The sweet tooth got a workout today!
We were out the door just after 9 this morning following a not so great night of sleep for me (yay anxiety :P). Still a bit sleepy, we headed to the Straßenbahn to head into Bochum where we then got an IC to a locale from early on in our trip: Köln! Thankfully, the train ride was pretty uneventful and we arrived in Köln just after 11. From there, we had a little adventure to find the bus stop to head to our actual destination for the day. Where did we go, you may wonder? The Lindt Chocolate Museum!! We had seen the museum from the water the first time we went to Köln, and since we have these last few days open, we decided to revisit the city so we could check out the museum :) The museum was very neat! You began by getting a piece of chocolate at the start of the “tour”. It went through the history of the Lindt company at the start before going into production. The production sections started at the very beginning with the growing and harvesting of cocoa beans. There were multiple maps showing the regions of the world where Lindt sources their cacao from. There was also a small greenhouse in this area that was set up with tropical plants one would find in the rainforest and other tropical regions.where cacao trees are found. From there, the path of the museum went into the process of shipping the beans, discussing things like travel time for the ships to get from the different areas of the world to the chocolate factories. The section after this was the most interactive, and most delicious. Why was it delicious? It was all about the production of Lindt’s chocolate products. They had all the machines set up in order with accompanying videos showing things like the cacao beans being broken and milled, the addition of sugar and milk powder to liquidize the mixture, and the heating, cooling, and molding processes. In these later stages of production, they actually have an active assembly line in the midst of the exhibit that makes little nibs, and there’s a button here that you can press that causes a robotic arm to pull a nib from the line for you to eat!! It was cool to watch and the chocolate was SO GOOD! Following the “assembly line,” you get to watch Lindt chocolatiers creating some hollow chocolates using molds in shapes, such as a panda or a horse. This area also allowed for you to create your own chocolate bar! There was a sheet you filled out to select the kind of chocolate you wanted to use as a base, and you could add up to 4 additions/toppings to your bar…all for 6€! Brandon and I both made a bar. We’re both dark chocolate fans, so we both used that as a base. I put crushed vanilla beans, crispies, and amaretti cookie pieces in mine. Brandon had vanilla beans, hazelnut, and strawberries. The final parts of the museum went through the marketing of products, displaying posters and signs that have been used in candy stores. There was also a really neat section at the end going through information about ancient peoples and how they used cacao. Overall, a really neat experience! When we finished going through the museum, we had a snack at the Grand Cafe, where they serve a variety of yummy, chocolatey things. Brandon and I shared a triple dish of ice cream, each scoop being a different flavor of chocolate (milk, white, and dark). They were all quite good! Then, we went outside and rode the Ferris wheel that is next to the museum! It was part of our ticket as Brandon had bought a combo ticket with the ride included. Satisfied in soul and tummies, we debated what to do next, but Brandon quickly alleviated that issue by finding us a route to a bookstore where we bought a book from the extensive section of Deutsch als Fremdsprache (German as a foreign language) materials :). By the time we finished there, I was very tired, so we headed back to Hattingen. The ride was, again, mostly uneventful. We got back to the house, said hello to Alina and Peter, then headed downstairs to chill for a little before dinner. I napped (apparently, I was “completely out” and snoring…I’m not convinced lol) while Brandon watched things on his phone. We enjoyed a nice light dinner of bread, meat, and cheese, and then we played a few rounds of a card game we bought Alina and Peter early in our trip called “My English Is Under All Pig” while enjoying the chocolate bars we created! It is baffling to me that we head back to the States in 3 days, but we continue to try making the most of our time! Tomorrow is something really special, but that’s all I’ll say for now…stay tuned, and enjoy the pictures!
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Archives
July 2022
Categories |