Last week I visited a Nazi prison camp in northwestern Belgium. For the two and a half hour tour, our tour guide took us through the typical day of a prisoner. He treated us as a German SS would have treated a prisoner (minus the physical abuse), and really engrained in me a sorrow for the terrible history here.
Ok, now for a happy impression: chocolate! I also visited a chocolate factory in the southern region of Belgium, and came away from the experience a solid 5 pounds heavier. I'm going to be completely honest with y'all- my Wharton antenna were perked, and I couldn't help but take note of the business aspects of my favorite comfort food. Did you know they purposefully put more sugar into milk and white chocolate to induce consumers' brains to eat more than they want? In other words, buy more than they want. That's why it's healthier and cheaper to buy dark chocolate! Also, chocolate makers changed the packaging for chocolate so you can't properly wrap it up after you've opened it to make you buy more (think of Hershey's). Those sneaky little chocolatiers!
Now I'm off to figure out my classes and plan some more trips around Europe. Tot volgende tijd!
2 comments:
Wow, your visit to the Nazi prison camp really sounds like an eye-opening experience. We learn about it in school and from books, but nothing can compare to a hands-on experience like that. That part of history is so interesting to me, and it seems so unreal that something that gruesome occurred so recently in our history. I am actually visiting Amsterdam in a few weeks and will be visiting the Anne Frank house. I don't know how it will compare to your experience, but I'm sure it will be very moving. On a lighter note, your chocolate visit made my mouth water! One of my favorite parts about traveling is soaking up the food culture.
Your experience at Breendonk sounds horrifying. I wish you'd told us more. I am travelling to Belgium and my husband says he'd like to visit a concentration camp, but now I'm not so sure. I often wonder how I would have fared if I'd been a Jew in WWII. I don't think I could have survived. But one never knows how one will react and summon courage in the face of such brutality. It scares me to even think about being a fictitious prisoner under Nazi rule. I can't imagine the real thing.
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