I toured the Chocoversum in Hamburg and explored Lübeck with friends almost a month ago (where has the time gone?!). They were both great fun, so let’s get to it!
After our language exam Friday morning, our fearless USAC leaders took us on a field trip to the Chocoversum, which is basically a museum about chocolate. Lemme tell ya, this chocoholic sure got her fix. Our guide led us through the production process from cacao beans to süßes Gold (sweet gold) in 90-minutes with no shortage of taste-testing. We learned where the beans grow, how they’re harvested, roasted and produced into the irresistible goodness we all love (and if you don’t love chocolate… I’m sorry). We also made our own chocolate bars! I chose dark chocolate for my base, and I added raisins, dark chocolate chips, coconut flakes and a hint of salt. While there, I could not stop thinking about All These Things I’ve Done by Gabrielle Zevin, which is about the daughter of a deceased mob boss, in a not-so-distant future where substances such as chocolate and caffeine are illegal. I highly recommend it!
In my last post, I had mentioned how a trip isn’t a trip without some transportation mishap. That definitely rang true for us on our day trip to Lübeck on Saturday. We… got off at the wrong train station. Because we’re goofballs. It was the stop right before the one we were supposed to get off (aka the Hauptbahnhof, or main train station). After weighing our options (walking an hour or waiting an hour for the next train), we decided to walk. Luckily, it was a beautiful day, and we found a bus stop after walking for about 20 or so minutes. Finally, we made it to our original destination and the exploring could begin.
My friends, Lindsay and Colette, and I didn’t do much for a first few hours we were there. We were waiting for the second half of our group, who had taken a later train. (They also had train mishaps that didn’t involve getting off at the wrong stop but it all worked out.) We really had nothing our itinerary other than exploring. We stopped for breakfast pastries at a bakery, walked around, and had lunch at Peter Pane.
Once the whole gang was together, we toured Museum Holstentor, which is located inside the old city gate. The set-up of the museum was so cool! Many narrow, spiral staircases were climbed. There were nine rooms on three levels, organized by various themes, such as trade, the gate itself, a model of Lübeck, and legal instruments. The rooms had many interactive options, and I enjoyed looking at the cool things without really knowing what the history was, (because I’m a lazy German student and I didn’t feel like translating every plaque).
Afterwards, we walked along the river, enjoying the beautiful weather, with the goal of eventually finding our way to the Lübeck Dom (cathedral). We walked in the Dom, only to walk right back out, because they were closing. That was a bit of a bummer, but we had already decided to come back another day so that we could go to the beach. We walked back to the city center, went to the Rathaus and to the marzipan shop, which is what Lübeck is famous for. It seems like most people have strong feelings about marzipan – either you love it or you hate it – but I think I fall in the middle. I bought a small box of chocolate-covered marzipan, and it was pretty yummy.
All in all, a good weekend of chocolate and marzipan.
