Thinking of salt I'd certainly firstly think of the sea, the coast, the summer
and the sun. But therefor to many times I'd forget that there's also
salt coming from dark places, deep underground, stored in stones for
thousands and millions of years. The kind that really smells like
rocks and you certainly can't mistaken for sugar and accidentally put in
the coffee.
Such salt
comes to us from the mines, and one of the biggest lies in Slanic in
Romania.
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The old industrial building from the years before 1970 when mine was still operating |
The visit is
a really mesmerising experience. By the ticket office you're loaded
on a minibus and taken more than 200 meters underground trough the former transport
tunnels, on a dark ride that lasts for the whole 10 minutes. The
change of the environment is complete. As we were doing this
experience in the summer, we've been hit by the underground cold of
only 12°C. Which can also be referred to as a very pleasant condition in the winter as the temperature is constant
throughout the year.
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the old mining wagons |
Compared to
other mines you might have visited, despite the rough works done until it's closing in 1970, the
walls are smooth and colourful in the changing stripes of black and
white, reminding to the patterns of the zebra.
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the statue of a desk made out of salt |
We've
entered to an enormous hall, long and width, with 10 m in height. The
mining has started in 1853 from the top and you can still see the wooden
balconies and some of the staircases leading around far above the ground.
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main halls with balconies far above the ground |
The air is pure, in fact, one of the clearest air you can find on Earth. Therefor many scientific experiments have been held in this place,
including some nuclear and astronautical ones.
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rescuing equipment from different eras |
It's also
therapeutic, especially for people with respiratory problems who
sometimes spend longer time underground. There are beds and loungers
available for the visitors, and while some occupy little cubicles all
ready for underground camping, you can also enjoy in many sport
activities, such as football, basketball, pool or table tenis, as the
equipment is provided. There are also small shops offering snacks and a terrace with many tables and even television broadcasting the latest news.
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the remaining staircases above sportsfield |
You can
admire exhibitions of old mining equipment, statues made out of salt
or some more modern creations. There are playgrounds for children,
including blow up slide and small go-karts, and little lakes with
flowstones.
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salty flowstones above the lake |
The grand
halls are all connected with each other, with a huge cubicle of
uncarved stone in the middle holding the ceiling, and balconies
leading all around.
After
spending about an hour underground we started getting slightly cold,
or at least way colder than we'd wanted to be on a summer day, so
we've grouped in a line from where the minibus is regularly picking
up people to bring them back above the ground. But of course we
couldn't leave the place without licking the wall and making sure
it's actually salty.
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tasting the wall |
Oh wow what an interesting place to visit! I've never seen a salt mine before!
ReplyDeleteHope that your week is going well :)
Away From Blue
I really understand you couldn't resist licking the wall - to make sure it is salt. It must have been so interesting, thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeletexx from Bavaria/Germany, Rena
www.dressedwithsoul.com
I have never visited a salt mine, this place looks amazing and very interesting. I too would be tempted to lick the wall!
ReplyDeletexoxo
lovely
www.mynameislovely.com
What an interesting place! I wish I had the opportunity to travel around the world and see everything with my own eyes)
ReplyDeletehttp://www.recklessdiary.ru
Looks fantastic What a great day out xoxo Cris
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ReplyDeleteHaha! I love the photo of you tasting the wall - I bet you won't forget that taste for a long time! This was such a fun travel read babe :) Have a great week!
ReplyDeleteaglassofice.com x
Wow this sounds fascinating, but I would be afraid to be that far underground lol.
ReplyDeleteAllie of
www.allienyc.com
This is amazing- I can't believe how big that salt mine is!
ReplyDelete-Ashley
Le Stylo Rouge
It looks like an amazing place to visit! I didn't know that the biggest salt mine in Europe was in Romania.
ReplyDelete