Today we went to Hallstatt and a salt mine. That was cool. The scenery was spectacular and totally breathtaking. I must say I was very claustrophobic in the salt mines because we were deep in a mountain. It was very interesting to learn the history of these mines, and to see the oldest European wooden staircase ever found. In the mine we saw videos demonstrating the disturbing working conditions, age range and culture of the enslaved miners in the mines all those years ago. I also got to eat some of the salt right out of the mountain, before cleaning and packaging. There were these miner slides in the mountain that we got to slide down. I got to a speed of over 36 kilometers per hour, which was pretty good for my first time. To get out of the mine, they put us on this super fast train and shot us through this tiny, claustrophobic tunnel, and it was as uncomfortable as it was fun. After the salt mine, my group and I went to a bakery, where I had an espresso and an obnoxious amount of baked goods. They were very good. Corey squared up with an angry swan, and it was the funniest thing I’ve ever seen. Of course, naturally, this whole time we are all speaking perfect German. The Austrians (Paul, Gabriel and Felix) tried to convince us that a stone in the water was very, very important and satanic. So that was quite funny. We found some American Fanta and when the Austrians tried it, they thought it was pretty gross. I also explained how many of the ingredients in Fanta are carcinogenic. We had a very good time drinking our soda and looking out over the beautiful mountainous range. All in all, it was a pretty cool day in my opinion. ~Isiah
