Germany: Laacher See (reader spot)
It must have been a terrible rain of lava, pumice and ash in 11,000 B.C. People at the time must not have liked it at all - it was only later, much later, that the inhabitants of the volcanic Eifel became the beneficiaries of this huge natural event. Following the violent eruptions of numerous volcanoes, the earth's crust collapsed and a caldera (magma chamber) filled with water has since formed Lake Laach. The extinct cinder cones around the lake have hot names such as "Krufter Ofen". The cooled magma under the Eifel still emits carbon dioxide gas to this day. Great for fresh mineral water, it even bubbles out of the lake at one point on the eastern shore.
Where once ash, lava and rubble created a gloomy apocalyptic atmosphere, today there is a cosy idyll. The dusty desert has blossomed into a green nature park and Maria Laach Abbey nestles beautifully in the landscape. But this is only the deceptive calm before the storm. Wolfgang Nelles enthuses about the days when the lake is boiling: "Every now and then the volcano seems to be bubbling and with winds of four to seven from the south-west, it is on the verge of erupting. Waves build up and you feel like you're dancing on a volcano." But the entrance is anything but hellish: a well-kept meadow at the campsite with a slipway for sailors and surfers (for themIbdeynll iEsucrhoe rk aAnnu fmrigang pmlaitt zBoard and car directly to the lake, you also get a pennant that you have to show when surfing) provide the best comfort.
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