Arriving at the Berchtesgaden Salt Mine, you board a small train that takes you deep into the mountain where salt has been continuously mined since 1517. The salt does not occur in a pure form; rather it is encased in ‘Haselgebirge’. This composite rock contains an average of 50% salt that is released from the mountain using a ‘wet mining’ method. This picture is the result of this process whereby an underground cavity is created by water pressure, the salt released and the process repeated. Over time, this creates large underground lakes. The tour of the mine includes a short ferry ride across this lake, 130 metres underground.