Issue link: http://frankenmuthcvb.uberflip.com/i/1194654
Our Fourth in Frankenmuth C H R I S T M A S M E M O R I E S I N L IT T L E B AVA R I A A S TO RY S U B M IT T E D BY A FA N O F F R A N K E N M U T H, O A K L E Y H A L L L ast December, my mom, my two-year-old and I visited Frankenmuth, Michigan, to kick off the Christmas season with Bavarian charm. Though it was just our trio meeting up in Michigan, the trip turned out to be more of a four-generation vacation. Frankenmuth appealed to us because like our family, Frankenmuth has German roots, and, in our eyes, no other culture makes Christmas more magical. My mom's mother, who I've always known as Oma, was half German by ancestry. Oma and my mom actually lived in Germany, just outside the state of Bavaria when my grandfather was stationed at a US Army base in Mannheim in the early '70s. Though neither of them gained fluency in German, they learned a few phrases. When I was a kid, my mom with her cheeky sense of humor taught me, "Ein mehr bier, bitte," which means "one more beer, please." Oma taught me: handschuh, which is pronounced something like "hand-shoe." I thought it was hilarious because it means "glove"—a shoe for your hand! Oma meant the world to me. She held me the day I was born. When I was grown, she was the first person my husband and I told when we got engaged. A few years later, she was the first we told that we were expecting a baby. I've never seen a greater expression of joy than her face at that moment. She delighted in feeling baby's first kicks, but Oma passed away two months before Lex was born. Two years later, Oma was our fourth in Frankenmuth, in spirit. From the airport to Frankenmuth, two-year-old Lex, my mom and I drove from city to suburb to farmland to Bavarian Christmas in the course of 40 minutes. First signs included decorations adorning a barn, a chapel and a home. With the sun setting, the holiday lights started to take the stage. We continued driving on Main Street through town. "What's that?" Lex asked. Lighted reindeer, giant candy canes, ribbon-wrapped light poles and other decorations surrounded a huge building and made it clear we were on track for holiday spirit. "Bronner's CHRISTmas Wonderland," my mom answered. "We're going to have fun there." As we drove on, architectural details including turrets, spires and exposed wooden beams caught my mom's attention. "Neat, a clock shop. Oh, and here you go, Mom. What did that say, River Place…?" 28