Excursion to Temelín NPP

The departure time from the school was eight o'clock, but since none of us wanted to risk missing such an exclusive excursion, we met outside the school not long after the bell rang for zero hour (from 7:10). In the excited anticipation and discussion of what we would be allowed to see, our waiting time passed very quickly. The bus, which arrived at 7:50 am, was taken in a flash, and we were able to set off for Temelín at 8:00 am, just as the bell rang for the first hour. Here we were already expected at the "Chateau", where we were briefed on the safety principles of the excursion. Half of us were then shown an informative film about the history of the construction of the plant, the current operation and shown the fog chamber, which we couldn't get enough of. After all, seeing alpha and beta particles flying around with our own eyes is very interesting. We were always guessing which direction the next alpha particle would come from. That didn't last too long, however, because the first group finished their excursion and we were also able to go directly into the generator building on the premises. Along the way we saw that they take safety seriously at Temelín - we went through the safety frames and one of us got to "breathe". After that, there was nothing to prevent us from seeing the cooling towers of the plant up close. We had to admit that they are truly monumental. But the most interesting thing was yet to come. 

After we took photos at the towers (taken by a plant employee - and the photos were only posted on the plant's Facebook page after thorough approval that they didn't contain anything objectionable), we finally entered the plant building itself. We took the elevator up to the first floor and walked through the hallway to the generator building. The first building was currently in shutdown, so we just walked through it and entered the building with the second unit. There we saw the turbine-generator. We were most impressed by the way the massive unit vibrated. We were allowed to stand on a cushioned plate with the generator. It was only then that we felt the incredible vibrating energy - unfortunately those who have not experienced it cannot describe it in words. After that we walked along the tracks towards the exit.

Along the way, our curious questions were answered and our excursion almost ended. Why almost? Because we were still able to see the training room. There we watched a group of controllers practice shutting down an entire unit of the plant. Fortunately, it was just a mock-up, but they took it as a fact and performed a lot of actions that made our heads spin. Then we took our bus, which was free thanks to the Temelín Nuclear Power Plant, back to school. Well, to be precise, to school.