Czech Republic Trip 2014

Greetings from Poland, where the climate is wonderful and the prices aren't outlandishly ridiculous! My Polish adventures began with some rain, and, for those of you who know me, I, absolutely, love the rain. I guess I shouldn't say "some rain;" it was, really, a deluge. But, before we crossed the border to Poland, we started a different adventure in the industrial center known as Ostrava. Ostrava is a city in the Czech Republic, about an hour east of Olomouc. Basically, it is between Olomouc and the border of Poland. Naturally, the opportunity presented itself to us where we could stop off there along the way. The particular spot in Ostrava that we visited was once a fully-operational iron factory. It still operates, but some of the equipment/buildings are shut down, and let us just say that it is not what it once was. It is a shame because that factory must have been a beauty back in its prime. The place is called Vitcovice, and, as a rule, we needed to equip ourselves with some basic protection before we could go tour the grounds (Protection being a hardhat, and hey, it was yellow!). Once we were all set, and our tour guide arrived, we left the admissions building and began our tour. The grounds may be used, largely, as a museum, but that did not diminish its beauty or attractive nature in any way. Right away, we saw four huge pipes that ran into the sky. We also saw a metal construction that was used as a gas cleaner. Because I am no expert in this field, and, in part, because I forgot most of what she said, I can, only, remember bits and pieces of what she said. (We had a lot of stuff today, so I am going to forget some key facts) She said that compressed air would be brought into those pipes and heated to about 1,500 degrees of Celsius. Gas was a main component of the process as well, but, at this point in my night, I have not the mental capacity to try and remember all of the necessary steps of the procedure. After the imposing metal constructions, we saw a giant slab of metal hanging by about 100 iron cables. It's name in Czech translated to something along the lines of the Phoenix, as in the Phoenix rising again from the ashes. That iron slab was big, and, needless to say, we all felt a bit uneasy walking underneath of it. We were told that the process of making iron involved three key ingredients: Iron ore, limestone, and burnt coal, or coke, I believe she said. Thus, we saw the coke cases. It was a horizontal construct that held 36 cases. Each case was very long, but very narrow. We, also, saw the steel cart, "Veronika." Back in the day, this cart would collect the molten iron after it had been "cooked" in the oven. They must have loved her a great deal to bestow a name upon her. As if the heavy iron plate suspended over our heads wasn't intimidating enough, we, then, had to ride a lift to the top of a steel trap. We were going to see the oven where the materials were "cooked," but we had to take the lift first. While it was good to see the plant, the city, and the smog from a higher altitude, if you are afraid of heights, then that trip was not the right one for you. I am not sure how far above the ground we were, but, basically, we were a long way up. When we got to the oven, we had to wait for other groups to get their fill of knowledge of the place. Inside, I found a withered, destroyed looking eggshell of a once beautiful construct. Every ten years, they had to rebuild these ovens because of the major wear and tear. The government shut down most of that plant and turned it into what it is today, for reasons unknown to me. Thus, that oven, and most of what we saw, today, remain as they were on that last fateful day of operation. It may have been dark, but, I had to respect its stubborn beauty. Directly outside of the oven was a drainage-like canal. It was where the molten iron would travel and then be transferred to "Veronika," the iron cart. After enough iron had been poured out, there was a sticky substance of some sort that was used to plug up the hole, and the process would start all over again. The process took about three hours, and every three hours, more and more material was brought up the lift we arrived in and deposited into the oven. Every three hours, every day, all year, 24/7. I cannot remember the exact numbers, but multiple tons of iron were produced, annually. Hundreds of tons, if not more. Lastly, we were shown what the materials looked like, such as multiple iron ore deposits, limestone, and the coke product. Apparently, during its prime, there were about 3,000 workers employed in the area we visited, alone! After we got through the museum of Ostrava, we headed for the border of Poland and beyond. Like I said before, it began with a deluge! We waited in the bus for thirty minutes to wait it out, but I went outside to enjoy it. Once the rain had let up, we walked up the hill to get in line for the salt mines. One of our leaders for this trip told us to imagine the mines of Moria from Tolkien's works. Thus, I had this great image built into my mind, but I would come to realize that that was wishful thinking. We descended underground, step after step. There were so many steps, and it looked as if it would never end. By the time we reached the bottom (15 minutes later), we learned we had descended about 300 feet underground. We, later, learned that firemen were brought to the bottom a while back and told to race up the stairs with all of their equipment on. The fastest man ascended 300 feet with all of his gear in 4 minutes! Imagine running up stairs for four minutes straight with nothing but the clothes on your back, let alone any additional equipment! I couldn't fathom the idea. As we dove deeper into the mine, we learned that picture-taking was prohibited, but you know how I can be a rebel at times. I captured a few, but not near as many as I would have liked to have captured. Room after room depicted early workers and what their work consisted of. Simple hand tools were used to bore into these salt pockets. Horses were not introduced until later, and getting them down there by harness must have been fun to watch. Evidently, as the miners worked, they would release the methane gas that had been trapped in the rocks. Some workers would brave and risk their lives to burn the methane. They would stick some hay on the end of long poles, crawl along the ground, and hold it up to the ceiling, since methane is lighter and tends to float. The methane would, at times, explode, and the workers would get seriously hurt. In an attempt to limit damage, they would wear wet clothing. Further in, we came across salt lakes. These lakes held 300 grams of salt per liter, or something like that. Basically, it was completely saturated with salt. As we moved, the tunnels and passageways were all lined with salt. Our tour guide encouraged us to lick the walls, but I thought not. How many tongues had been on those walls before us? The salt on the walls were, perfectly, acceptable for consumption. There was a while salt, or transparent salt, and that was the most valuable. There was, also, grey salt, and all that was was a mixture of salt and other minerals and elements. It was still ok to eat, but it just had a different hue of color to it. Some areas were closed off to us, and some were available. Those that were inaccessible to us were completely dark. Not all of the mine had a flowing current of electricity. As I gazed into its fowl depths, I could sense the darkness taunting me, laughing at my naive nature. I couldn't stay and indulge its dark intent; I had to keep moving. As we moved, we ran into several souvenir shops. Each sold various sculptures and works of art, all made of salt. Or, you could buy bags of salt, but I refused due to the fact that customs would think I was smuggling home cocaine. Anyway, later on, I learned that the Nazis had turned that mine into one of their factories during the war. They used it to make engine parts, propellers, etc. After all, the Nazis had used multiple mines to hide certain items and do other atrocious acts, as portrayed in "Monument's Men." It is a great movie starring George Clooney and Matt Damon; I, highly, recommend it if you haven't seen it yet. What may have been the coolest, though, was the chapel. Granted, there were multiple chapels in that mine that the workers used to pray to God for protection, but the biggest one was, also, the best. There were several chandeliers, all with salt crystals attached to them. Along the walls were salt sculptures, and one was of "The Last Supper." That one was, by far, the best one. That chapel is, to this day, used for concerts, weddings, etc. I am not sure what the situation is with the acoustics in a room of salt, but it must be sufficient enough. Basically, those were the important stops we made. Thankfully, we took the lift up and avoided the dreadful stairs. Climbing those stairs would have been a completely different story than descending them. I am sure there would have been a few who wouldn't have made it (Possibly myself included with how my knee is doing). Some interesting numbers, though--there are more than 180 miles of tunnels in that mine, and our tour, alone, only covered 1% of the entire mine. I believe we were told that we walked about 2.5 kilometers, and I do not know how many miles that is. I will leave that to you to do the conversion. Like I said, I am too exhausted at this point. I have, finally, gotten something to eat, and now, I could pass out. We did so much walking on so little food, it is crazy I haven't passed out yet from low blood sugar. Anyway, those were the adventures I faced today, and I hope that tomorrow will be just as eventful. Monday, we hit Auschwitz, so that will be pretty interesting. Other than that, I think the next few days will be pretty chill, compared to today, anyway. So, have a good night, and thank you, again, for keeping up with my adventures. May your adventures stay adventurous. "May The Odds Be Ever In Your Favor!"
-Anthony-