So he is pleasantly surprised when he enters, as the cafe is very well designed. It has a vintage look, with old wooden panels, an old style bar and even the waiters are wearing the same uniforms that were in use thirty years ago. All the tables and chairs are made of lacquered wood.
There are quite a lot of people here, but Nillian has no trouble finding an empty table. Soon after a waiter appears at his side and hands him a menu. It is filled with old specialities, ploughman’s lunches, hot potatoes and other all-time favourites. Nillian settles for the hot potatoes with a bagel, accompanied by a delicious cup of grey tea.
After his lunch Nillian still has a few hours to spend, so he makes his way over to the museum. He walks into the direction that Old Joe pointed, and turns around the corner. He does not see anything looking like a museum, so he walks on for a few minutes. The streets are lined with old stone houses, in various states of disrepair. There are also almost no people on the streets here.
Nillian assumes he must have taken a wrong turn and heads back the way he came. Then when he is almost back at the corner he sees what he is looking for. The museum is not located in the street as he assumed, but behind it, with a small sign pointing the way. He missed the sign when he first passed it, but now he follows it, entering a small alleyway.
After several steps he arrives at a small courtyard. It is quite dirty, with small piles of dust and dirt lying everywhere. The museum itself looks a little bit better, but not by much. It is a large wooden building, which is supported on some points by new stone walls. It has a large sign above the entrance, which is almost unreadable because of all the dust and dirt on it. But Nillian can just make out the words Coal and Museum, so he knows he is at the right place.
Inside it is dark, the only light coming from behind him. Then he notices that there is a small counter there. Nillian walks over and can just discern a small bell on top of it. He rings the bell, and is rewarded by some rumbling from the other part of the building.
When the caretaker of the museum enters Nillian is blinded for a moment by the lantern he is carrying. The caretaker makes his way behind the counter, and studies Nillian.
"Hello there. Here for the museum?"
"Yes indeed. It was recommended to me by a ... friend, Joe."
"Ah, Old Joe, the rascal! Right you are then. Tickets cost a ha'penny, the guide cost one golden penny."
"Alright, one ticket and guide in that case."
Nillian pays for the ticket and guide, and makes his way into the museum. The first room is separated from the entrance by a black curtain, which parts easily. After going through it Nillian is standing in a smallish room with several glass cases along the walls, filled with different objects. In the middle of the room a large table is standing, also protected by glass. Nillian reads the first page of the guide.
"Mining is an old profession. Since the beginning of civilisation people have been scouring the mountains for ores and metal. The very first miners used their hands and stone tools to gather ore. Later on the first tools were made of copper and iron, made from the ores they collected by hand."
In the cases different tools are shown as described in the guide: stone hammers in one, copper and iron pickaxes in another. On the table selections of ores are displayed, with nametags mentioning which kind of ore it is. Nillian walks through the room looking at the exhibit, then continues on to the next room.
This is actually a staircase, leading to the second floor. There it emerges on a long corridor. This corridor is part of the exhibition as one side of it is actually the second display. It is a large glass pane with behind it a cross-cut of a real mining tunnel.
At the top of the stairs Nillian can see the beginning of the tunnel, with some kind of tracks. Then the tunnel expands, with some miners (human-sized dolls with miners clothing) pushing a small cart filled with coal. After that the tunnel comes to an end, with two miners caught in mid-freeze as they are cutting out the rest of the tunnel, with their pickaxes raised above their heads.
Nillian moves on and comes to a room showing the schematics of a real mine. On one wall there is a drawing of a mine, with several levels of tunnels, connected by small elevators and rope-ladders.
On the other side of the room there is a case showing some of the other equipment used in mines. Nillian sees several safety helmets, rope harnesses, a miniature mining cart, explosives and even a cage with a mounted yellow bird. Nillian stares at it, not sure why it is in this display. He opens the guide and reads the relevant section.
"In this case several mining equipments are displayed. Protective clothing consisted mostly of miners’ own thick clothing, completed with a hard hat and some rope. Explosives were used for rocks that was too hard to cut by hand, though this was done very sparingly. Birds, like this parakeet, were used to test for mine-gas, which is very toxic. Miners would first lower the bird down, to check if there was any gas. If there was any mine-gas there the bird would die, warning the miners that it was not safe to enter."
"Hmm, how curious. But a bit gruesome, if you ask me" Nillian comments to himself. He continues on to the next room, which shows the introduction of steam engines to the world of mining.
While he is looking around at the engines he glances at his watch and notices that his train will depart soon. So he moves on, taking the stairs down and quickly walking through the last room. He arrives back at the entrance, where he takes his leave of the conservator and leaves the museum.
From the museum it is only a short walk, and soon he is back at the station. Having already bought his ticket he immediately makes his way to the passenger platform, circumventing the long line that is located at the ticket window.
On the platform Nillian shows his ticket to the attendant who is waiting patiently there. He is allowed entrance to the train, and finds a good seat in his carriage. Soon the train is off, and Nillian settles back in his seat, letting the train take him back to Kataras.
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