Kellan and the Chocolate Factory

OK, so it was actually a chocolate museum, but that title was too cute to pass up.

It was very cold in Cologne today; a balmy 23 degrees. But that didn't faze the Jones clan. We ventured out around lunchtime, very layered and very bundled. Goal number one was too get a quick bite before making our way to the chocolate museum. We chose a popular bakery chain here - Merzenich - and had some delicious sandwiches. Mine was turkey on some sort of pumpkin seed baguette with fresh lettuce, tomato, cucumber and some sort of Miracle Whip tasting condiment with fresh herbs. Yum.

Kellan fell asleep while Matt and I ate lunch (K had eaten back at the hotel) and we walked over to the chocolate museum.

The museum is actually on the Rhine, so it was in a beautiful setting. We went in and unbundled, which woke Kellan. We meandered through a section that displayed some in depth info about cocoa and how chocolate is made. This led into a small chocolate factory housed inside of the building that displays the process of how chocolate is made. In this area was the first free chocolate station where a woman was dipping wafers in a huge chocolate fountain and handing them out. These were delicious.

This area had floor to ceiling windows that provided great views of the Rhine, which Kellan enjoyed from every angle.




After taking in the Rhine, we explored the chocolate making process.
Mix cocoa with milk and sugar. Pour into trays. (This machine was vibrating pretty violently so it was hard to get a good shot).  Chocolate hardens and is transported onto a belt.

Trays are flipped so that chocolate falls onto belt. A very intelligent machine picks up chocolate squares and moves them to another belt.

Chocolate pieces are then shuffled into a single file row, wrapped and dropped into a box.

Pretty cool.

After this, Matt explored the rest of the museum and Kellan and I explored the various flights of stairs around the building. Stair practice is a favorite past time of K's these days. We also found a few other free chocolates to sample, too.

We ended our tour in the gift shop where there was every type of chocolate you can imagine.

Chocolate cell phones and lipstick

Many, many delicious truffles

A chocolate cheeseburger

Chocolate beer

And whatever this weird assortment is...(insert raised eyebrow).

This was a great afternoon activity for K, and Matt and I enjoyed ourselves too.

The walk back took us through a really neat area of Cologne that we hadn't seen before with quaint buildings and streets that made us smile.

We ended our day today with some yummy Thai food and a webcam chat with Nana, whom Kellan was very excited to see. Now it's time for some Rotwein and Rosetta Stone. Goodnight!

Gearing Up for Our Move to Germany

Kellan in Liederhosen, a gift from our
awesome friends Neil and Nicole.
Der Junge ist schön.  

Months ago, when I started this blog, I think I mentioned that we would be moving to Germany soon.  While some of you may have thought that was never going to happen (I, myself, was beginning to wonder), it is finally happening!

Quick recap:

Summer 2011: Matt was hired to be a pilot for FedEx and was offered a position in Cologne, Germany.  We accepted a two-year assignment.
Early Fall 2011: Matt quits his job with Booz Allen Hamilton and starts training to fly the 757 for FedEx.
October 2011: I quit my stressful job to be a stay-at-home mom.
November 2011: We sell our house and go to stay with my parents in Tulsa until what we thought would be December 26th.
Early December 2011: We learn we will not be moving until January 13th due to changes in Matt's training schedule.
Early January 2012: We learn we will not be moving until late February due to changes in Matt's training schedule.
About five days ago: We learn we will be leaving for Germany in two weeks, January 22nd.


SO, our airline tickets are booked, as well as two adjoining rooms at the Pullman Hotel, located in the heart of Cologne, where FedEx will be putting us up for about 30 days while we look for a permanent residence.           

The Pullman

Kölner Dom (Cologne Cathedral)

We will be reinventing ourselves to a certain extent over there.  FedEx is footing the bill to ship 1,000lbs of our stuff (which almost covers my shoes) and then providing us with seed money to furnish a new home.  There is the option of getting a furnished rental there, though they are expensive and somewhat hard to come by.  If you get an unfurnished rental, they aren't kidding about the unfurnished part - no fitted kitchen, no light fixtures.  Unfurnished.  That's right, no counters or cabinets, refrigerator or stove.  Hello, IKEA.  I have never gotten to furnish a home from scratch, so I am super excited about this part.  They have some really great flea markets over there, I hear, so I will definitely have fun with that.  Kellan is excited about all of it.  Especially the Liederhosen.

 Kellan is undergoing rigorous training to prepare for a smooth transition into German society.  Tonight, dressed in this traditional German garb, Kellan practiced his various daily activities, including but not limited to:
exploring the cabinets,

running and yelling with delight,

posing nonchalantly,

pushing his fire truck,

running his fingers through his hair (while showing off his adorable little bottom),

 and even throwing a tantrum.

This tantrum was prompted by me removing him from my dad's studio where he was turning all of the electronics on and off. I put him back in the den and closed the baby gate and this was the result.  He's just started to say a few words, that are usually unintelligible, but I'm pretty sure during this second picture he was saying, "You are a horrible woman!  What is wrong with you?!?" then he threw himself on the floor after the photo was snapped.  He found the Liederhosen was very forgiving and flexible for tantrum-induced acrobatics.

He quickly recovered from his tantrum, (I highly recommend the method suggested in The Happiest Toddler on the Block - it works like a charm most of the time).  After the tantrum, he began to experiment more with adding the hat to the outfit.  Unfortunately, it was too small for his 94th percentile head, so I had to add a strap to it.

 After getting comfortable in his Liederhosen, K began to practice traveling to various European countries.  I was able to get a photo of him practicing going to Ireland.

Top 'O the Mornin' to Ya!

10 days to Germany and counting...  WOO HOO!