Walking the Walk of Wisdom , an interesting thought
A few years ago, Jolanda, a Limburger, gave me the idea to walk the Walk of Wisdom . We were supposed to walk it together, but that didn’t happen until I met Manja Bente at the Katalpalifecenter, a beautiful silence and retreat center of Bart and Janneke in Belgium near Namur. Manja had come cycling from Nijmegen and I had been walking around there for a few days. While chatting and cooking together, she inspired me to make the pilgrimage.
The Departure
No sooner said than done. On the 19th of September I left on a beautiful Saturday morning from the Stevenskerk to the Valkhof Chapel, where a departure ceremony was held for the participants. Particularly beautiful this ceremony in the old chapel: cozy, cozy, intimate and honest. A pilgrim told his story, we shared our intention, lit a candle, the feet were planted in the earth and then set off with an open heart. Straight out of Nijmegen along the Waal, onto the floodplains, over the beach of the Bison Bay, through the Ooijpolder towards Beek up the Duivelsberg. A real calf biter that Duivelsberg is located in a beautiful wooded area.
You walk the way you live
My intention at the departure ceremony was “You walk the way you live and you live the way you walk”. By that I mean that your pace of life and your pace of walking are comparable. I walked the Camino to Santiago at a pretty high pace and also over long distances. There I discovered that in my life, and at work, I usually work at a fast pace and also work long hours. I wanted to do that differently on the Walk of Wisdom : slowing down was therefore the magic word. Still, this was very disappointing the first two days. You don’t just change what you’re used to doing. So the first few days I started quite energetically: a lot of meters in a relatively short time. The other four days were a bit quieter. That felt a lot better.
The tour
136 kilometers is written in the otherwise very clear Pilgrim’s booklet. In the end, there were about 160. Sometimes you have to leave the route for a cup of coffee, lunch or to reach your sleeping place.
The entire Pilgrimage is really very cleverly thought out and plotted by Manja Bente and Damiaan Messing, spiritual mother and father of the route. What freedom I have experienced and how rich I have felt while strolling over the hills, the dikes, through the woods, the heath and over the countryside. I’m already very homesick. It is really a must for every hiking enthusiast or for those who want to be in silence with themselves for a few days and do not want to sit in a monastery and meditate, but prefer to be busy with themselves outside.
I have slept at people’s homes, in a hotel, in a B&B, somewhere in a log cabin, in a gypsy wagon on a mini campsite with two sweet caring sisters and in the Capuchin monastery in Velp. Seen a lot along the way. Many churches, castles, old farms with thatched roofs, a flock of sheep with shepherd, wild horses and friendly oxen. I passed beautiful villages such as Grave, Ravenstein, Ewijk, Beuningen, Kranenburg (Germany), Limburg and Brabant to finally return to and finish in Nijmegen. Just before the finish I walked the labyrinth at the Waalkade, very special and definitely worth it despite tired legs and sore feet.
Highlights
I really enjoyed the walk and enjoyed the beautiful surroundings to the fullest. You walk in nature, in the primeval forests around Nijmegen, through the German Reichswald (near Groesbeek) and over the beautifully blooming Mookerheide. Very special. The highlight of the tour was the St. Peter’s. Jansberg, a mystical tranquil serene place surrounded by ancient trees with a lot of wisdom and sparkling spring streams. In short, a place to stop for a moment and go back, to be.
The Arrival
A warm welcome awaited me in the Stevenskerk and there I received my Pilgrim’s Certificate, stamped and signed. My Walk of Wisdom was over, satisfied I took a seat on a terrace in the otherwise very nice city center of Nijmegen. Beaming with pride with my rings on the lace that I collected along the way. Around my wrist, 11 pieces, one from each village passed.
Six days with myself, sometimes turned inwards, sometimes outwardly making contact with another hiker or a passer-by.
Tip!
You walk the Path of your own Wisdom, Pilgrim’s Route, at your own pace, each with their own backpack. My tip: walk it in one go, not in pieces. Just take a week off and walk this beautiful tour consecutively for a deeper pilgrimage experience. Because:
The softer you walk, the more you enjoy
The less you walk, the more you see
Yes, even standing still is moving forward in this way.
Walk them,
Herman
