Certainly, today could also be ticked off as a classic tourist program. Because it definitely feels like it when you are crammed into a Lummerland train underground with dozens of people, divided by their nationalities!
But that would not do justice to today's agenda at all! With surprisingly great anticipation, we also go from the little red one to the longest karst cave in Europe, with a staggering length of 24 km. Something we definitely don't want to miss! Through repeated listening to "What is What - Adventure Caves" (Ida's wish), we knew approximately how the caves formed over millions of years and what incredible creatures have called them home for thousands of years!Regarding the caves themselves, it should be mentioned that they gained fame and attention around the year 1818 through a visit by the former Austrian Emperor Franz I and his Empress Karoline Auguste (no, not Sissi!)!At that time, only a few hundred meters of cave depth were known, which were guarded by light watchers and were believed to end on the other side of an underground river!In honor of the imperial highness, a banner was to be hung from the cave ceiling by the guard Luka Čeč on the opposite side of the river. He crossed the river on a makeshift ladder and discovered not a wall, but a huge hall sloping downwards!His statement: "Here is a new world! Here is paradise!" is famous worldwide today!The discovery and exploration of the kilometer-long passages began and continues to this day!Nothing that should be missed, especially if you have pitched your tent just 10 kilometers away!So at 11 o'clock our guided tour of the Postojna caves begins. Based on the different size groups gathering under the fixed national flags, one can also guess how the current Covid situation could be there!The German/Austrian group makes up the largest part, followed by the English-speaking visitors. Behind them are the Italians and the Slovenes themselves. And finally, two Chinese people with an audio guide. The "real" guide is probably still on short-time work!In general, here in particular, the topic of Covid-19 once again slightly enrages us! Because with repeated emphasis (the pleonasm is intentional here!) it is pointed out that distance and, oh wonder, masks are mandatory in a cave!However, one age group in particular does not adhere to this! We would like to emphasize that you, our family and friends, are definitely exempt.Nearly every German-speaking visitor over 60 provocatively avoids wearing a mask! Maybe we have also come across the travel group "Defiant Asthmatics", all of whom have a medical certificate... but we find that rather unlikely.Anyway, it makes us angry that precisely the age group that needs to be protected at the expense of education, social integration, and the development of the youngest and smallest in our society for the past 18 months considers adhering to established rules that protect others unnecessary. So... "enough excitement!" we think to ourselves and start the journey with the cave train into the depths of the Karst mountains!And indeed, after just a few meters, we are speechless and fascinated by the variety of stalagmites, stalactites, and columns. The train takes us through narrow passages where we are a little worried about our heads, and in the next moment through ballroom-like rooms where sound takes six seconds to echo!Not without reason did Emperor Franz I hold festive balls down here during his lifetime. The chandeliers on the ceilings still testify to the old splendor! The constant 10 degrees Celsius, however, also indicate that the imperial guests must have danced quite energetically on the imaginary parquet for those times!It is cold and humid, as the cave is as active as ever and therefore constantly changing. Not that we can see this change. After all, the stalactites grow on average "only" a maximum of one millimeter per decade. Thus, the sometimes gigantic structures in front of our eyes appear all the more astonishing. The oldest of them are over 500,000 years old and up to 16 meters tall. In the middle of the cave, the train stops and we continue on foot, past bizarre formations that look like a chicken, a camel, a devil, or an ice cream cone. At every corner, our guide tells us all sorts of interesting things about the history of the caves and their inhabitants. Among them, the most famous and somehow funniest: Hans-Werner Olm!Oops... the olm!An animal that has adapted almost perfectly to the conditions in the cave, which is why it has no eyes and almost no color pigments in its skin! An elongated creature, somewhat dragon-like, that is something like a national animal in Slovenia in particular! It grows to about 35 cm, lives to be 100 years old, and manages to go 10 years without food!How this last fact was discovered is not explained!Ida is fascinated by this animal, which is why we have to pay a visit to the souvenir shop and add the cuddly olm "Olmi" as a new companion to our travel group. "Meer" and "Hirschi" at home in the tent, according to Ida, were thrilled about it!We spend the rest of the still quite long day happily from our cave visit and quite tired at the campsite. To our great joy, it is completely deserted. At least temporarily, we are the only campers here, which we take advantage of with music, audiobooks, and sports. In the evening, there is almost traditionally campfire bread at the fire pit, with a glass of house wine for us and Ida's self-mixed lemonade (ratio of lemon to water about 10:1) for everyone!Sour makes you happy, as is well known... and in our case, today very satisfied!And with the thought of being reborn as an olm in the next life, we end this eventful day!...10 years without food...
