Of Romans and Chocolate

Just got back a few hours ago from Köln, where some friends and I visited the Römisch-Germanisches Museum and the Schokoladen Museum today. For those who haven't been back out there to visit these museums, I highly recommend them! I was so fascinated by all the artifacts the Roman-Germanic museum carries, I somehow spent about 2.5 hours in there without even realizing it (they really have a massive collection of artifacts on display)!

After the Roman-Germanic museum, we headed out for food. I managed to find a burger place called Freddy Schilling that carries gluten free burger buns and, again, I highly recommend this place! Don't worry, they have regular burger buns too and all four of us loved our food.

After eating, we walked over to the Chocolate museum, which is worth seeing as well. I really liked that they had some exhibits that I didn't expect: a small walk-through rainforest to show the environment the cacao plant comes from, displays showing the entire process of how the cacao is harvested and cultivated, ancient Mayan (and other civilizations) artifacts related to chocolate, and extensive information about issues within the chocolate industry, such as deforestation, underpaid workers, and child labor. It was actually very educational! For example, did you know that approximately 75% of people who work in harvesting and processing the raw, unfinished cacao have never tasted the finished product, chocolate bars?

But one of the best parts, in my opinion, was getting to have my own chocolate bar made-to-order (ironic given the previous sentences, I know). I got mine with cashews, hazelnuts, vanilla bean, and ground coffee beans, but there were so many options, it was very hard to choose. At the end, I visited the shop within the museum and bought myself some gourmet chocolate bars and a box of chocolates for my host parents. I was unsure about this, since I've never seen them eating chocolate before. But when I got home and asked them if they like chocolate, my host mom's eyes lit up and she said, "Oh, yes. Chocolate is kind of dangerous for me." She asked if I got any chocolate for myself and I told her about the chocolate bar I had made for me. When I told her what ingredients I put in it, she said "I want to try that one too!" I couldn't help but laugh. I can really see what she means about chocolate being dangerous for her!