I've been on a bus trip kick lately and it has yet to end as this was my first time traveling with Great Canadian Tours on a 1 day trip to Michigan.
We went to Frankenmuth and, while this wasn't my first time in Michigan, this was my first time crossing the border in a coach bus!
Let me tell you all about.
I went to Michigan for the first time back in December of 2022. We went during the Christmas holidays to explore Frankenmuth, a town known for it's German roots and exuberant Christmas decor.
I was in a pretty bad mood the first time we went, so I wasn't quite in the headspace for documenting, but this time around was much better.
The day started by getting on the coach bus at 8:30am in a little town called Strathroy. This was the second of 3 pick up locations; the first being in London and the last being in Sarnia. Once everyone was picked up, we headed off towards to border.
I remember when we went the first time, the border experience was horrible. We were driving into Michigan at the Blue Water Bridge border and the border guards were beyond rude.
They were grilling us on basic questions such as "What does vacation mean?" and "Christmas has past already, so why are you visiting?". It felt really unwelcoming and more aggressive than it needed to be. This experience honestly left me with a unwillingness to use land borders.
When we were crossing the border this time, in our coach bus, it was a much better experience!!!
First off, the tour busses have a different lane at the border, so we don't have to sit in the same traffic. Next, our driver dealt with the majority of the questions such as "How long are/were you here?", "How many people are there traveling?" and "Is everyone Canadian?".
As passengers, all we had to do was de-board the bus (so they could search the bus), show our passport to the border agent, and answer the question "Anything to declare/anything you're bringing into the States?". The whole process took about 15 minutes. It was so much easier and smoother than driving over.
From there, we stopped at the visitor center, just off of the border in Michigan, to pick up some maps and guides, as well as use the washrooms. There was a washroom on board which was water-less (meaning no sink, but they did have hand sanitizer), similar to Flix Bus, but it was well maintained, unlike Flix Bus.
Once everyone was back on board, we headed off towards our destinations. The tour guide explained to us that we would be making 3 stops. The first was at the Birch Run outlet mall, then Frankenmuth, then Bronner's, the Christmas market. All day they would be making rotations around to the different locations so that, if you wanted, you could see all locations.
We went to Bronner's the last time we were in Frankenmuth. It is this absolutely massive Christmas store where you can get every kind of Christmas decoration you could possibly think of, along with Christmas gifts as well. It is quite literally like a Costco sized store for just Christmas related things.
I remember walking around the store and ending up in the international ornaments section. I was surprised when I found the Canadian section as, while they had the typical stereotypical things such as poutine, bears, and igloos, they also had a Big Foot ornament. I wasn't aware Canada was known for Big Foot, or at least that Americans think we are.
It was also taken aback by the video presentation they had playing in showing slots, like a movie theatre, about the founder of the store (it gave off cult-y vibes, especially since my phone didn't work in the store).
There was also a cafeteria as well. You could park your cart outside the dining area, grab something to eat and drink (think American food), then go right back to shopping. It was really like eating at the McDonald's in a Walmart or the cafeteria at a Costco.
It definitely worth a visit, even if you don't celebrate Christmas, to see the sheer size and magnitude of Christmas in this store, as well as to experience the culture of this place.
We didn't visit Bronner's this time around, instead mom and I decided to go to Frankenmuth as our first stop since we wanted to grab some lunch. Our first stop was the only Mexican food place, Pablano's. We decided to go here because it was listed in the town guide as one of the places with gluten free options.
Mom and I shared the Southwestern Nachos, and I got a lemonade while she got a Margarita. The Nachos came out real quick and we're quite good. Chicken was spiced well, the Mexican rice was yummy, I could've done without the black beans, but overall it was nice. They also gave us complimentary chips and salsa when we arrived; not my fav, but a nice gesture.
We had intended to switch up locations, but while trying to find the restaurant, we went the complete opposite direction as I've never been good at reading maps. By the time we got to the restaurant and ate, we had 9 minutes till pick up for another location, so ended up staying the whole day in Frankenmuth (~12pm till ~5pm).
Our next stop after eating was the River Place Shops. This is a little outdoor mall full of shops, eateries, and more.
We went to Pasty Haus, a bubble tea shop, that also had gluten free and vegan pastries (thank you Frankenmuth guide book), as well as sugar free options for their bubble tea.
I got the sugar free mango black tea and it was heavenly! Mom got a creme brulee milk tea which she said was good and not too sweet.
We also walked through the arcade, and I'm so very glad we did! They had a rubber duck claw machine, like the one they had in Massachusetts. I was going to play it, but then I found unclaimed rubber ducks in the bottom that I adopted and added to my collection. There were 5 in total; 2 silver, 2 blue, and 1 majestic burger duck!
Just before leaving, I stopped at to one of the quarter candy machines to grab some skittles. I think the last time I used one of these was way back in the day when they still had them at movie theatres.
While walking back to the main strip of town, we decided take a small detour and explore the Holz Brücke, or Wooden Bridge. While this bridge wasn't built in the 1800's, it was made in the time periods style.
They could've used modern methods, but in the interest of keeping to the town's history, the bridge was placed using a team oxen. They pulled the bridge into place over the span of 12 days as the oxen couldn't do more than 3 inches per minute. It was honestly pretty cool. Definitely worth a visit on the way back into town.
On the other side of the bridge there was a small aviary with a variety of birds you could observe, as well as a free bike fixing station, and a map of biking trails for Frankenmuth. I could see a Frankenmuth bike tour being really fun to do.
Before we continue with the adventure, I want to offer some advice for those looking for visit Frankenmuth.
My biggest piece of advice for anyone looking to visit Frankenmuth would be to get the coupon book. It's called Bavarian Bargains and I got mine at the visitor center in town.
They have coupons for a variety of places in town; from food, to activities, to shopping.
As well, Frankenmuth has a free shuttle, which we only found out about when we got to Frankenmuth. There are stops all over the town, 14 in total it seems, and the shuttles come every 20 minutes.
They have maps at the stops that detail where hassle-free parking lots are, as well as the days the shuttle runs. The one I grabbed says, this year, it runs every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, from July 26 to Dec. 29th.
It can be a lot of walking around town, so the shuttle is great to use as a little break between locations, as a way to tour the city, and/or for those of us who aren't able to walk that far or that long. We walked the whole time we were there and I ended up with over 12,000 steps.
My other piece of advice, not really relating to Frankenmuth and only really for any other Canadians traveling to the US, would be to switch to Freedom Mobile (not sponsored). The plan I have lets me use calling, texting, and my data in Canada or the US.
It's only $55 a month for 100GB of data, though there are cheaper plans with less data too. It has made it so much easier and cheaper to travel across the border. It's worth checking out.
Anyway, back to exploring!
We went to the history museum next and used the coupon in the coupon book for admission. Normally, it costs $5 USD per person, but with the coupon, it was BOGO, so instead of $10 for us both, it was $5 only.
The museum was quite small, taking between 30 mins to an hour to complete, but for $2.50 USD per person with the coupon, it was well worth it.
It was really interesting to learn about the history of the town. As I said earlier, Frankenmuth is was historical German town. It started off with, I believe, 15 German immigrants who came to Frankenmuth in 1845; seemingly right after WW2.
They built up the town from nothing, adding a general store, social center, a tin shop, brewery, and so much more. They had a variety of spices and beer brewing ingredients on display that you could smell, as well as a model home display.
In the museum, there was also an exhibit where you could listen to some of the stories of these 15 settlers and their families. I listened to the story of Leonard Heine, a 3rd generation German immigrant whose Grandparents emigrated to Frankenmuth in 1854.
A lot of these stories talk about how the wars between Germany and America made them feel caught in the middle of their two cultures. For the younger generation who had been born and raised in America, this land is all they've ever know. For the older generation who could remember life in Germany before the wars though, fighting against their homeland was challenging.
It's really quite fascinating to hear from the people of the past and see the ways they lived.
Nowadays, Frankenmuth has become a tourist attraction that, not only displays German-American history, but has also taken on a Christmas-y identity with Bronner's now being an integral part of the town.
After the museum, we made our way to the fudge store in town, Frankenmuth Fudge Kitchen.
When we visited in 2022, we also went to this fudge store and got some of their dairy free fudge. I think I got the chocolate almond fudge, which I was not a fan of, but forgot that, so we got it again. I also got a dairy free peanut butter fudge which is beyond delicious!
We also used a coupon here which combined their offer of buy 3 get the 4th free with a 10% discount as well. We got 4 fudges and only ended up pay about $28 USD, not bad.
Around this time was when we had to make our way back to the tour bus for the drive back across the border and back home.
Something that really made this trip for me was the hospitality of not just the guide, but the tour bus driver as well. I remember 3 distinct moments that stood out to me.
The first being prior to getting off the bus in Frankenmuth. Our guide went through the bus offering each passenger a reusable bag to use while shopping, completely free of charge. It was such a kind, and unexpected, added bonus.
The second happened around pick up to go home. The bus came to pick us up at 4:45 in Frankenmuth. As we were waiting for the last 2 passengers to board the bus, the man across the aisle from us was coughing. The driver heard this, came right up to him, and offered him some cough drops. Such a kind gesture.
The third and final moment was after the pick up from our last stop at the Birch Run outlet mall. Once we had picked up the rest of the passengers, our guide got on the microphone and announced she had a surprise prize draw for us. Totally unexpected and, I don't believe, it's apart of every tour.
She pulled 2 names out of this little bag she had and 2 passengers won a prize of soap.
It was these 3 moments that solidified the trip for me. Yes traveling to Frankenmuth was wonderful, but what really makes these trips special is the people who make these trips possible.
They took such incredible care of all the passengers, they were so accommodating to everyone's wants and needs, and always kept us in the loop.
Big thank you to Great Canadian holidays and coaches, as well as our driver and guide.
This trip was so much better than the last time we went. By far the best bus experience I've had thus far. Would 100% recommend Great Canadian Holidays & Coaches!
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