this morning was my favorite company visit- Manner Chocolate!!! we took a bus to the factory and had a short lecture by the CEO of Marketing. it was really interesting. Manner actually has their pink color copyrighted- which is really cool. he talked a lot about the different markets they appeal to, and how they've used their new stores to spread their brand and really associate a certain vibe with manner. as soon as we got to the room, there were plates of chocolate sitting out and then they passed around boxes of different stuff... but there was even more to come!
after the lecture, we put on these white lab coats and hair nets and then set off to explore the plant! it was by the far the best tour of this entire trip. we saw the wafers coming down, cooling, go over our heads and then the hazelnut stuff covered them. then the wafers would be stacked together and come out as this huge thick wafer. our guide picked the whole thing up and we got to break pieces off it to eat! it was seriously like 2 feet wide! it tasted SO good... still hot and fresh. seriously one of the best things i've ever eaten. then we saw the wafers pass along the line, be cut either into strips or round shapes and then be packaged. our guide also took a whole bag off the line and gave that to us too, so we tasted them after they cooled down (still amazing by the way). we also saw the lady's fingers being baked and got to try those. next we saw the tube things with hazelnut in them. they were swirling and beign filled with hazelnut stuff and we got to each pick one right off the conveyer belt. they were still hot! we also got to see the actual chocolate being made. at manner, they start production right with the bean so that their chocolate tastes unique. we saw the beans being roasted and crushed, and got to taste the chocolate before it was refined all the way. we also got to see cookies being baked- their was this HUGE oven and it was so hot in the room.
eventually the tour was over and we went back for questions. we each also got a big bag full of stuff! seriously, best tour ever.
after the tour, we had planned to get lunch at flannagan's, but we were so full from chocolate that we just hit up mcdonalds real quick. then turner, derek and i went to the austrian parliament. we signed up for a group tour but it was just us and one couple so it was pretty much private and it was only 2 euros! we got to see the different chambers where the government people vote, and the old traditional one that they just use for ceremonial things. it was interesting- they can't use that one now because the seats are too small and there isn't any power for laptops and such. pretty cool. we were also in one room that they used for social things and the tour guide told us a lot about the pillars- you could tell which ones were replaced after the city was bombed too, pretty cool. each pillar had marble from a different austrian state.
after the parliament we walked over to the city hall but couldn't find a way to get in. there was this really cool ice skating rink in front but it was wet so it was closed :( after that, we walked in the pouring rain back to the hotel to nap and get ready for dinner.
that night we took a bus outside of vienna to fuhrgassel-huber for dinner. it was this little rustic place and we had our own room! dinner was buffet and SO GOOD. everything was fried! chicken, cheese, cauliflower, mushrooms, potatoes, anything you could think of! i had some really yummy white wine too. they recommended that you mix the wine with the sparkling water and it was so good! after dinner, they came around and sold roses and dan bought one for mrs. fields, it was so funny. they also had 2 musicians who played music, so people got up to dance and it was really funny. overall the night was really fun. after dinner, i picked janine up to carry her out and it was hysterical, overall just a great last night in vienna!
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