Balenberg

Today we visited an outdoor museum called Ballenberg, its all about the olden day Switzerland. It has houses that look like gingerbread and people that look like Heidi from the classic movie: Heidi.

It even has some of the traditional machines and animals from the time of about 1700 to 1900

Here's what we did in Ballenberg

1. Entered and explored the alpine and valley district (trying to find someone baking as the demo finished in 20 minutes. Failed.
2. Tried to find the chocolate making instead. Succeeded.
3. Tasted some exceedingly good chocolate and learned about the chocolate making process.
4. Moved on to the pottery district and watched the guy decorating vases and cups
5. Had a traditional Swiss lunch
6. Fed some baby billy goats
7. Saw a man sculpting wood to make figures, then, dying them.
8. Watched a giant water-wheel powered band saw.
9. Finished off with a trip to the "hands on house" where we practised hammering nails, making scarecrows and sawing wood.

As most people know Swiss chocolate is the most famous in the world because of its supioror quality and really nice finish But it really comes from a white bean or the cocoa bean.

It was interesting because it involved the stages of chocolate

• Drying beans
• Picking pods
• Grinding beans
• Extracting their oil to make cocoa butter
• Stirring the chocolate
• Setting and melting it

For more information watch this video

We had a great time exploring and finding out the secrets of chocolate.
Did you know that chocolate used to be used as money when the Aztecs lived!
But it was time to go and find the pottery before it closed. We tried a caramel sweet before we left. a pot of chocolate goodness stuffed with scrummy caramel.

The chocolate experience was really interesting, I liked it. I think it was the coolest thing I learnt all day.
the pottery wasnt as interesting,because all we saw the man do was make stars with white paint on unfired pottery and talk in German,
The walk to the pottery was quite fun and interesting
here are some pictures,

bunnnies

Drew was compleatly transfixed by the wood carver

I think Drew was thinking about career options.

Then we saw the water-turned-saw that was powered by a hand made aqueduct.
The machines are really complex but its really interesting to trace how they work

Finally, as a nice way to tie everything off we left to the hands on house. The Hands on house is where we do everything for outselves. Nailing floorboards, dressup scarecrows, you can even make your own garden stakes!

Time to head to Bern now
see y'all round
zodo

Me o happy me