The salt mines are in a little town called Hallein a few train stops away from
So instead of waiting two hours for the next bus to come we decided to walk. Once we made it out of town to the rode that was to lead us up the mountain we found a sign that said 4 km and at that point in time we had probably already walked 1. We began the trek up anyways, thinking this can’t be that bad. It wasn’t that bad, but we tried to hitch-hike t
he entire way up. Believe it or not no one wants to pick up a group of 6 college aged kids and take them a few kilometers. To our surprise the salt mines were only 3 km up not 4!
Before starting our tour they made
us dress in these silly outfits claiming it was so we didn’t get dirty while in the mines. I, however, believe it was just so the staff could have something to laugh at. We rode a train into the mountain, slid down slides to get to different levels of the mine, rode across an underground lake in a wooden raft (the whole scene could have been from Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter) and we traveled into
One of the coolest parts of the tour was our tour guide herself. She started the tour off in German and says, “Mein Englisch ist schleck. Ich werde in Deutsch sprechen.” My English is bad and I’m going to speak in German. And it was, the entire tour was in German. I think it made the experience more authentic. When I come back here I’m going to do everything in German even if I don’t understand a thing. It was awesome to hear the tour in the original language it was suppose to be spoken in. Overall, a great day. And if you were wondering we caught the bus back down, so we didn’t have to walk back down.
This was very interesting to read about -- we forget that salt was absolutely essential in the era before electricity and refrigeration! I think it's funny that they made you "wear white" in the salt mine -- how could you tell the salt from the dirt...? From the standpoint of the human body, it's interesting that our blood salt concentration isn't all that different from sea water -- it is an essential ingredient for life! Salt near the ocean was an easy commodity -- but inland at the foothills of the Alps, it's wasn't so easy to find!
ReplyDeleteYour experience with German immersion is/was also provocative. Imagine what it must have been like for your great-grandparents to be innundated in a culture of American English in Oklahoma -- and rarely getting to take a break or "language vacation" to speak more relaxed (and sophisticatedly) in their native language.
When our family settled in Pottawatomie County, there were virtually no other German-speaking people -- and the closest "German settlements" were in Oklahoma City. Family gatherings with German speakers were prized events -- but these were few and far between. Yes, they had to learn "fast English" (my grandmother was fond of saying) -- but I certainly admire their strength and resilience (along with having to make a living and survive in the New World).
Today, it is Thanksgiving in the United States. I have full hospital duty during the long weekend. We have so much to be thankful for -- not the least of which is good health, ability to trzvel, capacity to learn, and wonderful friends and family upon which to weave our own stories and memories! My grandmother's favorite holiday was Thanksgiving -- she said that it was all about eating (she was a great cook) and less about talking (her English and German were limited by a fifth grade education). While this holiday is not celebrated in the same fashion in Europe -- joy and gratitude are at the core of your experience in Salzburg! You were there on November 9, 2009 -- the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Iron Curtain! That will always be yours! Your hope and enthusiasm during your grand adventure is the fuel for a better future throughout the world! It's not just words -- there is strength and peace in knowing others across this big blue planet!
Salt mines -- well, I'm so glad that you went. And while it may not be as exotic as the shopping districts of Potsdam or Kurfurstendamm, we can't have one without the other!
Best wishes and Happy Thanksgiving from Denver in a welcome mid-November thaw! Ben