Yes, I was quite surprised to find it was mined in Poland.
Me too, I didn't even know there were opals in Poland! lol They were mined, but not anymore - the mine was closed in the 80's or 90's, I think. Now that mine and that area is a tourist attraction for geology enthusiasts, because it's a pretty rare place in Europe apparently (that area has 81 types of minerals).
@jon357, I don't know, I'm not an expert on this stuff. 🤔 I only know that my region is apparently the only place on Earth where striped flint can be found:
tourist attraction for geology enthusiasts, because it's a pretty rare place in Europe apparently (that area has 81 types of minerals).
I wouldn't mind a trip there :)
apparently the only place on Earth where striped flint can be found:
I like the rings in your link although most of them are sold out. Guess Polish flint's quite popular.
Blue John i
It's a lovely colour. I saw a couple of Blue John pendants in an Edinburgh gem and jewellery shop. It's only found somewhere in Derbyshire if I remember rightly.
I was on a guided tour of the flint mines in Paulina's region. It was interesting and very worth a visit.
It's only found somewhere in Derbyshire if I remember rightly
Round Castleton however I think there are a few places around the world with it, certainly a mine in Pakistan and a very similar mineral in Iran. There are 4 or five caverns in Castleton that you can visit, a couple of them with Blue John. A big new seam has just been discovered. There's a museum too and a few shops selling it.
I'll be in Whitby and Scarborough in a fortnight and may buy two matching rings with a band of Jet in if the shops have some good ones and if the other party likes them. Not cheap but lovely (and cheaper and less obvious than gold bands!) You can sometimes pick pieces up on the beach like Amber in Poland.
There are also geological workshops during which you can find minerals for yourself under the supervision of an educator :):
Those look really interesting. I would definitely like to go on 3 or 4 of those! Plus, you get to keep the minerals! What's not to like :)
I was on a guided tour of the flint mines in Paulina's region
Cool. As with the tours in Paulina's link, I'm guessing the tours are all in Polish language though? Not sure how much I would follow when it comes to discussing minerals and rock formation. I'd be interested in visiting the Blue John cavern too. It's just up the road from Edale where I was planning to start a hike from, so guess I will be making a small diversion :)
may buy two matching rings with a band of Jet in if the shops have some good ones and if the other party likes them.
Edale is lovely; the whole Hope Valley is a treat, even the view from the Sheffield-Manchester railway.
As I recall, a very famous and very long walk starts in Edale.
I'm guessing the tours are all in Polish language though
I think so, however it's mostly just walking through and looking at the exhibits in the mine. It's not like a coal mine (the one you can visit in Poland is excellent) where you have to stay in a close group for safety.
They were mined, but not anymore - the mine was closed in the 80's or 90's,
it was not opals that were mined in Szklary, but nickel ores - from what I read recently a Canadian company is interested in restarting the mining of nickel ores there
@gumishu, this is the site of the former mine - it literally says "Nickel, chrysoprase and opal mine in Szklary":
kopalniaszklary.pl/
Btw, chrysoprase has a pretty colour too :)
showcaves.com/english/pl/mines/SzklaryHuta.html
"The underground tour show quite exceptional bands of opal and chrysoprase in situ in the walls. That's the reason why it was declared a geotope. There is also an underground mineral exhibition with unique specimens of chrysoprase, you will probably see nowhere else. The shop sells jewelry which was created form the chrysoprase and opal from the mine."
As with the tours in Paulina's link, I'm guessing the tours are all in Polish language though?
I don't know to be honest. I did read in some article that foreign tourists interested in geology visit it too, so if they don't have tours in English that's a pretty big mistake, imho. Also, I didn't even know this place exists so they could do some better marketing too. 🤔
if they don't have tours in English that's a pretty big mistake, imho.
I would say so given that it's so widely spoken but then Szklary is a bit off the beaten track. The sort of place that geologists are more likely to know about than the public generally.
The photos in the gallery from the first link are great.
What is this?:
When I first looked at it I thought it was some vegetarian food but looking at it closely I think the dark piece in the top left hand corner is some chocolate? Or I could be going in the wrong direction.....
The middle bit definitely looks like some sort of filling.
To me it looks like a sandwich (dark bread) with some kind of salad... I see carrot, cabbage, not sure what the white strips are. It looks like it's been cooked.
I saw a giant rat last night (the fuller-figured fluffy kind not the scrawny long ones) while lost in a dark hotel car park in Manchester last night. He looked a bit hungry and came up to me but sadly ran away when I said "here kitty kitty kitty".
Looks a lot like it. Some have the pastry in, some have pistachio cream.
A nicer one I've found (in the mena region, never in Europe) is a Turkish one (by Damak, a popular brand) that is dark chocolate with tiny bits of the pistachio pastry in and tiny bits of Turkish delight in.
is it that Dubai chocolate that's become really popular?
Yes, bingo and bravo!!! :))) 🥳
It's a Dubai style chocolate with a filling made of pistachios and kadayif pastry (those strips ranging in colour from white through yellow to orange). When I saw the filling I figured it could make a confusing riddle :)))
I haven't tried it
I've also tried it only now to see what's all the rage about lol It's OK, but nothing to die for (szału nie ma), imho. I actually love pistachios, but somehow pistachio flavoured fillings aren't my favourite. I ate some time ago a meringue with a lot of pistachio cream on it with some marmalade inside from a local bakery and I did like that cream a lot though - it was sooo soft and light, just perfection ;O 🧁👌✨
As for that Dubai style filling - even though the flavour didn't "wow" me, I've got to admit it's a bit addictive for some reason lol 👀 and the one I tried is soft and I'd say pleasant to eat.
the one I tried is soft and I'd say pleasant to eat.
I meant that the whole chocolate is soft, it falls apart almost :) The ingredient list says there's 32% pistachios, Kadayif 9%, but also some hazelnut and peanut paste added. 🥜
The noodles with soft cheese is a National dish in Slovakia - called something like halusky s brynzou
It's quite nice with a glass of their young wine
And one of the simplest Italian dishes is the same - cook pasta, add a spoon of ricotta, a spoon on water from the pasta, salt, pepper and garlic. That's it - tastes amazing if everything is done quick
