Rolling Traveler

Things to do on a free afternoon in… Cologne, Germany.

If you’re in north-western Germany, in the area called Nordrhein-Westfalen, and you have an afternoon to kill, consider taking a trip to the Cologne Chocolate Museum (Schokolandenmuseum Koeln), a celebration of 3000 years of chocolate. The 15-year old museum is quite accessible, rating a Good. Aiming to enlighten visitors on the history and the production of chocolate, it includes a hothouse with cocoa plants, artifacts from the ancient civilizations that created chocolate, an interactive display of modern and cult chocolate, and even a working production area. It’s not quite Willy Wonka’s Factory, but there’s a lot of fun to be had all the same. I was lucky enough to go with my friend James, a professional chef with friends working in the confectionary industry, which made the trip even more educational, as he had many stories to tell about what we were seeing.

The museum’s accessibility is good, but not great. The approach to the museum is very difficult. If you approach from the main tourist area along the bank of the Rhein, you will have a great view of the river, but a very uncomfortable journey. From the Dom and the main railway station to the river, there are only cobblestoned pathways of the worst kind, with large gaps between the rounded stones. Along the river bank, there are many cobblestoned sections, and even the smooth ones will present problems for manual chairs, as the right-to-left gradient is rather steep. On foot, this takes at least 20 minutes, and the final approach is again rough cobbles, making getting there potentially very tiring.

 Driving is an easier way to get there, but the museum itself has no parking, so they recommend parking at the nearby Rheinauhafen, which offers discounts to museum visitors. There are instructions on the museum web site for driving there, and for public transport options that will get you closer, but there is no information on the accessibility of these.

 (Photographs by James Lockwood)

Once there, there is a gentle ramp up to the doors, and a spacious lobby. Wheelchair users pay €4, and one accompanying person gets in for free. The exhibition areas are all fully accessible. There is a temporary exhibit and permanent culinary exhibit on the ground floor, the latter showing the ingredients for different types of chocolate and even running workshops teaching people how to work with chocolate. The workshop spaces did not look wheelchair friendly, as the work spaces were very narrow, but the counters were low enough. The first floor has the history of chocolate, from the Olmec, Mayans and Aztecs, through its introduction to Europe as a luxury item, to the 20th century mass production. Most of the information is in both German and English, but there is still work to be done in this department. The top floor has a screening room for documentaries, a large collection of old advertisements, and an interactive room with games for kids to try. The games are generally not accessible due to fixed seating in front of them.

 The hothouse and production area are the highlights of the day for me. The hothouse recreates a small section of tropical forest of the sort where cocoa plants grow, and the heat and humidity simulate the real environment. The hothouse has two levels, with uneven paving slabs on the ground floor and a raised catwalk above it. The lower pathway is a semi circle that is a little tight for a motorized chair, but the catwalk is straight, and a better way to view the room, as less people enter this way.

 The production area is fully functional, and produces the samples of chocolate that are handed out with the tickets and in the temporary exhibit area. It is a fascinating view of the process, with, as I said, a hint of Willy Wonka to it. Unfortunately, some of the machinery only has viewing ports on top, too high for a wheelchair user to see into, but they are trying to solve this problem by attaching mirrors above the ports. There is also a good view of the production area from above. The production area contains a large but sadly visually unimpressive chocolate fountain, and a staff member dips waffles into it to hand out to visitors. The fountain is visually unimpressive, but the milk chocolate in it is the point to it being there.

 There is no wheelchair access out onto the roof of the production area, which affords a great view of the Rhine.

 The museum has a wheelchair accessible restroom, and a café and shop, mostly selling Lindt products, as the Swiss company is partnered with the self-funding museum.

 Overall, the Schokoladenmuseum makes for a fun afternoon, rating Very Good as a destination, but only Good for accessibility. Wheelchair users can get a great deal out of the museum, but, as mentioned, the approach is very difficult, not all of the production area is visible, and the roof area is inaccessible. Other than that, there’s still plenty to enjoy.

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