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.

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