Fanta

Budapest

I've been going for four weeks now and over that time I've developed an unhealthy obsession with Fanta. Growing up I always just remember plain old orange Fanta. A good soft drink - not quite Irn Bru admittedly - but a fine alternative. Recently they brought in lemon flavour too, which is also very nice.

None of this prepared me for the orgy of Fanta I've experienced over the last month. Every other country in Europe leaves us way behind when it comes to fruity carbonated treats. In Germany the other day I had some very tasty blood orange Fanta, in Sweden there was one that seemed like cherry. But the holy grail on my trip has been the near-mythical Blue Fanta, a sweet taste of melon and possibly lemon, and mysteriously only available in the former Yugoslavia. Hunting through the fridges at Copenhagen station yesterday, trying to spend what little Danish cash I had, I picked up a clear bottle of Fanta. Opening it on the train I discovered to my delight that - yes - it was the same melon-based drink so beloved of the Croats and Bosnians. My happiness was enough to get me all the way through the 28 and a half hour journey down here.

Partly Fanta's dominance is probably due to Coca Cola's stranglehold on most of the emerging markets, and partly because of its history as a drink brought in as a Coke substitute during the Nazi occupation in the 1940s, but I can't help thinking we in the UK are somehow being punished. But what for? Centuries of imperialist empire building? The war in Iraq? David Beckham's haircut? I think we should be told.

(Warning: other soft drinks are available.)