Day Something or Other: Maastricht

Jul 27, 2010 12:14

Today I asked the kids whether they wanted to go to a zoo, a castle, or a coal mine, and my daughter said "coal mine!" My son wanted to play more of the Toy Story game in the hotel lobby, so he didn't get a vote. So, we went to the coal mine.
The coal mine (more accurately an ex-coal mine, with tours) was in Valkenburg, not far away. We had potato chips and juice outside and then ventured in. After purchasing tickets and waiting a bit, the tour started.
I had been worried about the temperature in the mine; that didn't turn out to be that bad. What WAS a problem was that the tour guide was probably an ex-miner, and he had lots to say about the mine. In Dutch. We wandered slowly along while I tried to keep the kids quiet and happy, while he gave what sounded like an excellent tour, with not a word of English. R. hit her head in a small railway car. W. realized we didn't have his pacifiers along. Eternity....
Mines are loud places. They demonstrated various bits of equipment, and the kids covered their ears.
Finally we exited the mine, had a late lunch just down the street, and went back to the hotel for naptime.
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