The Chocolate Museum

So this is the second part of our trip to Cologne - The Lindt Chocolate Museum. It's a nice walk along the river from the cathedral and it was fun just to take in the sights of a different city. The part we were in  actually reminded me a little bit of New York City. I'm so excited to be going back to get more delicious chocolates from the store and to take my parents there. They can go walk around the museum while I sit and drink hot cocoa and eat yummy desserts. We didn't get any of said yummy desserts while we were there because we were going to dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe afterwards, but I don't plan on forgoing that pleasure this time. They had some amazing looking stuff that I want to try.

These are molds of the little chocolates they hand out to you when you buy your ticket. They have a production room in the museum that you can watch them being made.

David and I had a discussion on what this thing used to pick up the chocolates to put them on the belt to be wrapped.  We wondered because the logo was on top and it would have to be something that wouldn't screw it up.  I guessed suction and I turned out to be right.  If a chocolate gets left behind it gets dumped into a bin and when there are enough they are recycled through to be remelted and remolded.

This was the chocolate fountain.  The workers dipped wafers into the warm chocolate and handed them out to the visitors.  It was amazing.

How cute is this?  A hot chocolate service set from somewhere in Europe, I forget where.  But I remember reading that because the cups people had for tea didn't have handles they had to put them on the cups used for hot chocolate because it got hotter than the tea, thus the modern day mug was born.  Yet another reason why hot chocolate is better than tea :)

I want that pitcher full of hot cocoa  . . . mmmmmmmmmmm.

I can't remember what origin this is but I know it was in the section geared toward the Incans and Mayans and their contribution to chocolate - mostly growing the cocoa beans and trading them with the Spanish.

One of many old vending machines they had on display.  Could you imagine putting in a coin and getting a piece of chocolate out of this thing?

And the culmination of this trip, the hot chocolate.  I have never tasted anything so decadent and yummy in a glass before.  And it's fresh whipped cream on top, not marshmallows or Cool Whip (although they certainly have their place, don't get me wrong).

So that's a breif rundown of our trip to the chocolate museum.  Like I said earlier, I am so stoked to bring my mom and dad here. Anyone that visits this area I think should go to Cologne.  Not just the cathedral and the museum but walk around and take it all in.  From the small part we were in I knew it was my kind of city.  It just had the feel to that I knew I would absolutely love living there if I ever got a chance.  I hope to find a city like that back home wherever we land.  And I KNOW that it won't be Utah :)