Category: landscape

Kalenders

Voor de Kunstroute Heumen heb ik twee kalenders voor 2024 gemaakt. Wilt u ook een stukje van de prachtige natuur rond Heumen aan de muur? Stuur me dan een mailtje op johannekekroesbergen@gmail.com!

De eerste kalender, Heumens Mooiste, is een kalender op A4 formaat, gedrukt op superieur hoogglanzend papier. Alle foto’s op de kalender zijn gemaakt in de gemeente Heumen. Zo ziet de kalender eruit:

De tweede kalender, Betoverende Natuur in het Rijk van Nijmegen bevat foto’s uit een iets wijdere omgeving, zoals behalve de gemeente Heumen ook de Jansberg en de bossen rond Groesbeek. De foto’s zijn afgedrukt op premium matglanzend papier op A3 formaat. Daarnaast heeft de kalender een A3 planner – een echte kalender voor dagelijks gebruik dus! Bij mij hangt ‘ie in de keuken. Zo ziet de kalender eruit:

De kalender Heumens Mooiste kost € 27,50 (excl. verzendkosten), en de kalender Betoverende Natuur in het Rijk van Nijmegen € 32,50 (excl. verzendkosten). Geïnteresseerd? Mail naar johannekekroesbergen@gmail.com.

Open the windows!

In the woods, among the trees, in tunnels of green I feel connected to something larger. Nature nurtures my spirituality. This weekend, I will present some of my photography in a church – a spiritual place too. I took it as an invitation: how would I make this church my church?

As an adolescent, I rebelled against organized religion. In agreement, I wrote down quotes that described churches as cold storage silos where every divine spark was extinguished in the chill of authority, hierarchy and stifling dogmas. No, it’s nature I looked upon. Nature is free and does not judge. Wasn’t a majestic tree or a standing stone enough for people to meet God in the past? Wasn’t that as good?

Today I am more moderate. I like to visit churches. But wouldn’t it be nice to bring some of nature into the church as well? To open the windows, as it were? In my exposition, I took this idea as a starting point.

Awesome wonder

I am not the only one who feels inspired by nature. Through the ages, people have found God in trees, brooks, and mountain tops, and written and sung about it. The expression ‘awesome wonder’ comes from a beloved English hymn, where it describes the feeling of meeting something higher in nature. It is a wonder, an amazement at the beauty of creation; but it is also a feeling of awe and respect for a power greater than humanity. Awesome wonder became my motto and the title of this blog.

The feeling of awesome wonder, of amazement in awe, is the core of all religion, according to some: the mysterium tremendum et fascinans, the mystery that fascinates but inspires with awe at the same time. At the exposition, on the altar, I have placed three images that resonate with this idea: (wo)man in a cathedral of trees; an elephant, a gentle giant you don’t want too near to you; and the lion with his blind eye that seems to look straight into the spirit world.

If you are near Heumen this weekend, enjoy with me, in awesome wonder, of the majesty of nature in this exposition. And then, step outside and discover something beautiful!

Waterfall experience

The Waterfall Experience route is a beautiful hike near the sleepy town of Bad Bertrich in the Eifel region of Germany. In the past this must have been a spectacular spa, but today many shops and hotels have seen better days.

The hike, however, shines. There are steep hills to climp to get to the Bismarck tower, which looks like it is wearing Bismarck’s characteristic Pickelhaube. The hike also leads to the highest waterfall in the Eifel – still not too high or impressive, but an adventure to get to. After walking past a cave system that was in use in the Stone Age, the highlight of the hike beckons: a spring that is used as a beer cooler, with a cache for a voluntary contribution. It’s almost utopian!

Familiar and unexpected

Another stage of the Walk of Wisdom, from Malden to Grave. Again, it was an amazing combination of the familiar and the unexpected. In this stage, we also passed the halfway point of the route. Three long stages to go! Today’s was 20 km, and I’m proud of myself for making it this far!

Maria Laach

We spent two days hiking at Maria Laach, a big lake in a volcanic crater. In the water you can see bubbles coming from the bottom of the lake, a sign that the volcano is dormant but not dead. Apparently a new outbreak is statistically overdue. Makes exciting hikes!

Hiking is lovely on the steep slopes of the volcano. We saw many mice, interesting beetles and even a snake. But the highlight is the Abbey of Maria-Laach that has stood on the banks of the lake since 1093. Unimaginably old, that is! The place has a very peaceful and loving atmosphere and we enjoyed spending the night at the abbey.

Summer hike

My plan for the summer is to do a long hike at least once a week, and since today’s weather promised to be the best of this week, I set out for a nice long walk this morning. I chose the NS walk between Culemborg and Beesd station, with beautiful Dutch scenery.

It was weird to suddenly realize I was walking on the Mariënwaard estate, where almost exactly 15 years ago I broke my back. I think I’m fitter today than before that day, but it has taken me very long.

Two chapels

Today we visited a forest- and a field chapel. In the forest we found the chapel Dekke Tönnis – Fat Tony – for St Anthony. For fear of wildfires from candles the entrance was barred. Even more bars made the statue of the saint impossible to photograph. But it was a good place for a picknick!

After hiking through the beautiful forest we went to the Bruder Klaus Feldkapelle – Brother Klaus Field Chapel – a chapel built in 2007 in a very modern style. Parking is a kilometer from the chapel, so it’s a brief pilgrimage to get there. From the outside, the building looks a bit like a climbing wall. Inside, there is room for two people, it’s a really intimate space with big marbles in the walls that let the light in. It’s beautiful and has a very special feeling.

We were awed by the destruction in Bad Münstereifel, still visible after the floods two years ago, but driving through the Ahr valley, we saw that it was much worse there. It’s unimaginable what happened there. We ended the day with Flammkuchen in Bad Ahrweiler, where the marketplace was restored.

Roman temple

Did a beautiful hike today in the vicinity of Bad Münstereifel. A Roman sanctuary to the matrons – three goddesses – was very special to find. People had left some offerings, like Mexican coins and Dutch pre-Euro coins. They wanted to make a sacrifice but not one that’s actually worth something? What does that mean?

The town of Bad Münstereifel was badly damaged by the 2021 floods, now two years ago. The process of rebuilding is still ongoing, but it’s definitely worth a visit!