A wise stone block from the burial mound near Nickenich has sent Laachus to the Krufter Waldsee. Will Laachus really meet his brothers and sisters here in the former pumice pit? At first, Laachus can’t even find the small swimming lake hidden in the middle of a nature reserve. But then a paradisiacal biotope with crystal-clear water lies before him. He scans the water’s surface, looking to see if he can spot a family member swimming. And sure enough, not far from him, a stone is floating. “Hello, I can swim too! Who are you? What’s your name? Why can we swim?” Laachus asks excitedly. “Easy, easy. My name is Bim, and some of us can swim here. Why? I don’t know—and I don’t care. Now stop making such a racket. This is a nature reserve!” Laachus is completely bewildered—he doesn’t care? He can’t understand that.

A heavy, almost black stone on the shore, which has been listening in on the conversation, says kindly: “I think it has to do with the Laacher See volcano.” Laachus had thought of that before. “But how do I find that out?” he asks. “The Wingertsberg Wall near Mendig is a world-famous geological window into the past. The pumice and tuff wall, up to 60 meters high and several hundred meters long, knows all about it.” Laachus senses that he is now very close to the answer and gets quite excited. “By the way, I’m Basalthasar. I can’t swim, but I can show you the way to the Wingertsberg Wall and accompany you.”

Happy, the two set off. Finally, they stand before the impressive Wingertsberg Wall and marvel at the various sedimentary layers. On illustrated display boards, they learn amazing things about the eruption of the Laacher See volcano. High above the wall, which is up to 40 meters high, an eagle owl circles, quickly spotting the two. “What are you doing here?” the bird wants to know. “We want to find out why I can swim,” Laachus replies. “You’re in luck,” says the wise eagle owl, “you’ll solve your mystery very soon—at the Lava Dome in Mendig.” Nervous and excited, Laachus and Basalthasar set off on the next leg of their journey.

Location info:

Krufter Waldsee, access road branches off from K53, 56642 Kruft

Wingertsbergwand, near Camping Siesta, 56743 Mendig