Daun is the capital of the Vulkaneifel, and the name is accurate: this is a country of dead volcanoes, and the evidence is all around the town. Instead of cones, the Eifel has maars, round lakes that fill the craters left when rising magma met groundwater and blew itself apart. Three of them lie within a few kilometres of Daun, the Gemündener, Weinfelder and Schalkenmehrener Maar, deep and dark and ringed with woods, and the sight of such perfectly round water in the middle of ordinary hills is oddly moving. The Weinfelder Maar has a small chapel on its shore that makes a very good photograph.
The town sits on the little Lieser river at around four hundred metres, among hills topped with beech and spruce, and it is a place of practical size and pleasant character, with a mix of old and new buildings and a handful of castles and ruins nearby. A volcano museum explains the geology, and there are a good many walking routes through the maar landscape. Fuel stations, supermarkets and bakeries are all present, since Daun has nearly nine thousand people, and the main street has several places to eat. Local menus favour plain Eifel food, such as potato dishes, sausages and game in autumn.
The roads around Daun are the reason many riders come to the Eifel. They climb and fall through forest and open moor, with a mix of long, flowing bends and tighter curves where the road crosses a valley, and the surface is generally good, though the dampness of the region can leave moss and leaves in shaded sections. The Nürburgring is within an hour's ride, and the area draws large numbers of bikes on summer weekends, which means police checks and noise restrictions in some villages. Be considerate of residents, and respect the speed limits, which are enforced on many stretches.
Weather in the Eifel is changeable, with low cloud, fog and sudden rain a possibility in any month, and the air is cooler than in the Rhine valley. Pack a waterproof layer. Spring brings broom, with great sheets of yellow on the hillsides in May, and autumn brings colour and mist, with the maars steaming on cold mornings. A weekday ride in September or early October, when the crowds have thinned, is the best time to see this country.