Let's get excited

Chocolate mine!

For chocolate. Went to Ritter Sport store/mini-museum/mini-factory in Berlin with Maggie and Ann (?). They have chocolate. And an area where you can customize your own chocolate bar.

Actually wasn't all that easy finding the place, as the Germans number their houses/streets a bit differently -- sometimes. Did I already mention this too? Too bad.

One side of street might be 35, 36, 37 ... while the other is 113, 112, 111. Just for kicks. Lack of German efficiency.

So if you are looking for, say, No. 50, and you are at no. 16, you might keep walking and looking on same side of street, never suspecting that 50 might be right across the street. Really, had it not been for a big "looking for Ritter Sport place? turn around, jackass, and go back the other way" sign, I probably never would have gotten there.

OK, that's not exactly how it was worded, but pretty much. Actually, it had a curved arrow. Line points up, then curves to left, then curves back down. Kind of like a u-turn sign. Wasn't clear what it wanted me to do, but Europe has to have signs like this because they use arrow-up and arrow-down signs almost interchangeably for "straight ahead."

I felt like a stick man in peril.

Anyway, I finally found the place and met up with the peeps. You tell the chocoartists behind the counter what you want. They mix the ingredients and then get chocolate out of a magical, continuously flowing faucet. It's amazing. And I'd share a pic if not for the whole iphone in rice thing. More on that later.

Then they bake it. Or fridge it? I don't even know. And send you off to see their little museum, which is kind of fun/interesting. With the ridiculous song, "Let's get excited" playing over and over and over. I just spent 40 minutes looking for it online. Can't find it -- which might be for the best.

Though it seems it was composed by a dude named Christian Wildermuth, especially for Ritter Sport. So there.

Maybe he has a "compose your own jingle in 40 minutes" stand that Ritter Sport used? I could have written that tune in 40 minutes ...

Anyway, then you get your chocolate. I had two bars. One dark, one milk. They had stuff in them. Rice Krispie-type things, chocolate chips, yogurt chips, almond-type stuff ... and more! But no gummy bears. Somehow resisted.

The bar I thought was more "normal" tasted odder than the "wackier" one -- which clearly says something about my tastes. Of course, Ritter Sport never has been my fave chocolate, but still groovy.

Here's some dude's video of his own chocomaking.

Also stocked up on souvenir chocolate in the gift shop. And was all set. Then Maggie found some crazy deal on mini chocolates. Damn checkout line temptations! So got some of those, ate too many, managed to pawn 'em off on family later.

Suckers. Had to eat free chocolate. [play Nelson "ha-ha" sound clip here]