The Candystore

Last week I went into the same candystore I treat myself with a couple of times every year. Already long before I entered the shop I had been thinking about what to choose, and the possibilities seemed to be endless. The shelves were overfilled with boxes and jars, and I also knew that there were even more hidden behind the counter. So let's see, how would I go about this then? How on earth should I be able to narrow down my choices and stay within the limits?

Here in this shop you could simply find sweets and treats to suit any taste. First you have your plain sweet drops - solid, colourful and with fruity flavours. Hm, should I go for them? And if I did, would I be able to let them slowly dissolve in my mouth or would I rather as usual chew them too quickly? On the same shelf the shopkeeper displayed a jar of this standard hardboiled kind, but with a new exotic flavour. Tempting, I must say.

There were also a couple of boxes with some kind of chewy caramel. Original. Original, but with a chocolate coating. Original with a mint swirl. And strawberry chewy caramel. And a few more different varieties I even can't remember, but what they all have in common is that they always tend to get stuck in my teeth. Out of the question.

Liquorice? Isn't that good? Sweet or salty, then? The small Dutch figureshaped ones, or maybe soft liquoricesticks? But even in some of the sticks they have put different fillings, just to make it harder to choose. I think lemon is my favourite. Or mint? Lemon? Heck, I think I'll just skip the liquorice...

Oooh, and then we'll have the chocolate... I could go on for ever talking about this utmost refined cocoabeanproduct. Everything from the light, milky type to the darkest and richest. Now recently there have been a lot of discussions around regarding these purest of chocolates, and I think some of the conclusions are promising - dark chocolate might actually be good for you! Almost healthy... Another nice thing about a bar of chocolate, is that you could break it up and share with friends. If your lucky they might offer something else in return, from their own bag of sweets.

Lollipops are nice too. Fun and easy. And with a lot of different flavours too. (The stick also gives you a chance to take it out of your mouth for a while if you find it too much.)

But what about all this wrapping? Some sweets are all covered up in brightlycoloured paper or tinfoil, or both, that sometimes is just downright impossible to get off. And worse - if you do manage to unwrap it, you might get dissapointed finding out that you didn't get what you thought you were going to get.

When I came in to the store, one of my choices was more or less obvious, but what about the rest? Should I go for something similar, or should I be brave and try out something completely different as a contrast? And what if I don't like them? Is it OK to take a little bite, and then spit it out and ask for a refund? Or could I choose something else?

Did I tell you what this shopkeeper insists on as well? No? Well, he has this rule that you can only buy what you can reach without help. He won't bring anything down from the shelves that are too high up for you. So some of those delicious treats won't be mine if I don't grow a little. But perhaps that's only fair, it's probably good to have something to reach for.

I will probably not be shopping here for ever, but for now I find that the University of Bergen has got what I need to satisfy my sweet tooth.