Henri Bos: Via ad cogitandum – The road to reflection (report)
Henri Bos walked the Walk of Wisdom this summer and wrote the report below.
Latin, always does well. Am I speaking that? No, but as always, Google is your friend, in more ways than one. The way to contemplation.
I am not a social animal who seeks out the hustle and bustle of life. I don’t have to be in front of the line. That’s how I was raised by my parents. I am an only child, perhaps that explains the desire for peace, away from hustle and bustle, away from discussion and struggle. I am a runner who seeks peace and quiet, who seeks out nature. Peace around you gives peace of mind, and that is necessary in these hectic times.
For years I had been walking parts of long-distance hiking trails, the so-called LAWs, I participated in organized tours. An injury in my lower leg has caused me to have to say goodbye to walking for many years. Since corona has dominated life in the Netherlands, I have been able to pick up my passion again. And fortunately, that goes well.
Together with my hiking buddy, let’s just call her Hann, we have been regularly looking for beautiful, but also challenging tours in recent years. As a rule, these are tours that attract a lot of people. For example, we have discovered the Mammut March in Germany, we regularly run tours of Le Champion and the Night Marathon is on the program. Often planned and arranged long in advance, it gives you something to look forward to. But as I said, that hustle and bustle, that massiveness is not always nice. Sometime in the spring of 2022, my walking buddy came across the Walk Of Wisdom, a pilgrimage around Nijmegen, via the internet, Google is your friend. My first reaction, “you walk a pilgrimage when you’re retired, don’t you?” I still have 9 years to go. But the Walk of Wisdom, the WOW, is compact and easy to do in a holiday. I work in education and have more than enough time in the summer.
We start planning and decide to take plenty of time. It’s not a competition, there should be enough time to enjoy. We choose to walk the tour consecutively, it will be the first multi-day trip for us. Camping is not for me, I think, that’s why we plan stages from hotel to B&B, to hiker’s cabin, to mountain hut, to boat. Planning and figuring it out, with the help of Komoot, gives a lot of joy. Komoot is a tracking app that can help you divide a total distance into smaller, customisable stages. Because many people are enthusiastic about the Emmaus monastery, this should be one of our overnight addresses. In fact, we choose to stay at the monastery for two nights prior to our WOW. That was a very good choice!
On Thursday, July 21, my vacation is two days old, we roll up the mats at home and our adventure begins. Two fully packed backpacks go in the back of the car. It’s summer, just scorching hot weather, so light quick-drying clothing is sufficient. Of course, we take way too much with us, as always. So be it. Today the journey goes straight to Velp, to the Emmaus monastery. The journey from Hengelo is going well. After the bridge over the Waal, we walk under this bridge on the last day of the WOW, and the Meuse, we leave the highway and gradually immerse ourselves in the peace and quiet that is to come. We drive over the old Maasdijk to Velp. The Emmaus monastery is quickly found and the door is invitingly open. We are welcome.
Mark takes us to the refectory where we get a coffee on the house. His colleague Maarten will help us in a moment, he was walking the dog. After checking in we are taken to our room. Simplicity, but nice and quiet and a fantastic view. A very nice and quiet start to our adventure. At six o’clock dinner is ready. The beautiful refectory is all to ourselves. The food tastes good and it looks like the cook has made something special for us: risotto and broad beans with red gurnard. A great start! The cook himself comes to ask if everything is really to your liking. We think it was her first day here.
After an awkward night, a delicious breakfast with freshly baked bread from Erik, who has a small bakery on the monastery complex. Erik sells that bread in a medieval church at the end of the street. We are going to see Erik more often, and are still in touch via the socials. During breakfast we are no longer alone. An elderly lady is on her way from convent to convent by bicycle and the young lady has fled the 4-Days Marches. She lives in Nijmegen and has finished a musical “loop”. The same annoying song over and over again… She wanted to spend the night in the convent anyway. This was her chance.
The first full day in Velp we go to the Duivelsberg. Let’s explore the terrain, we’ll come back later with the WOW and would like to know where we stand. Because the 4-Days Marches is the last day, we are guided to our goal of the day via detours. From a parking lot outside Beek we follow a circular walk. It’s climbing and descending, nice and tough, but still without a backpack. How will that work with a full pack? In the pancake house we feast on fresh mint and ginger tea, of course with a fine pancake. We will definitely repeat that when we come here again. On the way back to the monastery we cross the “Via Gladiola”, what a massiveness, at least I’m glad I don’t walk between them. Back at the monastery we have time to contemplate the sins of the day in peace and quiet in our room. Around six o’clock we make the refectory unsafe again, there are two of us again.
And then it’s Saturday 23 July, the start of the WOW. The Stevenskerk is closed and unfortunately remains closed. Later, on the last day of our WOW, we hear that a renovation is underway. A bit disappointed we go for a walk. There is still a bit of chaos in Nijmegen after the 4-Days Marches, with the result that the route cannot be followed everywhere. With the help of Google, your friend, we manage to pick up the route after the Waal bridge. Under the Waal bridge there is a kind of festival going on where we will definitely go for a while at the end of the trip. It is nice and small-scale and very cozy. But as I said, after the Waal bridge and over the pedestrian bridge into the Ooijpolder, finally the peace and quiet I come for, finally away from the city. The full sun burns well and there is not much shade. It will be a day of suffering. Although there are reports that annoying attention-grabbing people can walk on this part of the trip, we “round” the Bison Bay without encountering many people.
At Oortjeshekken we get our first official ring and we have our lunch. It takes some getting used to this first day to find a rhythm. Finally, with the necessary efforts, we cross the water at Persingen on a hand ferry and walk into Beek. Our first overnight address.
The next morning we are caught up after breakfast. “You’re about to go into the mountains”… And that was soon clear. Just leaving the hotel, around the bend, and climbing. We are at the Devil’s Mountain. A very beautiful but tough environment. We keep our word and have lunch at the pancake house. Enjoy. Then the journey continues to Kranenburg. We walk along beautiful green rolling meadows with grazing cows. You can just hear them grazing, it’s that quiet!
Along the way, you have to change hands with a couple who run the WOW in stages. Then they have a short stop, then us, then them. They have a “Bello” with them and it is clearly having a hard time on this hot day. The couple had already given their water supply to the dog. They are clearly animal lovers. But is it so animal-friendly to go for a walk with a dog in this heat? I wonder. Reflection and contemplation strike.
Because a part of the route is “protected” by a biting dog, we take the alternative route along the railway to Kranenburg. Long straight, endless and tiring. On the way we are offered an orange and tangerine by a lady on her bicycle. She doesn’t need it anymore, she was almost home. Those pieces of fruit were welcome. In Kranenburg we grab a ring and walk to our overnight address. Day two is over.
The Reichswald is on the program today. Few route directions in the field. Still, we walk through this smoothly. On the Brandenberg we take some time for a short break. Some beetle makes an impressive journey of many meters to a track shell. It seems that he sees that shell as prey. Many minutes and encouragement later, he or she manages to reach that skin, and bites away at it. After this sports spectacle we walk further in the direction of our “exit” from the Reichswald and are then also at our overnight address. This night we have to make do with a hiker’s cabin.
Around dinner I suddenly hear someone calling my name: Henri?! It turns out to be former colleague Sabine who is walking the Pieterpad with a friend. After catching up, we both continue on our separate paths. In the evening we walk to Milsbeek. In the war cemetery, the text on one of the stones grabs me. It makes me sad and I even have to wipe away a tear. The text on the stone of a 19 year old boy says: “Good Bye Mickey, dad, mum and Bimbo”.
That boy should never have been here. This day we take another ring.
After a somewhat restless night, tripping on the roof of the hut, we start our longest stage around 9 o’clock, we go to Malden. Soon after the start we walk into the hills. Not as bad as around the Duivelsberg, but it is quite tough. Along the way we get to talk to four people from the head of Overijssel. Three are interested in a kind of weir, the fourth is going to talk to us. They had just walked the 4-Days Marches and took part in one or more stages of the Pieterpad. They were there now anyway. And as quickly and spontaneously as the conversation began, it was over.
In contrast to the previous sweltering and sun-drenched days, it starts to rain today. The raincoat is put on for the first time, and the rain cover goes over the backpack. Glad we have it with us. On the Mookerheide we take shelter for a while and then walk on, we can’t keep waiting. At the Hunting Lodge we take another ring and walk on to the glider airfield of Malden. Here a short break with fresh mint and ginger tea. Then we meet, at least I, the proverbial man with the hammer. The last part to Malden on long straight paths is tough. The headache strikes. When I arrive at our B&B, I can borrow a bicycle. Walking to the store was not an option for me for a while. Back at the B&B for dinner, hot showers and early flats. The headline pops.
After a good night’s sleep like a princess, the body feels nice again. I can take it again. After breakfast, we start a short stage. My right calf feels stiff, like there’s a knot in it. On the bridge over the Maas-Waal canal stretch well and a few kilometers further, on a bench, rub just as well with Perskindol. That seems to help a lot, I don’t have any problems with my calf anymore.
Via the Hatertse fens we walk to the patch tree of Walrick. Nearby we have our lunch. After this break, we walk on and light a few candles at the Lady Chapel, halfway through the WOW. The church of Nederasselt can already be seen in the distance. However, it will be a while before we get there. Our “host” is waiting in the garden. Today we are very happy with our B&B. Very much attention and love for the guests. Everything is just top notch and the rain shower is the ultimate in enjoyment at that moment. We eat across the street, at a shawarma shop. Even that tastes heavenly now. Just enjoy with a capital G. In the evening we take a short walk to see where that annoying sound comes from. It appears that work is being done on the bridge over the Maas to Grave. It’s like the screech of a dinosaur from Jurassic Park. Our B&B for this night is a stone’s throw from this bridge. Tomorrow we have to get over that.
And then the next day you think you’ll be at the bridge in no time. Wrong, via a nice detour, including along the Kroonwerk van Coehoorn, a beautiful piece of history, after a few kilometers we arrive at the bridge over the Maas. Also a lot of history here, especially from WW2. Very interesting! After crossing the Meuse, there is a short stretch over an industrial area to the center of Grave.
In fact, we have only just started walking, deliberately started later because today’s route is very short, but we take a moment for this …. Yes, fresh mint and ginger tea, with a delicious piece of apple pie as an extra. The knowledge that Velp is very close by gives you some peace of mind. After leaving Grave it is only a few kilometers to Velp.
In the ancient church, where Erik sells his sandwiches, we drink a cup of coffee and eat one of his delicious sandwiches. Erik still knows us. After a nice conversation we walk the last 100 meters to the Emmaus monastery, we are back home. To me, that’s how it feels. During check-in I get talking to a real Capuchin Brother, one with full costume as you would expect. It’s a pity that a smartwatch shines around his arm. When we, as pilgrims, turn on our phone…. then there should be no on the arm of a Capuchin brother…
The latter is, of course, nonsense. Christophorus Goedereis can tell nicely about his “mission”, to see if a Capuchin order can function in the monastery again. The best man is originally from Nordhorn, which is almost around the corner from Hengelo. A bit of recognition from both sides.
At 6 o’clock it’s time for dinner again. In the refectory there are two tables commemorated. The first, as it turns out, is for Christophorus and his guests. The other table is for us common people. There is coverage for six people, stiff next to each other. That’s a bit of a thing. In today’s society, people live more alongside each other, to each his or her own thing, his or her own life. Now we are “pushed” to sit close to each other, away free choice. Soon after us, two young ladies come in, who are also running the WOW. The young lady next to me is from Groningen and will return home tomorrow. She runs the WOW in parts.
The next day, Leur was on the program. A totally different environment through the floodplains and over the dike. Due to an experience with cows during one of our previous walks, we are not eager to cross areas where cows run free. In the vicinity of Persingen that went fine, by the way. Now there was no need to confront us, fortunately, because one of the ladies kept a close eye on us, even looked at us judgingly. Somewhere on the dike in front of Ravestijn we eat our cinnamon roll from Erik. Just before the ferry crossing, we have our lunch. “Vera” then walks up and joins us. Via Niftrik and Wijchen we finally walk to leur. After checking in at our B&B for the night, we go for a bite to eat. Vera arrives just to pick up a ring. She walks on to the campsite and then Vera is out of the picture for us.
The other young lady comes from the Heerenveen area and, she says herself, feels best when she is on her own. She is a scout and carries a tarp. She often makes use of this. Weeks after completing the WOW, I am mentioned on one of my Facebook posts by Frouke, the young lady who was sitting next to me. I invariably called her Carolien in my posts on Polarsteps. I now have a real name for that face. Frouke even supports my charity run for the Spierfonds. I still have the hope that the name of the young scout will also come up somewhere. On Polarsteps she is called “Vera” to me. She walked a stage behind us, even had lunch together at Ravestijn and saw her briefly in Leur. Stupid not to ask for the name. Could that be a bit of a shortcoming of our time? Living alongside each other? The other two seats at the table were for two older ladies who were taking a singing course. They stayed for a few more days. The conversations at the table were very nice and gave a picture of their experiences.
Who knows “Vera”, the young scout from the Heerenveen area and working at an upholstery company?
The next day, Bergharen is on the program. We spend the night there in the “mountain hut” and know that there is little to do in that area. No shops and restaurants, for us the clean task to score something along the way so that we also get something in the stomach this evening. Just to be sure, we contacted our host for the night. We can eat with them. That’s nice and we’re going to go into it. In Hernen, a town with a beautiful castle, we make a short stop and have our lunch, of course again with fresh mint and ginger tea. After lunch we quickly pick up the route again. In the vicinity of Bergharen we take a look at the Kapelberg. Very worthwhile, and again a candle lit.
Through a beautiful nature reserve we wander around Bergharen and walk to our overnight address. The mountain hut is a little higher up against a hill, and has a very beautiful view. From the garden downstairs we are called for dinner. Although not expected, it is rather strange for us to just sit at the table with complete strangers.
sit down, it will be a very successful and super fun evening. A delicious appetizer made with a lot of attention and love, salmon with potatoes and beans from our own garden and a delicious dessert after. A delicious wine and everything was perfect this evening. I’m not a wine drinker, but really, everything was great. The night was less, we were attacked by the Third Division of the Sixth Mosquito Army. But what do you despise, a mountain hut where the mosquitoes have a home game. A Night To Remember.
After this very special experience, we started our penultimate stages. After a more than nice breakfast we hit the road. Winssen is our goal for today. We cross the area that we have already seen from the refuge this morning. In Afferden we get a ring and then turn onto the old Waaldijk. We continue along this dike, walk past “wheels” and old dike warehouses. Boudewijn de Groot can sing about it beautifully: “under the green sky in the blue sun” but not today. It’s going to rain!
In Deest we take shelter for a while and then have to deal with a small disappointment. Our scheduled lunch location is closed. There is not much left but to walk on again. We continue along the dike and eventually walk into the floodplains. It is oppressively hot because of the rain. Just before Winssen we decide to leave the route and walk straight to our B&B. We are slightly demolished. At the point where we leave the route there is a chapel on the dike, the symbols are very familiar to us. After checking in, we walk into Winssen to get something for the inner man at the local supermarket. Very slowly the realization sinks in that we are almost at the end of the WOW. Good night.
After another great night and breakfast we start our last stage today. From our temporary address we are back on the dike in no time and can already see the bridge over the Waal. We drove over this bridge when everything had yet to start, now we walk under it. At a choice moment we choose to follow the clog path along the Waal. Cattle grids and swing gates suggest what we are not too keen on. Stray grazers. However, we don’t come across these. It’s tiring, especially when you have to climb over those rough breakwaters over and over again. There seems to be no end to it. Then we see someone walking over the dike at the top. With a little effort, we manage to reach that path. That runs a little better.
Somewhere on that path we decide to leave the route, it’s time for a pancake again, and for that we have to go to Beuningen. This diversion of the route is not very much. Before we know it, we are standing in front of the restaurant. It doesn’t really have the look of a pancake restaurant, but they do taste, and that’s the most important thing. It looks like this is going to be a day of choices. Do we go back the way we came, or do we take a different route back to the dike. The latter is the case. We stomp along the “main road”, something other than sand, gravel or you name it, and is also a good moment to get a “feel” for this way of walking. The following weekend we have a Mammut march in Wiesbaden on the program. It won’t be because of the kilometers. In no time we are back on the dike and walk towards Weurt and meander through an always nice industrial area into Nijmegen. The “Crossing”, the famous new bridge is already in sight. During dusk, the moment the lights are switched on, soldiers walk across the bridge here in memory of the crossing by the Allies during WW2. The interest from us is certainly there, but we are now walking briskly across the bridge. It’s also far from dusk. Once we cross the bridge we descend and walk across the island towards the railway bridge. There the journey goes up again and then crosses the railway bridge to the center of Nijmegen. The Stevenskerk is already in full view.
Time is running out if we want to reach the church on time. What a shame it would be if we couldn’t get hold of the last ring. But more importantly, what a shame it would be if our Walk Of Wisdom booklet would not be signed. Almost at the last minute we ring the bell at the white door, and it opens. How happy we are, how happy I am. During the walk I was able to take all the rings and now the final signature and stamp. What started with a small disappointment ends with a big smile. We made it, we are pilgrims.
But our adventure is not over yet. Granny Sientje is waiting for us. We sleep in the captain’s cabin and even have a clawfoot bath available. We have a delicious dinner on deck, drink a few nice beers and walk around that already mentioned small festival under the bridge over the Waal. The beers there also taste fantastic. The night goes well, the breakfast tastes good again. That’s a wrap. What we have been looking forward to for so long, where we have sometimes cursed along the way because things were going well, where we have met nice people. The Walk of Wisdom, the WOW is just WOW. I look back with nostalgia, and now all the memories come back to me while writing. I want to go again!
Google is your friend, I’ve written several times. I doubt whether the internet is actually your friend. But a life without the internet is almost unthinkable these days. How else would I have known that Carolien’s real name is Frouke. How else could Brother Damien have asked me to write a piece for the site? Did I turn off my phone during the WOW, no. My phone is my diary, I take pictures with it that remind me of very beautiful moments after years. Have I used my phone less? Yes. That’s already a big win for me. Have I let my mind wander in quiet moments and have I thought about things that concern me? Yes! After completing the WOW, I have a different outlook on life. In today’s society we race past each other too much, we have to pay more attention to each other, we have to be there for each other more. That was a reason for me to participate in a sponsored run for the Princess Beatrix Muscle Fund. With the help of the internet, with the help of Google, I have already collected a nice amount of money in a short time. And my diary, which is on Polarsteps. The Walk of Wisdom is also located there. Just search for my name.
Dear pilgrims, who knows, maybe we’ll see you next time,
Henri Bos
P.S. Do you want to help my sponsor tour 2023 on the Oranjepad a bit? In this way, we support research into muscle diseases. Take a look at Oranjepad.
