Chick McGee said it best: The problem with going to a foreign country is all the foreigners. I would say the bigger problem is the TSA, though we did encounter a few very nice TSA agents on a trip to Washington D.C., but more about that another time.
We here in Michigan have the ability to kinda sorta visit Germany without leaving the state. Frankenmuth, a Bavarian-style town near Flint, offers a unique getaway less than an hour away from my home near Lansing.
The 2-year old loves water, which normally excludes anywhere near Flint – Michigan is nearly surrounded by water, so Flint area is not big on the vacation list? Zehnder’s Splash Village in Frankenmuth is why. The indoor water park was fun for the wife and I, and lots of fun for the daughter. Several slides, a lazy river, a kiddy pool, and huge bucket that creates a deluge are all part of the fun.
The water park just happened to have a hotel attached to it – that was convenient – and the suite we reserved was nice. Well, it was not a real suite. Two queen beds in sleeping area, a half-wall, and a sitting area – close enough to suite, I suppose. Add on a deck with a view of the beautiful roof of another park of the hotel and you have the makings of a nice stay.
My big beef was the noise. Let’s do a simple calculation: water park + kids + no parental supervision = me, annoyed. Of course, having my luck with hotels, the room above us was full of unsupervised children that were jumping off the furniture and running around constantly and late into the night. For that reason alone, I will never stay at the hotel again, water park be damned. (Sure, they sold giant pretzels, but the lack of sleep just wasn’t worth it.) The manager, nice as he tried to be, basically shrugged and asked us if we wanted to move to another room. Basically, try your luck again and see if the next room is quieter. We didn’t like our odds.
Frankenmuth is also known for fried chicken, oddly enough. Zehnder’s, long before it had a water park and noisy hotel, had a family restaurant. Utterly unprepared, we had the family dinner, an enormous amount of food that we didn’t come close to finishing. And even if we did clear our plates, they would just keep bringing it, because that’s how they roll. Dieters, avoid the place. Everyone else, loosen those belts a notch or six.
That dinner was one of the few times I wish I had a bigger appetite, the food was that good. Bread, garlic crackers, coleslaw, cottage cheese, chicken, mashed potatoes, dressing, ice cream, and I’m probably missing some. We also ordered the side of German meat, just in case there wasn’t enough food. Who knew Germans tasted so good? I’m getting full just thinking about that meal.
If you still haven’t had your fill, Zehnder’s also had a bakery so you can continue gorging yourself at home. None of us wanted to think about more food, so we bypassed it.
A two night stay means two dinners, and for the second, we tried the other gargantuan family restaurant, The Bavarian Inn. Literally across the street from Zehnder’s, I preferred the latter, though I thought The Bavarian Inn had better German meats (younger Germans?), while Andrea thought the BI’s mashed potatoes were better. You can’t go wrong with either one.
I didn’t get to eat at a McDonald’s while I was there, so I can say how their chicken compared to Zehnder’s and The Bavarian Inn’s chicken. If you have any insight, I’m all ears.