Maestrani's Chocolate Factory

Maestrani's Chocolate Factory

Switzerland is known for their master chocolatiers. With so many chocolate factories to choose from we had to choose one. Instead of doing the adult thing, we found that customizing the trip for teenage kids results in more buy in. We dedicated half a day to the chocolate factory.

To get there wasn't that simple, but not that hard either. We took the SBB to St. Gallen's, but stopped at Uzwill and caught the 741 to the Maestrani's Chocolate Factory. When we got on the bus I asked the bus driver if she would let us know. She said she would, but there was actually a stop that said Maestraini's Chocolate Factory. It took us about 1.5 hours to get to the Chocolate Factory from Zürich.

I read that it only cost 20 CHF for admission, but when we arrived I saw that it cost 34 CHF. There goes my research. We had to watch a movie, the good thing was that it had English subtitles. They speak a German-Swiss dialect in parts of Switzerland. If anything, that is actually a good thing since we know a few German words. It is easier to get around once you know what the signs mean. The video was good! I learned that the swiss milk is what makes the milk chocolate and that the butter creates that melt in your mouth taste. After the video, the screen went up and the door open to a magical world of chocolate. It was more museum information. There was this one exhibit where they had sample liquid chocolate. It was so addicting. You grab a spoon and chocolate comes out. You go as many times as possible which I did. We couldn't take video of the operations, so that kinda sucked, but then again nothing was really going on that day since Christmas Eve was a day away.

The best part of the museum was the make your own chocolate bar. It was 10 CHF to make. You could put your own toppings and slide it into a chiller. While waiting for the chocolate bar to cool, we sat down and looked out of the window to see the beautiful swiss country side. This is what I imagine what Switzerland looked like random houses scattered on the hillside.

After the museum we caught the 741 back to the train station and headed off to St. Gallen. Supposedly, there is a nice Christmas Market there.