Places of power

Hiking and treading water: Around the Brauchhauser Steine in Olsberg, your circulation really gets going. On the one hand, the four gigantic volcanic rocks are simply uplifting sights, but on the other hand, they are also real highlights of a hike. One of the four, the 45 metre high Feldstein, forms the highest point of the Isenberg thanks to its summit location - and can be climbed via a rock staircase.

There are extremely healthy refreshment options just around the corner: on the approximately 40-kilometre-long Olsberg Kneipp hiking trail, there are natural steps to cool down hot soles. Along the way, you can take your shoes off six times and dip your feet into the cool, clear mountain stream. This refreshes you and spurs you on for the climb to the summit of the 700 metre high Olsberg, from where you can gaze far into the distance. And somewhere there, in the middle of the Sauerland forest landscape, you can see them again, the Bruchhauser Steine.

Peace, space, well-being: the Landhotel Voshövel in Schermbeck is the ideal address for a hiking holiday combined with wellness. Because after a tour on the Hohe Mark-Steig, where dense forests alternate with dreamy moors and meadow landscapes, a hammam, sauna and massage await you in the evening. What will the next day bring...?

Perhaps another stage: the quality hiking trail leads right across the Hohe Mark Nature Park - from Wesel on the Lower Rhine to Olfen in Münsterland. Sometimes hikers wander through forests. Then the landscape opens up and the tour continues through moors, meadows and lakes. A total of 150 kilometres long, the six stages of the trail and the "LandStreifer" circular routes are ideal for day trips. There is also time for surprising cultural moments along the way. For example, the Otto Pankok Museum with Haus Esselt in Hünxe is well worth a detour. The painter's former home is idyllically nestled in a wild and romantic garden - and only a good two kilometres away from the Landhotel Voshövel, where good food and the Livingroom Spa will help tired hikers regain their strength.

Untouched, pristine, close to the earth: People travelling through the wild and romantic landscape of the Eifel National Park and treating themselves to a break in the guest house at Steinfeld Monastery are completely at one with themselves. The monastery has been home to the Salvatorian order for almost 100 years and offers its guests an exceptional place to stay. The monastery is also a place to slow down and socialise as well as a stage destination on the Eifelsteig trail.

Here in the Eifel, it's not just nature itself that decides what to do and at what pace. You can do the same: With yoga retreats and meditation, hikes and forest bathing, body and mind can be harmonised again.

The eye can't get enough of it here: In late summer, the Niedersfelder Hochheide blooms in bright purple. The sea of colours on the high plateau near Winterberg in the Sauerland invites you to let your mind wander and take in the surroundings with all your senses. This is because one of the largest mountain heaths in the country forms the magnificent backdrop for the "Golden Path".

This circular hiking trail leads around five kilometres through the high heath at the foot of the Langenberg. Along the way, there is not only plenty of nature, but also ten mindfulness stations that allow you to take a detour into your own self. Listening to the concert of nature and inner voices is a grounding experience.

At Kornelimünster Abbey, guests leave their everyday lives at the gate - and enjoy a few hours or days of peace and contemplation behind monastery walls. Sometimes religiously during prayer, sometimes quite secularly with Qigong or meditative dance. Or sporty: the Aachen district of the same name not only marks the start of the Eifelsteig long-distance hiking trail, which leads from the Volcanic Eifel to Trier under the motto "Where rock and water accompany you". The abbey is also located directly on the Vennbahn, a cycle path that leads through three countries and the High Fens Nature Park in six stages.

For an active break, however, it is not absolutely necessary to step outside the gates: Kornelimünster Abbey, where the Benedictines still practise their faith today, is a cosmopolitan meeting place and offers meditation courses, archery and dance days.

Monastery history and culture: what was once reserved for monks can now be combined in a very secular way on a cycle tour through the Teutoburg Forest. The Monastery Garden Route not only provides an insight into the "heavenly gardens" in which the monks planted herbs, medicinal plants and exotic plants. The route also offers the opportunity to take a look behind the monastery walls - and leave everyday life behind for a moment.

The Monastery Garden Route starts at the former Benedictine abbey of Marienmünster, where a visitor centre informs guests about other monasteries in the region and what else awaits them on the tour through the Höxter district. Perfectly prepared, they then set off on the 315 route, which can be easily cycled in five stages. In addition to the numerous gardens inspired by the knowledge of the monks, the route brings together other sights along the way. These include the medieval backdrop of Warburg and the former Benedictine monastery of Corvey. Its Carolingian westwork is the oldest almost completely preserved building in Westphalia and is a Unesco World Heritage Site.

Switch off, take a deep breath and let the wind blow around your nose: A walk through the Bad Salzuflen spa gardens feels like a day at the seaside. Because there is always a light breeze in the saltwater spa. The air tastes slightly salty, and in the summer months a brine beach beckons you to relax and sunbathe. Here, every breath is a breath of fresh air.

Bad Salzuflen is one of seven modern spas in the Teutoburg Forest region. The air here is particularly pure and healthy. 600,000 litres of mineral-rich brine trickle down the walls of the impressive graduation towers in the spa park every day, providing a soothing freshness boost. The extensive park with its old trees and colourful flowerbeds also provides the setting for activity programmes such as Qigong or gymnastics, which anyone is welcome to join. The most beautiful view of the park can be enjoyed from the viewing platform of the adventure graduation tower with its brine mist chamber.

The nature around the medieval Nideggen Castle in the Eifel region is rough and rugged. Rugged red sandstone rocks characterise the landscape, which can be hiked along the red sandstone route. The hiking trail leads for around 40 kilometres through the striking red rock landscapes, the Rur Valley and the Eifel National Park. Hikers are accompanied by birds, as the rocks are a refuge for numerous native bird species such as woodpeckers, falcons and eagle owls.

At the same time, a tour around the medieval Nideggen Castle, which was once the residence of the Counts of Jülich, offers unique views of the landscape of the Eifel National Park - a mixture of dense forests and lake panoramas. Idyllically nestled here is the Rursee lake, which attracts visitors in summer with its natural bathing spots and sandy beaches. The restaurant at Nideggen Castle - directly opposite the museum in the keep - is also an inviting place to stop along the way.