Get Thee To The Nunnery!

My sister invited me to join her and her friend for the past weekend at a monestary for a women's retreat. It's not very far from where I live. It was built in the 30's, and overlooks a neighbouring town. I had a wonderful time! I took over 200 photographs, ate wholesome food, wandered the monestary grounds, sang with the other ladies in our group. My sister, her friend and I slept in the nunnery, which is a small, seperate building down the path from the monestary. We each had our own private room, though we shared a bathroom. The monks were mostly friendly - they're Benedictine monks, meaning their motto is hospitality. Much of the time, they go around in their floor length, black robes, with the attached hoods. They didn't speak much, and some didn't say anything at all (they go through periods of silence), but one of them carried my bag, and even joked that we 'shared a common problem', indicating my long skirt that I had to lift in order to climb the stairs, just as he had to lift his long robes. A very friendly monk served us our meals, and prayed over the food. During one meal he went from table to table with a large wicker basket filled with garlic bread. I wonder if they realise how picturesque they are, just as they go about their day!

We weren't allowed to view certain areas of the monestary and grounds, such as the barns, which made me terribly curious, but we were able to see a lot of the place. The monestary is high up on a hill. The surrounding acres are owned by the monestary, and kept in woodland, meadowland, gardens, fruit trees, there is even a small lake. It's all gently rolling hills. There are hedgerows, and rustic wood and wire fences with simple wooden gates to seperate sections of meadow. White cows wander peacefully, and wild deer come out at dusk. There is a small graveyard where monks are buried - they remain at the monestary for life, and are buried there when they pass away. It all reminded me of an English countryside scene, except that the view beyond the monestary acreage is of distant mountains capped with snow. The monks are totally self sufficient, growing everything they need, and cooking/baking delicious meals for themselves, the boys who school there, and the guests, such as our group, who are staying there. They have a beautiful church, with marvelous stained glass windows of a type I've never seen before. Instead of the window frame being filled with glass divided by lead, the frame seems to be filled in with plaster, holes of various sizes and shapes cut into the plaster, and the glass set into the openings. At least, this is how it looked to me, as I gazed up from the floor far below. As the sun streams in through these windows, it becomes apparent that some of them are made up of blue tinted glass, others are red, while others are golden. The ceiling is also stained glass, allowing the sun to stream in from above. The monks ring bells to call people to church, it was breathtaking to hear them.

The first morning my sister and I got up before dawn, and went exploring. It was eerie to see the monks moving along the path as they went into church, their dark robes with their hoods pulled up over their heads, blended them with the surrounding dark. They would gradually appear, and seemed to float silently by. Unfortunately, it rained a lot over the weekend, and even thundered, but there were beautiful breaks in the weather that came all unexpectedly. Suddenly an opening in the clouds would appear and the sun streamed down on us, it seemed appropriate to our surroundings. I got some beautiful shots of cloud formations with their edges rimmed in gold from the sun behind them.

The nunnery where my sister, her friend, and I slept, was once used for a group of German nuns who were invited to live there to cook for the monks. They returned to Germany some years later. After this, some of the monks were sent to cookery school where they learned to create wonderful meals. All the vegetables and fruit are from the monestary gardens and orchards, the meat is from their own animals that have enjoyed peaceful, healthy lives. The nunnery has been kept in the simple, old fashioned style of the past, with minimalistic furnishings and beautiful white bed linens. There is a small chapel in the nunnery, with wooden kneeling benches arranged in two short rows. The soft light of dawn and dusk through the gauzy white curtain gave the room a dreamlike quality. I took photographs of that room at several times of day, to capture this mood. There are also two stained glass windows with golden panes. When the sun shone through these, the room was washed in gold.

My sister and I had some nice talks, eating chocolates in my room in the evening. We plan to return to the monestary (people can go there anytime for day trips, though overnight stays have to be booked in advance). I have many more photographs to take - my goal is to get some photos of the monks as they walk in single file up the path. I failed to get any of them this weekend - a person has to get their timing just right! I expect I'll be taking several hundred more pictures at this place before I'm done!