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Mining Day

In my heart, I truly am a southern gal. And I would like to think that I can handle the heat, as in the hot, hot days of July. But this southern gal is used to having an air conditioned house to return to after braving the summer heat. These past few days definitely bring to mind the sweltering summer days in Tennessee growing up. We did not have air conditioning then, nor do we now. Box fans in the windows and lots of pop-cycles was the preferred method of cooling off way back in the '70's. And things aren't so different here in Germany. We close the shades to keep the sun out, we have fans and pop-cycles. We bought water guns this weekend to have fun and cool off, including our tempers, which seem to have short fuses when the heat rises. With the outdoor temperature at 100 degrees today, and the inside temperature rapidly rising, we needed to get out and get cool.

Today was Mining Day in Imsbach, which is  3km from our own charming village. The flyer stated that we could take a tour of the mine and there would be food and activities for the kids. So, we climbed into the van and made the short 5 minute drive over there. After paying the small entrance fee, we grabbed some bratwurst and coke and snacked while we waited for our turn in the mine. Then, grabbing some mining hats, we headed to the mine entrance. Oh, my goodness. There was a marvelously cool breeze coming from inside the mine. I could have stayed right there and been perfectly content, but our guide showed up. It was one of the best tours we have taken so far. Fun, interesting, and informative. Emerging from the mine, there were many hands-on booths set up for the kids. All in all, a great day!


A very sweet gentleman carved these little figures. He also gave me his phone number because he has his own little museum nearby where he has more displays like this and he said he would show the kids how to cut into the rocks. I am thinking a great science day is in our future.




copper ore inside the mine








They built this adobe oven specifically for Mining Day. Here they are breaking it open to show how the ore melted down.


"Panning" for minerals. Each bucket we purchased for them to sift through had a guaranteed five rocks in it. I will not tell you how many buckets were bought. Let's just say we spent lots of time under this tent.

Farmland between villages

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  1. BarbaraJuly 6, 2015 at 9:12 AM

    I feel for you. It's been a long time since I've done without air conditioning!

    ReplyDelete

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