practical information

Here is some practical information for your retreat at Lioba, Holland.

Please read it carefully.

ARRIVALS:

You are welcome at the monastery on Saturday from 15:00 on. Please do not come before this time so that there is time for the sisters to prepare the rooms. You will have sufficient time to settle in, have tea in the garden or have a walk in the beautiful surroundings. We will be staying in the main guesthouse. When you arrive (and whenever you return from being outside) please ring the bell for the Guest House (The nun answering will ask who is there, and if you say your name and add "for Saki's group," they will welcome you and open the door. Sister Machaia will show you the way to the guest house.

In the dining hall, there is a table where you will find:

- the room assignments with your name on it.

- a karma yoga sign up sheet (necessary helping out with simple tasks, like clearing the table after meals, setting up dishes for the meals etc) which we will also talk about during the orientation meeting

- a sign up sheet for your daily sitting times

- dune cardsne cards for you to pick up

- a bowl and a check list for those who ordered beddings and towels.

For anyone who has ordered a bicycle, I will take your payment for this during the orientation meeting so that I can give it to Bert when he drops off the bicycle for you on Saturday! YOU MUST HAVE ORDERED THIS BY MONDAY JULY 12!

We will have an orientation meeting at 17:30, so please be on time. We will meet for an hour zhikr and meditation at 20:30.

Please note: your retreat begins on Saturday evening and ends on the following Sunday after lunch (14:00). You are asked to vacate and tidy up your room before noon on that day, so that the cleaners could prepare for the next group arriving on Monday morning. However, you are welcome to leave your luggage in the foyer if you wish to go for a walk after lunch before returning home, or if you need to wait for someone to pick you up.We will be holding a strict silence throughout the retreat, except for the day of arrival on Saturday and the day of departure the following Sunday.

MEALS

The food at the monastery is very simple and basic vegetarian food. This is a monastery, not a restaurant catering to everyone's dietary needs.

If you have special needs or have particular allergies you are advised to bring this yourself. There is also a grocery store in the town of Egmond Binnen, about half an hour walk into town. There is a small refrigerator in the kitchen for you to store your perishable items. Please label your own personal items, and be aware that we are sharing this with 10 others from our group!

Breakfast: muesli, yoghurt, milk, some fruit, bread and cheese are provided which we must set up ourselves.

Lunch: usually brought in a trolley between 12:15 - 12:45 - this is the only warm meal served daily

Supper: from 18:30 - same as for breakfast with bread,cheese and sometimes some salad items (we can request cucumbers, tomatoes etc.)

The retreat ends on the following Sunday after lunch.

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travelling there:

If you are coming by train, the best station to transfer to is CASTRICUM. As the bus schedules are not very reliable at this time, it is best to take a taxi from Castricum to Lioba. It costs around €20 - €25

Remember, international trains are often arriving later than scheduled, so be aware of this when making plans for local connecting trains or busses.

for the brave ones, go to this site to check for bus possibilities from HEILOO: https://www.connexxion.nl/en/. HOWEVER, DURING THIS TIME OF CORONA, IT WILL NOT BE EASY!

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THE BEAUTIFUL SURROUNDING DUNES

A dune week ticket is required if you wish to go for longer walks into the dunes and to the sea. It is included in your retreat fee but I need to purchase it for you in town so let me know if you want one!

If you have a map of the dunes from previous years, please bring it with you.

On the page with directions there is also a small map of the dunes which could be good enough.

You don't need a map to find the sea - there is a straight road to it (Middenweg). The sea is just over 3 km away from the monastery - an hour walk.

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write to Lightsong@gmail.com for any additional questions and to let us know what time you will be arriving at Lioba monastary.

Have a good and safe trip [return to top]