Yes, today, in March 2017, I can safely say that I visited Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory.

Okay, that may be a bit of an exaggeration. Gene Wilder (may he rest in peace) was unfortunately not present, nor was his deliciously purple suit, nor were dozens of green-headed minions who spend too much time in the tanning bed.

Nevertheless, I had my ticket to visit the chocolate factory, and it was FREE. Located an hour away from Fribourg, the city of Broc is not exactly a hopping metropolis. You can do the tour of the town in about ten minutes. But the one thing it does have…is chocolate. And lots of it. Welcome to the Cailler chocolate factory. Normally sporting an entrance fee of 12-15 Swiss francs, the factory opened its doors last Saturday to welcome greedy tourists (like me) to learn about its history, the chocolate-making process, and of course, to taste the chocolate.

The first part was interesting enough, and seeing the machines stab small morsels of goodness was mildly entertaining. But the best part of the experience (did I mention that it was free?) was the end, where an entire line of chocolate was spread out for you to taste. (Did I mention this was free?) Not surprisingly, I proceeded to eat my weight in chocolate, avoiding the white chocolate while going in for seconds on the dark.

I left the factory with nothing in my pocket, but the equivalent of a chocolate bar in my stomach. There’s going to have to be a next time… And when this happens, I’m bringing a purse. Or a coat with deeper pockets.

Besides this magical Roald Dahl adventure, I also took a day trip with some of the other Erasmus students to Schwarzsee. (Don’t even ask me how to pronounce it.) After taking a hike around the Lac Noir, which is rumored to house a vicious dragon, we had a picnic of fondue. This entails dunking chunks of bread into melted cheese mixed with white wine. Not such a bad combination, if you ask me.

Thankfully, I have boxing class, Zumba, and hilly runs to keep the Swiss pounds off. Boxing class, in particular, has been quite an experience. I’d like to think that I’m going to be the next Rocky Balboa, but only time will tell. I can jump rope for a solid two minutes, but the punching bag has yet to budge an inch. Guess I’ll just have to eat more chocolate to bulk up…

À plus dans le bus!