Mmmm…Chocolate!

Cologne is a beautiful city. We took a day trip there on Saturday, and the highlights were seeing and climbing to the top of the famous Dom (the tallest cathedral in Germany, and one of the grandest in Europe), exploring the chocolate museum (Schokoladen Museum)—my favorite!—and wandering down the extensive shopping avenue.  

The Dom tower was definitely a taxing climb, although I do not think it was as long or as claustrophobic  as the climb up the temple in Leipzig during my days in Berlin. However, it was quite scary that there was two-way traffic in the spiraling staircase! Of course, the view from the top was gorgeous, and according to one of my friends, you can even see the Düsseldorf TV tower on a clear day.  

The highlight of the trip for me was the chocolate museum—I love chocolate! In the museum, I learned about how the cocoa bean is grown and harvested, and then how the chocolate is processed and turned into the delicious bars I love so much. Definitely one of the most riveting parts of the display was seeing the actual machines at work producing and wrapping each bar with such precision. And of course, the chocolate fountain with the yummy chocolate-on-wafer free sample! An interesting fact about chocolate history I learned: apparently, when hot chocolate first appeared in social settings in the late 17^th century, it was very much an elite sort of drink, and in Germany, it was drunk in only private settings. On display were numerous intricate little porcelain and china serving cups on saucers—all for hot chocolate! I just think it’s rather funny how hot chocolate has evolved from such a delicacy into a sort of “kids’” drink today, drunk out of Styrofoam cups or really anything around Christmas time and usually just prepared from a powdered package or something!  

The café at the end of the museum had an extremely enticing array of chocolate (and non-chocolate) treats. I indulged and had a slice of rich Schokolade duo-torte cake—a three-layered (?) chocolate cake with a fluffy chocolate mousse layering between each layer of cake. Absolutely delicious, though I still cannot decide whether that cake was better, or the Donauwelle from the bakery in Jülich was better! (Of course, that’s not even counting the authentic, puffy, white Berliner donuts from Berlin…) The gift shop was also an incredible place. So many things made out of chocolate! Keyboards, computer mice, Kölsch beer bottles (Kölsch is the special beer drunk in Cologne, like Düsseldorf’s Altbier), soccer balls, cats, horses, fish—you name it, it was there, in chocolate form! Amongst all the goodies, I selected a white chocolate bar with raspberry yogurt filling, a 70% cacao dark chocolate bar, and a bottle of chocolate liqueur. Not surprisingly, all are delicious!! =D

 The shopping opportunities in Cologne were also immense, although I was too tired to really take advantage of the countless sales in all the stores we passed by. We did stop in a Lego-Land, and I can definitely see why a Legos fan would love that place!  

Sorry this post is a bit brief, but I am going on a sort of retreat with my lab group from Monday to Wednesday somewhere in Belgium (mountains, I think?) for some chemistry presentations and overall lab bonding time. I’ve heard it’s a lot of fun, so I’m rather excited. But I don’t think there will be Internet, so I’m trying to post ahead, and once I return to Germany, my parents will be here visiting me, so not much time then. I’m very excited for their visit, as I can do a decent job, I think, showing them around, now that I’ve settled more into Jülich and gotten more comfortable communicating in German. 

So, until next time! (and hopefully I will have pictures from Bonn, which my parents and I will be seeing on Saturday!)  

About the Pictures: the impressive Dom; a panoramic view of Cologne from atop the Dom tower (too bad it was such a cloudy day!); an array of truffles on sale in the Schokoladen Museum; the chocolate fountain!!