“What attracts me is that feeling of freedom” (Karin Hermus)

Jeroen van Zuylen visits special locations on the route of the Walk of Wisdom on behalf of our Walk of Wisdom. Places where people have felt at home, feel at home, and want to talk about it to their heart’s content. He does his second interview with Karin Hermus, manager of the Refectory.

On the lateral moraine east of Nijmegen is perhaps the most beautiful place to spend the night for the pilgrim of the Walk of Wisdom. From the Ooijpolder rises the former French girls’ boarding school
Notre Dame des Anges, better known as The Refectory, picturesquely rising out of the green. In this magical place, Karin Hermus and her boyfriend Paul Mollen have been managing guesthouse ‘De Elegast’ for more than twenty years. I speak to her in the impressive kitchen.

What a fantastic place the Refectory is! How did you end up here?

‘In the nineties, I cooked in the Klinker, the eatery of squat De Grote Broek in Nijmegen. One time we were asked to cater for a party here in the Refectory. I immediately fell in love with this property with its beautiful location. I didn’t know anyone here. But after that party, I started running the bar service here on Wednesday evenings, together with Marianne, my cooking buddy from the Klinker. That’s how I got to know the ‘Refterians’.

In 1995 I came to live here, first in a residential group, later I moved to an independent unit. I went to work at guesthouse De Elegast. This job was the first paid job at the Refectory. Quality and continuity had to be guaranteed, and that is not possible with volunteers alone. Later, my friend Paul, whom I met at the Refectory, also came to work at the Elegast. But we discovered that living and working in the same building is not ideal. You are constantly approached about work matters, your private life disappears. Finally, in 2008, we moved to Kekerdom, ten kilometers away. We live on the edge of the Millingerwaard nature reserve.’

The Refectory in Ubbergen was built at the beginning of the^20th century, the oldest part (the villa) even in 1885. The monastery complex has been a residential and commercial building for over 35 years, one of the largest in the Netherlands. About 75 adults and 15 children live there, divided into residential groups, family units and single houses. There is an organic shop, the chapel regularly hosts exhibitions and the beautiful library sometimes hosts concerts. Yoga and tai chi are also practiced there. Groups of all kinds can organize weekends here and spend the night in ‘De Elegast’. In recent years, the pilgrim of the Walk of Wisdom has also found a sober but comfortable accommodation here.

Can you tell us something about life at the Refectory?

‘Everyone knows each other here, it’s a small village. The residents are mostly socially involved and generally highly educated. Money and materialism do not predominate. Hardly anyone works in business. In the past, most residents were unemployed, now at least 75% have a job. Responsible, sustainable living is paramount. Helping each other.

Not that we do much together. You can participate in the joint meditation and yoga mornings and the organic shop is doing fantastic. But the pub and the movie nights have long since ceased to run. There is less need for this, especially among young people. They prefer to watch a movie on their laptop in the evening.

But in the small office it’s always cozy. There you will drink coffee and you can express yourself. Unfortunately, not now in corona time.’

I remember great parties here…

‘Ah yes, in 2010 we celebrated our 25th anniversary as a live-work building and organised a huge party. I was a co-organizer. But yes, recently we celebrated our 35th anniversary, but no one wanted to organize something big. Another problem is that the government is becoming increasingly strict, for example in the field of fire safety. That will cost the Refectory a lot of money. We have to buy energy-guzzling dryers because we are no longer allowed to hang the laundry in the hallways. What do you mean self-management?’

What does your work consist of at the Elegast?

‘Paul and I cook for the groups that stay here. We cook organic and vegetarian, but vegan is also possible. When I started here, very few people ate vegetarian. Vegetarians, they were woolly idealists! “Do we feel at home among those hippies here?” people wondered. Haha! Very much that pigeonholing back then! That has completely changed.

Groups are also allowed to cook for themselves. And we also take care of the reservations, the financial administration, the cleaning, maintenance and the PR. And the contacts with the Refectory, of course.

Ten years ago, I officially left my job and we bought the contents of the Elegast. Since then, we have been working as a freelancer in the Elegast. We pay rent to the Refectory. If it goes well, we get to keep the profits, if it goes badly, it costs us money. We can make a living from this, but it’s not a big deal.’

Did the Walk of Wisdom pilgrims discover the Refectory?

‘Yes, especially in the past year! Before, five people spent the night in a whole year, now about ten a month. After arrival, you can choose: eat here or get something in the village [Beek] . They can borrow a bike from us. If they eat here, we prepare it and they can heat it up themselves. The same goes for breakfast. Bake your own egg, determine your own time. We make sure everything is there.

You hardly get in touch with some pilgrims, others are chattering away. Sometimes there is a real click. One morning I had very animated conversations with a hiker, which philosophized on and on. We sent him out in the afternoon, otherwise it wouldn’t work out with his Walk of Wisdom.

Or that eighty-year-old grandfather. After he arrived here, he first went for a walk to the village. “Then I’ve already had that”. “But then you have to walk that part again tomorrow.” “Then I’ll take the bus”. But he was going to miss that bus, so I took him a long way myself.’

Are you a hiker yourself?

‘I love walking and will definitely walk the Walk of Wisdom , maybe this spring. But in one go, in about ten days. My condition has deteriorated a lot since I don’t have a dog anymore, haha!

What attracts me is that feeling of freedom among pilgrims. Not knowing where you’ll sleep the next night. People with an open, free mind, that’s what I like. Don’t get your hopes up, happy with what’s coming.’

I think you are a very social and idealistic person.

‘Yes, although I know that you have to make concessions from time to time. The ideals are my guideline. From my biology studies, I became environmentally conscious. Healthy food without meat, buy organic vegetables. Not because it would be healthier, but because it is good for the earth, nature, the environment. Don’t waste food. If a plant has tried so hard to become a beautiful cucumber, you should not throw away a large part!

But I really had to discover the social life. As a child, I lived very secluded on a farm, near Breda. It was an eighteen-kilometre bike ride to school and back again. As a result, I didn’t have many social contacts. Everything changed when I came to Nijmegen. That you could walk to your friends around the corner within five minutes, what a revelation! I discovered the nightlife (De Swing, Diogenes) and often went to concerts. When I had lived through all that, I became idealistic and discovered the alternative scene. First in the Vowel, then in the Refectory.’

Do you feel at home in the alternative scene? And I mean that in a positive way…

‘Yes, I’ve found my place here! I came from the scientific field and worked as a biologist at the university. On the weekends I cooked in the Klinker. I like cooking, I can put my energy into it. (Laughing) It really was 200% non-profit! If we had any leftovers, it went to charity. It was idealism, that’s what you did it for. To create something together, to stand up for the people who are less fortunate or who are excluded. We provided affordable, organic meals. I had a good time in science, but in the Grote Broek I was able to broaden my horizons. A lot happened in the squat: films, promotions, benefit parties, but also just reading your newspaper with a cup of herbal tea.’

You are undoubtedly now feeling the effects of ‘corona’….

‘In any case, all activities in the Refter have been on hold for a while. We are also unable to receive groups, only the individual hiker can still come to us. But our income has plummeted and we have to rely on welfare. We are eating into our reserves. No, this shouldn’t take another year, then we won’t make it! Fortunately, I still have my hobby, horseback riding. No one can take that away from me, haha!’

Is there anything else the world needs to know?

‘It’s nice that people don’t have to travel a long way to Spain to start walking for a pilgrimage. You can now do that in the neighborhood. Just come to yourself, think, leave the busy world behind for a while’.