The Head Empty

The vast sandbanks, the sun glinting on the water, the seabirds circling overhead: the perfect recipe for clearing your head thoroughly. During a mudflat walk, you feel as if you are alone in the world. As you make your way through the mud, with the occasional big stap to cross a gully, you are at one with nature. When you go wadlopen met Wim Spijk, you go on a trip with a small group and you reflect on the unique piece of nature you walk along. Wim can tell you all about the Wadden Sea and all the life hidden in this Unesco World Heritage area.

On the mud flats, you can go in any direction: take a walk at Noordpolderzijl or on Engelsmanplaat. A crossing to one of the islands is also possible. How special is it to start on the mainland and end on an island? And if you really want a special experience, consider a silent trip or a trip during sunrise or sunset. Wim is happy to think with you. Be warned though: the peace you experience on the mud flats will take some getting used to all the stimuli on the mainland.

"Welcome to the heart of this house, welcome to the love of this house". Sobegins a meditation in the chapel at Herberg het Klooster. Where the convent in Kloosterburen used to be a place for the nuns to retreat to, it is now a place where everyone is welcome to find peace. Perhaps it is the long corridors, the stained-glass windows or the high ceilings and spiral staircases; the sense of contemplation comes right in when you step over the threshold here.

Run by Marlies and Inge, Herberg het Klooster is a spiritual centre where various retreats and training sessions are held. Whether you want to gain new insights or just do nothing at all, there is a place for you here. The hostel works on the principle that stillness can provide answers to the questions that play a role in your life. The retreats focus on rest, deepening, silence, movement, releasing and letting go, meditation, together and alone. This is also the right place for family constellations or special weekends where you take a walk on the mud flats at full moon. The doors of the monastery, the large monastery garden and the peaceful chapel are open to you.

In the vast Groninger landscape, church towers are beacons that show you the way. On centuries-old mounds and wierden they tower above everything else. Via characteristic villages, untouched nature and mediaeval churches, Het Ziltepad takes you along. The long-distance route that runs from Hijum in Friesland to Uithuizermeeden in Groningen gives you the real pilgrim's feeling. The route is divided into nine stages, each starting at a different church. The churches are open to you in both summer and winter, giving them a new function.

That new function is in several aspects. A church can serve as the starting or ending point of your route, and some churches offer the opportunity to spend the night there like a true pilgrim. But churches are also places to reflect well. Indeed, the Ziltepad is more than just a physical walk; it is also an inner journey of self-discovery, personal growth and connection. The path embraces the rich history and spiritual significance of the churches you encounter along the way - historic places where you can unwind and meditate in silence. Because along the rugged edge of the North, you will discover the most beautiful things; about your surroundings and yourself.

Here, where land meets sea, the soothing rhythm of the ebb and flow perfectly matches the meditations and exercises of Yoga on the Wadden Sea. The salty sea air is invigorating and cleansing, while contact with the wet sandy bottom gives a feeling of connection to the earth. The mudflats invite reflection and letting go, just as the tides constantly change the coastline.

Petra Weel has been teaching Yoga on the Wadden for 10 years. Will you join us for a day? Then count on really getting away from it all. Petra also calls it a 'mini holiday in a day'. With an old KNRM boat you go out onto the mud flats. On the boat, you will enjoy the view, get some yoga instructions and maybe even spot some seals. When the boat stops, you walk through shallow water to a dry sandbank. Here you roll out your yoga mat and get completely zen.

The beauty of the clouds, the vast expanse that allows you to see as far as you like and the light that constantly changes the colour of the landscape. The work of the Ploeg artists is colourful, just like the Groningen landscape. With the red of farms and borgen, the yellow of waving grain and the blue of the sky and water. At the beginning of the 20th century, a group of young artists founded the Groningen art group De Ploeg. The name stands for ploughing the earth; for developing innovative art. Now, over a hundred years later, it is impossible to imagine Dutch art history without the Groningen expressionism of De Ploeg. On a cycle tour of 'In het spoor van De Ploeg', you will pass places that inspired and were dear to the Ploeg painters.

But there is a lot of art in public spaces to admire in Waddenland anyway. If you drive along the N361, you will see three new artworks passing by. These artworks also all draw inspiration from the landscape, De Ploeg as an art movement and Groningen's history. Another newly opened artwork can be found near Noordpolderzijl. Sterrenzijl by artist Marc van Vliet, with a night garden next to it, calls attention to the still real darkness in this area.