~in a woooooooorld of pure imagination!
One of the
best things ever invented by humans is definitely chocolate. Don’t you agree?
Of course there’s lots of bad chocolate out there (I’m looking at you, Hershey’s),
but there is equally as much absolutely delicious chocolate! Much of it is, of
course, made by Milka.
Now, if you’re from America, you may have never had the pleasure of eating
Milka chocolate, but let me tell you, it’s heaven. With lots and lots of
calories.
I always
enter Milka giveaways and competitions, and so far I’ve been extremely lucky,
if you ask me.
Four boxes of chocolate for the entire family here, even more chocolate over there,
chocolate, chocolate, chocolate.
But then I
won my biggest Milka prize yet: a trip to the Milka chocolate factory!
Just call me Annabel Bucket. (Although, looking at myself, it should probably
be Annabel Gloop…)
The prize
was actually intended for two parents and their small children, but with Milka
being awesome as they are, they told us it was absolutely fine if four adults
went instead. And then they also added an extra day at the hotel, because why
not.
So all in all, the prize included:
-
- The
transportation (plane and train)
-
- The
Hotel (4 stars)
-
- Meals
at the Hotel (5 courses)
-
- A
tour through the chocolate factory (which usually, of course, isn’t open to the
public)
-
- 20€
to spend at the Milka shop
-
- VIP
passes for the chocolate festival
Now,
Austria, as you may know, isn’t very big, but getting from one end (Vienna) to
the other (Bludenz), still takes a few hours, so our day started stupidly early
with a trip to the airport. There, my mum had a tiny freak-out about the size of
the plane, which really wasn’t THAT small. For reasons I am not going to go
into, I did not really enjoy the plane ride, which I could still kick myself
for, because I should have taken pictures! I swear there was a nicer view (and
more mountains) than when we were flying back.
A bit of Innsbruck from above
Innsbruck airport is definitely the smallest airport I’ve ever been to, and I
was also rather surprised when we got off the plane and pretty much just walked
across the runway to the airport building. (Of course my sister and I were
quoting Cabin Pressure along the way. Thankfully we were not charged for not
wearing safety vests ;) )
People got off the plane and just kind of wandered around
Such a nice looking plane :D
Then, taking a bus to the city centre, we got on a train and after two hours, arrived
in Bludenz, where an Italian guy, who always looked in a hurry, picked us up
and dropped us off at the hotel.
During the flight, the train ride and...pretty much at all times, I was reminded why our national anthem says we're the country of mountains...so true!
My sister and I were sharing the hotel room, and for once I didn't accidentally try to kick her out of the bed during the night! :)))
There were two Milka bags waiting for us...
...filled to the brim with deliciousness!
Our spacious balcony...
...with a nice view of the surrounding mountains.
Early next
morning, our group got picked up and brought to the factory. My sister and I
got to drive in a Mini Cooper Cabrio, because there wasn’t any space left in
the bigger cars :D
The entrance to the Lädele chocolate shop, at the front of the factory.
Inside the
factory, we first had to walk all the way up to the topmost floor, where we got
a little safety lecture and were told about the history this particular factory
(which was built in 1890…ish…I really
can’t remember the exact date).
And then came the fun moment where all of us donned our new chic outfits, complete
with a beard net for the men, and a red hair net so our guide could always find
us in the mass of white, blue and yellow hair nets.
Fabulous!
Our first
stop was at a table, laid out with the different stages of chocolate, and a
small chocolate fountain, where we could dip in as many Oreos and wafers as we
wanted.
If you ever wanted to know what the Oreos in the big Oreo chocolate bars look like. I actually didn't think that they'd have the Oreo design on top, because it's not like you get to see it, when it's covered in chocolate...
Cameras were sadly not allowed beyond that point, but the machines were
amaaaazing! And we got even more chocolate to eat during the tour. Someone
asked our guide if the workers were allowed to eat chocolate, and the answer
was: yes, as long as you eat it inside the factory, you may eat as much
chocolate (or cookies, nuts, etc.) as you want! Of course, if you’re around
that much chocolate the entire day, I guess you’ll soon lose your appetite for
it, but still, just imagining it…*-*
The tour
ended at the Milka Lädele, the shop at the front of the factory, which also has a walk through in the back, with a life sized Milka cow!
After
waiting for everyone to complete their purchases, our guide took us through the
chocolate festival, to the VIP area. I have to admit, it wasn’t really my cup
of hot chocolate, mostly because I’m not a huge fan of sand (it had a beach
theme) and definitely not a fan of so.much.SUN. Who thought having a chocolate
festival in the middle of summer was a good idea?
Purple, everywhere~!
THIS is how it's supposed to be done. Not tiny, little bites, but entire bars! :D
Such a nice purple, really~
We returned
to our hotel not long after, where I just lazed about for the rest of the day,
and enjoyed the absolutely amazing shower (which I really wanted to take with
me D: ).
We flew back
home on the next day, and this time, I actually took some pictures!
Just so you can imagine the size of the Innsbruck airport: here we are waiting at our gate, looking in one direction...where you can see the street in front of the airport.And if you turn the other way...
...you can see the runway! :D
Our on board food! Isn't it adorable?
I also realised that I should study Austria's geography a bit, maybe...because I have absolutely no idea which lakes those are...
Nearly there!
Aaaand touchdown Vienna!
