Travel - Be Mine

Beginning in the Middle Ages and for centuries afterward, the Sala Silvermine produced copious amounts of silver for Sweden and its monarchs. Those monarchs, in turn, paid miners to dig even deeper, until today the mine was a cavern of shafts and alcoves and pristine underground lakes. Naturally, it was only a matter of time before efforts were made to convert the entire structure into an underground lair of accommodations.

The Sala Silvermine Company that maintains the mine has two types of accommodations, which they manage in addition to their regular tours and events. The standard option is the above-ground Gruvfruns Bed and Breakfast, a hostel with 15 single and double rooms and shared bathrooms. The real treat, though, is the Mining Suite: a double bed tucked into a small alcove, buried 155m underground.

The mining suite comes as part of a bed-and-breakfast tour package. Guests are greeted by an employee and taken on a tour which ends at their underground bed. Then guests are left for the night "to enjoy the quiet of the mine." In the morning, breakfast is served – the suite is conveniently located next door to a cavernous underground festival hall – and take back into the sunlight. An intercom is available to connect guests with an above-ground employee; this system is guaranteed to be monitored all night, in the event claustrophobia or “mine” fever sets in.