winter Solstice, and Christmas, as well as my birthday.

- Visit at least one Christmas-themed event, such as a light display or Christmas music concert.
- Yay, "The Americans" is due to begin its new season in January! This is THE best show on television.

High water on the Potomac at sunset, March 2015

A Few Links for You!

Life has been so busy that I have not had time to write about it! While I manage to scrounge up enough minutes to finish up another blog post, please check out these wonderful things other folks have written.

Our visit to the Udvar-Hazy Center was documented by Liene, with different photos and even more information.

Over in Latvia, Heather has posted a fantastic list of Riga's best cafes, and also found the time to visit Kuldiga - I particularly love the sunrise waterfall photos.

After living on the island of Guam for a couple of years, Antonia now finds herself in Wisconsin - and close to a Trader Joe's! She documented her first shopping trip. I still need to recommend some of my favorite products to her.

On LatviansOnline Arnis explains that great Latvian commercial with the folksingers and what "e-services" the country offers.

I have been looking for old photographs for a certain project, and came across this gem - of me sweeping the balcony of our "summer home" (aka trailer) at Garezers.

Have a great week!

Christmas outings in the Midwest - 2013 Edition

Wintry weather notwithstanding, my visit to Michigan over Christmas was lovely.

My sister and I made time to attend a yoga class, which was the first time we'd done that together. Naturally, she and I also baked cookies. After all - what is Christmas without cookies? We will never manage to live up to the Christmas cookie standards of our late aunt, who was famous for preparing at least a dozen different kind. But I baked three separate batches, my sister whipped up one, and mom brought two -- I think six is a respectable number.

As a family we went on a couple of great outings (in addition to the unexpected 'staycation' at the hotel.) For a city its size, Grand Rapids has many wonderful activities to keep everyone entertained - even on the coldest days.

My favorite spot in GR is the Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park, which is well worth a visit any time of year. Depending on the season, you will see and enjoy different sights. The gardens and park encompass 132 acres, most of it outdoors. Some of the sculptures on display are by well-known artists, including Auguste Rodin, Keith Haring, Dale Chihuly, Alexander Calder, and Joan Miro.

"Seven Saints and Sinners" by Marshall Fredericks

There are also several indoor greenhouses, along with a visitors' center; that is where we spent our time during this visit. (The 20 degree weather was not particularly conducive to a stroll through the gardens.) If visiting during evening hours, a walk outside allows one to enjoy colorful Christmas lights. For an extra fee, one can even take a horse-drawn carriage ride around the grounds.

Naturally, my nephew most loved the toy trains in the greenhouse, although those were moving very slowly. The gardens were among many others in the area without power, and the greenhouse was running on emergency generators. In addition to many bright red poinsettias and a few other holiday flowers, the greenhouse holiday display features area buildings and landmarks - everything from the Holland MI lighthouse to the baseball park made from natural materials. Every year a new one is added.

The hallways of the visitors' center feature Christmas trees and displays with decorations from various countries and regions. Although there is no Latvian tree, the Lithuanian tree with its natural straw decorations is similar to a very traditional Latvian one.

Christmas tree with Lithuanian decorations

I did also take a moment to admire the glass sculptures currently on display, although I was chided by a security guard for leaning too far over a railing to get a closer photograph.

On another day, we ventured into downtown Grand Rapids to visit the public museum. Here I loved the Streets of Old Grand Rapids, and my nephew and I enjoyed searching for 15 different Santas around the museum (hints were provided by in pamphlet, which was helpful, as a couple of them were overhead and not so easy to spot!). The museum also has a wonderful old carousel housed in a special pavilion right on the river.

Enjoying the carousel. When one is four years old, sitting still for a photo is not an option!

Santa waiting for the train in the Union Depot railroad station, at the entrance of Streets of Old Grand Rapids

Finding a Latvian connection anywhere and everywhere is, of course, one of my specialties. From a previous visit I knew that the exhibit "Newcomers: People of this Place" mentioned Latvians, but back then I didn't have a blog audience with whom to share that information! Many Latvian immigrants made Michigan their home in the 1950s and later; they settled in the Detroit area, as well as in Saginaw, Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids. Latvian immigrants are mentioned in the exhibit.

Also featured in the exhibit about immigrants is a replica of bar from a Polish community center; it reminded me quite a bit of various Milwaukee community centers, halls and bars I've been to.

Additionally, the museum has a small exhibit of musical instruments, of which one is a Latvian kokle. Interestingly, the kokle was made by my grandfather! My grandmother kept records of all the kokles he made and sold, and luckily my mother kept that list. Thus, my mother was able to confirm that the woman who donated the instrument to the musuem, Tereza Valdmane, was the seventh person to purchase a kokle made by my grandfather!

Kokle on the bottom. Sorry for poor quality of photo! The instruments are behind plastic.

After the museum visit, we ventured to one of Grand Rapids' newest attractions, the Downtown Market. Here we greatly enjoyed incredibly delicious ice cream from Love's Ice Cream, picked up fresh salmon for Christmas Eve dinner from the Fish Lads, and I purchased a bag of coffee from Simpatico (a low-acid coffee which I've been loving and will probably order online!).

Midwestern Winter

Living in the DC area means that experiences with winter weather are few and far between. To be honest, I prefer it that way. Having grown up in the Midwest means I had my fill of snow, ice, temperatures well below freezing and all the inconveniences that these bring. Many folks in the DC area have little knowledge of the terms "wind chill factor" (which is an integral part of any Midwestern winter forecast) or "lake effect snow" (which is well known to anyone residing along the shore of several Great Lakes). Washingtonians are typically impacted by snow or ice only a couple of times a winter, whereas in the Midwest, it is a weekly occurrence.

Almost every year at Christmas I have traveled to spend time with family in the Midwest. Previously that meant flying to Milwaukee, then in later years to Kalamazoo, and in the last few to Grand Rapids. (The only exception was the year a friend and I visited her parents in Vienna - what a beautiful place to spend Christmas!) Inevitably, this means being prepared for real winter conditions. This year winter has already been quite snowy, icy and cold in Michigan, and I was greeted by all three when I landed. Luckily, I was also welcomed at the airport by my sister and nephew, whom I had last seen in September when they came out to Maryland for a long weekend. My brother-in-law and niece, whom I had last seen in July, waited at home.

My sister lives in a neighborhood where many families decorate their homes and yard with lights and other Christmas decorations, a tradition that seems to be far more prevalent in the Midwest than in the DMV. I must say that  I miss this type of "senseless beauty" in my region.

On Sunday evening, however, the Christmas lights on my sister's home went dark. Due to the ice accumulation, this home and many others in Michigan found themselves without power. Luckily my mom had just finished preparing a delicious dinner for us, and we enjoyed that by candlelight. Afterwards we packed up and decamped to a nearby hotel. Because so many (close to 30,000 homes and businesses in Kent County alone) are without power, it might take several days for it to be restored.

When we awoke Monday morning, my brother-in-law drove over to check on the house, and we were overjoyed to hear that power had been restored. Thus we were able to resume some of our many planned activities, including a great deal of cookie baking (both my sister's mint chocolate chip and my improvised gluten-free chocolate chocolate chunk seem to have turned out well!). Considering the weather forecast for this area over the next several days - very cold, more snow - I really feel for anyone who cannot heat their home - either due to the power outage or other reasons - this Christmas.

Life is what happens while you're making other plans

My family and friends all know that I'm a planner. Although I realize that life does sometimes get in the way of my plans, there are numerous things - such as vacations - that I certainly do plan rather far in advance. Naturally, when I booked my end-of-April flight to Latvia at the very end of January, I could not have foreseen that an Icelandic volcano would throw global air travel into a tailspin right around the time of my planned and long-awaited Euro-vacation.

As the trip was inching closer, but trans-Atlantic flights were mostly still grounded and my airline (thanks, United!) issued a waiver for anyone traveling through my departure date, I decided to cancel my trip. Naturally, I had very much been looking forward to returning to Riga after a several year absence, but I decided that not knowing what may happen and the rather realistic prospect of flights being seriously delayed or even canceled was just not how I wished to spend my precious time off. Thus, I canceled the trip, got a full refund and told work I would not be taking my five days of vacation leave that particular week. Instead, I will take two random days off in the next two months, as well as three days off (combined with a weekend, of course) to visit family in the Midwest. I am looking forward to that *almost* as much as I'd been looking forward to my European trip.