How pilgrimage becomes a habit – and why it might just work in a Berlin park.
Dear pilgrims,
One morning, the idea came to me. It wasn’t planned, and I hadn’t thought it through. It was simply there.
After Work Pilgrims: Evening walks, mid-week, through Berlin’s parks.
I started to wonder. My first thought was: this won’t work.
Pilgrimage needs time. The body needs to settle. The thoughts need to untangle. On our day hikes, we walk for at least two hours before we move into silence.
Two hours in total in the evening, somewhere between the end of work and the night – there’s barely room for any of that. And then there are the inner-city parks, with joggers, dog walkers, playing children, and street noise that never really stops.
Still, I’m going to try.
Because something about this idea won’t let me go: pilgrimage as a practice, not an event. Walk once, and you recharge. Walk regularly, and you change.
Serenity that stays. Peace with yourself that grows. More courage to let go. That doesn’t happen on a single Saturday on the trail or in a national park in Brandenburg.
It happens when walking becomes a habit, a piece of who you are.
And perhaps a Volkspark or the Tempelhofer Feld is exactly the right place for that. Not in spite of the noise, but because of it.
Life doesn’t stop when we want to pause. Something is always happening. Learning to find stillness inside that restlessness is not a bad practice.
Six evenings, six parks, mid-week
From May, we’ll give it a go. Six summer evenings, six iconic parks and places across Berlin, mid-week. For everyone who doesn’t want to sacrifice a whole day but still wants to walk.
After Work Pilgrims:
- Wed, May 6, 6:00 PM @ Tempelhofer Feld
- Wed, May 27, 6:00 PM @ Mauerpark & Humboldthain
- Wed, June 10, 6:00 PM @ Volkspark Friedrichshain
- Wed, June 24, 6:00 PM @ Park am Gleisdreieck
- Wed, July 8, 6:00 PM @ Tiergarten
- Wed, July 22, 6:00 PM @ Treptower Park
You’ll find all the details on my website.
Just go
And for everyone who isn’t in Berlin: you don’t need me for this. Just go. This evening. One hour, the nearest park, a bench somewhere. That’s pilgrimage too.
Buen Camino,
Alexander
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