Drone Shots of the Frankenmuth Covered Bridge

 I wanted one more chance to play with my drone on Saturday, so I stopped in Frankenmuth.

I know one thing, I'll have to learn that I can go higher with my drone.  If it means I have to trust the auto return feature, so be it.  I do like this shot though.

 One more.  I also need to work on moving more to the center of things.  One of the advantages of a drone is that I can get a shot from almost any angle.

A Brief Stop in Frankenmuth

I didn't make to Fish Point before it got dark, so I couldn't see the snowy owls I was hoping to catch.  My mom wanted to see some Christmas lights, so we headed down to Frankenmuth.

 I decided to stop to get pictures of the covered bridge.

 Across the river, there was this "Peace on Earth" sign.  I loved the way it was lit against the dark.

 Another angle of the bridge.

 Probably my favorite angle of the bridge.

 We headed through the parking lot of Bronner's.  They have some light displays there that rival some of the city light displays.  In fact, I think those cities may get their lights from Bronner's.

 A manger set up.  I thought this was pretty cool.

 Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus.

Another angel.  I tried to get an angle where I could get some of the lights.

The Bavarian Inn

I apologize in advance as I wasn't shooting under ideal conditions.  There may be some fog on the lens.  I also bumped up the ISO's as I didn't have my tripod with me.  So these are probably closer to snapshots than anything.  But I don't remember covering the Bavarian Inn on this blog, so here goes.

 The Bavarian Inn began it's life as the Union Hotel in 1888.  It was renamed "Fischer's Hotel" by Theodore Fischer.  It was Theodore's son that started the all you can eat chicken dinners that Frankenmuth is now known for.  In 1950, the hotel was bought by the Zehnder's (owners of the restaurant across the street).  The above glockenspiel was added later.  Every hour (or half hour), little figures come out, it is pretty cool.

 The restaurant started to fall on hard times in the mid 1950's and there was even talk of closing it.  It was at this point that they decided to remodel the restaurant and give it the look of a German building.  It was the Zehnders that encouraged other businesses to give Frankenmuth it's current look.

 Another angle of the clock tower.  I wish it weren't so cold.

 I believe this is a tourist information center.

An attempt at an overall view of the restaurant.  I'm gonna have to come back here in the daylight for some better pics.

Zehnder's Snowfest

After my uncle's birthday party, my mom and I decided to head over to Frankenmuth to hopefully catch some of the snow sculptures there.  This is the 21st Snow Festival.  It is kind of nice to see towns put on things like this instead of the typical things many towns do.

 I would have taken more pictures but it was getting close to single digit temperatures.  What I did see was pretty cool though.  This was one of the high school displays.  I think it is supposed to be a dragon.

 A castle.

 This was one of my favorites.

 This one was pretty cool too.  It was done by Bay City Central.

 A closeup of his face.  Although there's not a terrible amount of detail.

 Then I moved over to what I presumed was the adult section.  These were even cooler.  A pair of seals.

 Given that this is a train, it attracted me. 

 I really liked this one.  It is amazing what kind of detail they can do with this.

 A bear and a tree.

 A hummingbird.

A snow replica of the glockenspiel.  I'll have to admit this one is pretty cool too.

The Frankenmuth Covered Bridge

Since I was already in Frankenmuth and I saw the other bridges that day, I figured I might as well take some shots of the Bridge in Frankenmuth as well.

 This one is pretty cool because it was constructed using old world techniques but it is not as cool as soon a bridge that is actually over 100 years old.

 Well this bridge is now over 30 years old, so I guess it can count as old.

But it is pretty neat all lit up.

Bronner's Christmas Wonderland

Since it was on the way back to her place, my mom wanted to stop at Bronner's in Frankenmuth.

 If you like Christmas light displays, it is definately a place to stop.  It is billed as the World's Largest Christmas Store.  If you are looking Christmas decorations and can't find them here, you likely aren't going to find them.

 It is rumored that the electric bill runs about $900/day.  And the displays contain roughly 100,000 lights.

 The business itself was established in 1945 by Wally Bronner.  You can see signs advertising for it as far away as Florida.

 The founder was a devout Lutheran, so there is an emphasis on the Nativity.

 The drive around is pretty cool at night.

One more shot of Santa with the frame outlining it.

Frankenmuth at Night

Then we decided to head down to Frankenmuth.  I was hoping to see some Christmas Lights.

 Frankenmuth is a community to the southeast of Bay City that was settled by German immigrants.  Many of the buildings show their German roots.  The building above is dedicated to the author of the song Silent Night.  It is a replica of the same chapel in Salzburg, Germany.  And it was built in 1992.

 Around the grounds are the lyrics to Silent Night in serveral different languages.  It is a pretty cool looking building.

 There is a manger scene in the front.

 And it wouldn't be right without some sort of angel.

 One of the cooler things in Frankenmuth is the covered bridge.  Construction began in 1979 and it was built using old world methods.  Instead of nails, wooden pegs were used.

 After the bridge was constructed, it was pulled across the river using a team of oxen at a rate of 3 inches per minute.

 The bridge was dedicated in September of 1980.  Like I said, it is pretty cool and this might be a prelude of things to come on this blog.

 Another angle of the bridge.

 Then I went over to another place, to get a picture of it across the river.

And one more picture of it.  I really like the reflections on the water.

Frankenmuth for the Holidays

Frankenmuth is a little town to the east of Saginaw.  It was originally settled in 1845 by Lutheran settlers from Franconia which is now a part of Bavaria.  It still has a fairly large Germanic population and keeps it's German flair.

I decided to stop by there on the way home tonight because it usally looks pretty cool during the Holiday Season.

 This is a covered bridge that was built in 1979 using old techniques in the construction.  I vaguely remember when it was completed because there was a picture in the Bay City Times showing it getting pulled across the river using horses.  I think it looks pretty cool all lit up.

 A shot of the bridge from another bridge.  I kind of liked the reflection of the lights in the water.

 And I think this is a better shot and it shows almost the full length.

 They had these over the bridge that I was standing on.  I kind of liked the effect.  I wish I would have gotten more of the length, but it was cold out.

 They have various Christmas themed lights around the area.  This one is a chorus.

 They also have horse rides around the town.  I wish it were a little brighter because this looked pretty cool in person.  Unfortunately, I couldn't slow down the shutter speed enough to get it brighter.

 There are also some decorations across the river.

 And of course, a manger.

 This is the Bavarian Inn and I think it's been around forever.

 A glockenspiel.  It's pretty cool to hear it when it goes off.

And the famous Zehnder's Restaurant.  This is another restaurant that has been around forever.  They are famous for their all you can eat chicken dinners.  But if chicken is not your thing, they have other German dishes.  The food is pretty good too.  In the basement, they have a little store where they sell baked goods and other things.

Down the road from the main part of Frankenmuth is Bronner's.  It is probably the largest Christmas store in the world.  I'll probably take pictures of it next time I'm in the area as I was still recovering from the cold when I passed it.