The Ritter Sport Chocolate Museum in Waldenbuch, Germany is a neat little place to visit. The museum is really just a small exhibition but it’s free and pretty interesting! If your in the area it’s worth stopping by and checking out.
The Ritter Sport Factory is located across the street but it is not open to the public.
Parking was easy to find, however Mr. B decided to squeeze us into a small spot on the right side of the building where there were only a few spots, we later seen that there is a much larger parking lot to the left of the building. Parking is free as well.
The building to the left has the store on the first floor and the exhibition on the top floor, however the new exhibition was to be opening in a few days and we were told it would be in the building on the left. It was a bit confusing at first trying to find the ‘museum’ because it’s not really one, but instead an exhibition set up. There is an info booth upstairs as well.
We started in the exhibition area where we learned that cocoa is a fruit, who knew?! We found out lots of interesting info about cocoa and how they harvest the beans to make chocolate. I had no idea how large the cocoa pods were that hold the beans.
We even got a free sample of the cocoa beans. Mr. B cracked his open to try them and they sure are bitter, so if you like bitter chocolate you may like them, Bea & I did not.
Bea holding her cocoa beans.
As you stroll down the hall you’ll find information on both sides, some with interactive features. All the signs are in English as well, which was really helpful.
You can see the ingredients for many of the candy bar flavors.
At the end of the hall is a neat display that delivers you a free sample of Ritter Sport Chocolate from the back of a tiny truck! Of course this was hit and there was a small wait of a few mins but it was worth it, we all got one to try.
I also enjoyed looking at all the vintage molds they have used at the factory.
We then went down to check out the store. I knew we wanted to check out the back area which is the overstock and samples section where you can score some great deals. We got several goodies to try and some to send to Boo in his care package. The bars in the back section are only wrapped in a plain white wrapper but were €0.49 compared to €1 in the main store area. I tried the cranberry chocolate which had real cranberries in it. It was yummy.
The overstock section also had bags of candy that you could by for 11,40, it was an assortment of types & flavors.
These were the generic looking bars that are cheaper than the ‘pretty’ looking ones.
They also had Advent calendars out as well.
This is just a few of the flavors available there were MANY to chose from.
Mine was good, although I’m a bit of a chocolate snob and can’t eat a whole lot of this chocolate, but I did like the cranberries in the bar.
The cafe was packed, it was a Saturday, so we skipped trying that.
This is a fun little stop in the area, not something I’d drive there just for but in addition to other things if your not in the local area. We did this after visiting the Technik Museum in Speyer then headed to check into Kelley Barracks and go grab some dinner.
Know Before You Go:
What: Ritter Sport Chocolate Museum in Waldenbuch, Germany.
How To Get There: It’s about 3 hours and 20 mins from Spangdahlem, 2 hours and 20 mins from Ramstein, and 20 minutes from Kelly Barracks in Stuttgart. GPS address: Alfred-Ritter-Strasse 27, 71111 Waldenbuch
When: Always check the website for accurate info as well! Chocolate Exhibition: Monday-Friday from 8 am to 6:30 pm, Saturday 9 am to 6 pm, Sunday 11 am to 6 pm. Chocolate Shop: Monday – Friday 8 am to 6:30 pm, Saturday 9 am to 6 pm, open only on select Sundays & public holidays.
Parking: Was free and fairly easy to find, large parking lot on the left side of the building.
Cost: Free to see the exhibition in the museum. Just bring € for the store and cafe if so desired.
Dogs: Not sure if dogs are allowed, I didn’t see any information on the website and I did not see any on the grounds while we were there.
Traveling with little kids: Strollers are probably not a good idea here, there is not a whole lot of space in the exhibition area and the store, so you may want to bring a sling/carrier.
How long: Plan on at least 1 hour, longer if you stay to eat at the cafe.
Where to find info: Above links, AWAG book.
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