Austria trip day twelve
Today was the twelfth day. "Twelfth" is really hard to spell if you think about it instead of just typing it.
We left the rental house in Gmunden today and drove to Velden by way of the Hallein salt mine.
No photography was allowed in the salt mine. I wish it had been, because the mine was damn photogenic.
To prepare to go into the mine, we left our bags in a locker and put on blue jumpsuits with reflective material around the ankles and wrists. I looked stupid in mine, but everyone else looked stupid in theirs. We were all on an equal level of unattractiveness.
Getting into the interesting part of the mine required taking a rail car--almost a mine cart--for a few minutes. I have no idea how deep in the mountain we were, but it was pretty deep. The further into the mountain we got, the colder the air around us was. The tunnel was narrow and egg-shaped (narrow on top) and if you leaned too far out of the car, you hit your head or your elbow on the walls.
The rail car made me think of two things. The first was that part in The Hobbit where Bilbo and co. are sneaking around the tunnels in the mountain and trying not to disturb Smaug. The second was that if the car broke down or the mine lost electricity, we were completely and utterly fucked. A mine emergency is not something you can get out of in a hurry. You're pretty much stuck down there. That was not a pleasant thought.
Aside from that second thought, though, I enjoyed the Hallein salt mine quite a bit. We got to look at a three-dimensional model of the mine shafts, mining equipment from various centuries (including the Reichenbach Pump, which moved brine for more than 100 years without breaking down), interactive screens talking about the properties of salt, and a bunch of videos talking about how modern salt mining works. There was an audio guide. I do not like audio guides. They make me want to spray rubbing alcohol all over the side of my head.
The best part of the mine was the subterranean lake. Salt is mined by pumping spring water into narrow mineshafts far underground, waiting a few years, and then pumping the brine back out to dehydrate it. This process creates a big chamber at the bottom of the shaft with a bunch of water in it. I don't know if the lake was one of those or if it was just a subterranean lake, but either way it was far out.
The water was so smooth and clear that mom and dad and I had a whole argument over whether there was water in the lake or if it was just a pit covered in glass.
At least a couple of potential works of fiction stirred in my head under that mountain.
There was a light show over the lake and a funicular partway up to the surface and then another rail car the rest of the way up.
After we got out of the salt mine, I bought some rocks. Then we drove for another hour. I slept for most of it. Isaac counted cow pastures.
We had drinks and weird pudding-filled cookies at a rest stop somewhere between Hallein and Velden, and then arrived in Velden about half an hour later.
The hotel we're staying in and dad is speaking in is called the Falkensteiner. We're in a suite at the top floor and it is ridiculously nice. The ceilings are slanted. The master bathroom has a separate room for the toilet. There is wainscoting up past my knees.
Everything is some shade of off-white or brown. The drinks in the mini-fridge are included in the bill.
I am sleeping on the couch.
We had dinner at a restaurant called Marietta's. One of the waiters who served us had the restaurant's logo bleached into his hair. I've noticed several people with things shaved or bleached into their hair here.
I had pasta for dinner and ice cream with raspberry sauce for dessert.
I feel surprisingly attractive considering that my face is reacting very strongly to the hormones I'm experiencing right now. I feel kind of awful otherwise (had a panic attack last night), but I'm just going to ignore that and keep writing things until the shitty feelings go away. It's probably not going to work, but a distraction is a good place to start.
I want to go home.
I wouldn't be writing these any more, because nobody seems to care very much, but I want to remember things and this is a good way to remember.
We left the rental house in Gmunden today and drove to Velden by way of the Hallein salt mine.
No photography was allowed in the salt mine. I wish it had been, because the mine was damn photogenic.
To prepare to go into the mine, we left our bags in a locker and put on blue jumpsuits with reflective material around the ankles and wrists. I looked stupid in mine, but everyone else looked stupid in theirs. We were all on an equal level of unattractiveness.
Getting into the interesting part of the mine required taking a rail car--almost a mine cart--for a few minutes. I have no idea how deep in the mountain we were, but it was pretty deep. The further into the mountain we got, the colder the air around us was. The tunnel was narrow and egg-shaped (narrow on top) and if you leaned too far out of the car, you hit your head or your elbow on the walls.
The rail car made me think of two things. The first was that part in The Hobbit where Bilbo and co. are sneaking around the tunnels in the mountain and trying not to disturb Smaug. The second was that if the car broke down or the mine lost electricity, we were completely and utterly fucked. A mine emergency is not something you can get out of in a hurry. You're pretty much stuck down there. That was not a pleasant thought.
Aside from that second thought, though, I enjoyed the Hallein salt mine quite a bit. We got to look at a three-dimensional model of the mine shafts, mining equipment from various centuries (including the Reichenbach Pump, which moved brine for more than 100 years without breaking down), interactive screens talking about the properties of salt, and a bunch of videos talking about how modern salt mining works. There was an audio guide. I do not like audio guides. They make me want to spray rubbing alcohol all over the side of my head.
The best part of the mine was the subterranean lake. Salt is mined by pumping spring water into narrow mineshafts far underground, waiting a few years, and then pumping the brine back out to dehydrate it. This process creates a big chamber at the bottom of the shaft with a bunch of water in it. I don't know if the lake was one of those or if it was just a subterranean lake, but either way it was far out.
The water was so smooth and clear that mom and dad and I had a whole argument over whether there was water in the lake or if it was just a pit covered in glass.
At least a couple of potential works of fiction stirred in my head under that mountain.
There was a light show over the lake and a funicular partway up to the surface and then another rail car the rest of the way up.
After we got out of the salt mine, I bought some rocks. Then we drove for another hour. I slept for most of it. Isaac counted cow pastures.
We had drinks and weird pudding-filled cookies at a rest stop somewhere between Hallein and Velden, and then arrived in Velden about half an hour later.
The hotel we're staying in and dad is speaking in is called the Falkensteiner. We're in a suite at the top floor and it is ridiculously nice. The ceilings are slanted. The master bathroom has a separate room for the toilet. There is wainscoting up past my knees.
Everything is some shade of off-white or brown. The drinks in the mini-fridge are included in the bill.
I am sleeping on the couch.
We had dinner at a restaurant called Marietta's. One of the waiters who served us had the restaurant's logo bleached into his hair. I've noticed several people with things shaved or bleached into their hair here.
I had pasta for dinner and ice cream with raspberry sauce for dessert.
I feel surprisingly attractive considering that my face is reacting very strongly to the hormones I'm experiencing right now. I feel kind of awful otherwise (had a panic attack last night), but I'm just going to ignore that and keep writing things until the shitty feelings go away. It's probably not going to work, but a distraction is a good place to start.
I want to go home.
I wouldn't be writing these any more, because nobody seems to care very much, but I want to remember things and this is a good way to remember.