Hi Hive account@sweetsssj (Sandia). Amazing journey, as usual. I love hidden and abandoned places, off the beaten track. My visits to those types of places expand my mind and get me out of my comfort zone.

As an example, five years ago I visited the Norwegian island of Svalbard. Actually, Norway administers the island, under an international treaty signed in 1920. Anyone who manages to make it there and stay 5 years or more is automatically granted Norwegian citizenship.

In the link I included there's an abandoned coal mine, which Norway leased somehow to Russia, but was abandoned. The area of the mine is called Barentsberg. The abandoned mine is just frozen (literally, Svalbard is above the Arctic Circle) in time, as if someone turned off the switch and everyone just left.

Even though I was unable to visit the frozen mine (the ship only stopped at Longyearben, the largest city, and Barentsberg is on another side of the island), I've often wondered what it would be like to live in such an isolated place. Svalbard is basically cut off from the rest of the world in the winter. I suspect the inhabitants of the tunnel city would feel similarly isolated.

As always, your blog is an eye opener for me. I look forward to more.

Best,
Ira