The coolest museum ever

On Tuesday I went to the Ruhr industrial valley, on the western border of Germany, and visited the self-proclaimed "world's largest mining museum." No kidding. It's probably the coolest museum I've ever visited.
This machine was built in 1799 and used to bore for salt.


Then it was time for a tour of an actual mining shaft, several km below the surface of the earth, where the temperature is always an even 11 degrees Celsius.

These shafts were in working order until 2000, and much of the equipment was left intact and still operational.

I would recommend the Bochum Mining Museum to anyone passing through the area.