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One really simply does not walk into Mordor: swimming in a volcano & getting stranded in a lava field | iamapolarbear.com

One really simply does not walk into Mordor: swimming in a volcano & getting stranded in a lava field

February 2, 2026

This is a really old adventure that’s had two or three posts over the years but deserves a new write-up and a new place at the very front of this blog rather than being buried in its bowels: the day I swam in an active volcano, got stranded for hours in a lava field and … More One really simply does not walk into Mordor: swimming in a volcano & getting stranded in a lava field

Before It Burns Down: Lausanne Cathedral | iamapolarbear.com

Before It Burns Down: Lausanne Cathedral

January 26, 2026

Ever since about mid-2019, I’ve had a series on this blog called Before It Burns Down, dedicated to cathedrals, and especially the massive, magnificent, medieval Gothic and Norman varieties, because it turns out that just because they’re looking towards their thousandth birthdays doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll still be there waiting for me to get round … More Before It Burns Down: Lausanne Cathedral

Lord Byron was never a prisoner at Chateau de Chillon | iamapolarbear.com

Lord Byron was never a prisoner at Chateau de Chillon

January 19, 2026

There, start with the spoiler! As a language student living in Switzerland twenty years ago, I made a flying visit to Chateau de Chillon, where I visited the Gothic dungeons underneath the castle and saw where the original tortured poet, Lord Byron, was imprisoned, chained to a pillar and left to rot (if you read … More Lord Byron was never a prisoner at Chateau de Chillon

I did a chocolate workshop at a Swiss chocolate factory | iamapolarbear.com

I did a chocolate workshop at a Swiss chocolate factory

January 15, 2026

When you think of Switzerland, you think of chocolate and cheese and skiing. Well, I don’t ski and I covered the cheese in the post-snowshoeing fondue I had in the last post which means it must be time for the chocolate! And it is! Long story short, I took the train out to Switzerland’s oldest … More I did a chocolate workshop at a Swiss chocolate factory