It can start any minute!

Before the heavy rain this afternoon, we went to nearby Mendig to visit the LAVA DOME, the German Volcano Museum. The tour of the museum, the film presentation in the volcano cinema and the visit to the volcano workshop left no question unanswered - except for one: When will the Laacher See volcano - just a few kilometers from the city - next spew lava?

The last eruption was 13,000 years ago, but experts expect it to happen at any minute. "On Lake Laach, the number of places where CO2 is coming to the surface is increasing," the tour explained. This is a clear indication that an eruption is imminent. This would be nothing new for the Eifel region. From the Rhine to the Wittlich Depression, which stretches northeast from Trier, countless volcanoes lie dormant beneath the earth's surface.

It is therefore no wonder that the German Volcano Museum is located in this region. Here you can find out what exactly happens when a volcanic eruption occurs, why there are almost always earthquakes at the same time, and how basalt is formed from cooled lava. We found out what happens to the stone in the lava cellar, which extends 32 meters below Mendig and covers almost three square kilometers. From the early Middle Ages onwards, the precious basalt lava was mined and used, for example, to produce millstones, for which Mendig was famous throughout Europe. In the middle of the 19th century, 26 breweries used the lava cellar with its consistently cool temperatures to store their beer. The almost 3,000 people who lived in Mendig around 1850 must have been very good drinkers.

Surefootedness and stamina were required for the many stairs that led up from the lava cellar. "Half of us took the elevator," says Irmi, who dared to climb up - probably only because she warmed up more quickly that way. "It was really bitterly cold in the cellar. I was glad when we were allowed to go back up."

And so we went straight to the brewery for lunch. Rumour has it that the club management is thinking about packing up camp tomorrow and moving a few hundred kilometres further south. Of course, things could start at any minute and you never know when the time will come...