Mountain Biking in a Mine - Slovenia

It was only 3 degrees in the mountains - Brrr!

In the northern part of Slovenia, near the Austrian border, is an abandoned zinc and lead mine. Mountain bike tours go through the tunnels under Mount Peca. It's our last day before flying back to New Zealand.

Led by a guide and equipped with helmets and headlamps we rode from one valley to another,  on a  7 km  underground trail.   We taken by van from the Karavanke Geopark Info Centre in Glančnik in Mežica, and entered the mine in Igrčevo in Črna na Koroškem.

Sometimes we had to push the bikes because of the low tunnels

 The trail runs through tunnels and only rises for about 15 m. The holes and bumps left by the former railway sleepers meant the trail wasn't particularly smooth. The mine has a constant temperature of 10 °C, and my fingers were cold by the end of the adventure.

Although lead mining under the mountain was happening in Roman times, records show, that from 1665 until the end of the 1990s, when the mine was finally closed down, 800 km of tunnels were dug under the mountain.

The majority of tunnels were dug out in the solid rock. The ore and the waste material were transported from the mine by special open carriages along the transportation tracks. Children emptied the carriages at the entrance. Most people died before they were 30 because of the mould that infected their lungs.

After cycling the underground trail exited the mine in Breg in Mežica. It was down hill on the asphalt road (about 1.5 km) to the starting point in Glančnik. The entire tour took about 2.5 hours.

We had worked up an appetite. Fortunately, the Austrian border wasn't far away and we had 

Kasnudeln for lunch. I chose the plum, and Erik chose the wild garlic pasta drizzled with butter. they were delicious, and just what we needed to warm up after a couple of hours underground.

Plum Dumplings (Zwetschgenknoedel)

Ingredients
1 cup quark (or yogurt cheese)
150 grams butter  100gms / 50 gms(divided)
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 egg
3/4 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
Dash of salt
12 plums (preferably Damson)
12 sugar cubes
1 cup bread crumbs
1/2 cup icing sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

Method:

Pour off any liquids from the quark or yoghurt cheese and pat dry.
Mix the quark, 100gms of softened butter and 3 tablespoons sugar until smooth. 

Stir in egg and lemon zest.
Stir or sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix into the batter to form a smooth, soft dough.
Refrigerate dough for about one hour.
Heat a large pan of salted water to boiling and reduce heat to simmer.
Wash the plums and slit them halfway (down the "seam" is good) to remove the pit. Replace the pit with a sugar cube and press the cut sides together.
Using about 1/12th of the dough, form a ball with floured hands, then press the ball flat on a well-floured surface. Wrap the dough around a plum and pinch to seal well.
Simmer the plums in the hot water until done, 15 to 25 minutes, depending on size. The only way to tell if they are done is to test one or through experience. The water should not boil because that makes the dough fall apart.
While they are simmering. Melt the remaining butter in a pan and stir in the bread crumbs. Heat and toast the crumbs. Stir in some sugar to taste
Remove the dumplings and drain well. Roll in the buttered crumbs and serve with cinnamon and sugar or sprinkled with powdered sugar.