Arriving in the Land of Hildegard: Bad Kreuznach
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Today our group lands at Frankfurt and makes the short drive to Bad Kreuznach — a spa town on the Nahe River that will serve as home base for the next nine days. It’s a deliberately gentle first day. No monastery ruins, no long walks, no itinerary to rush through. Just arrival.
There’s a reason for that softness. Hildegard’s central theological idea, Viriditas — the greening power of God, the life force running through all creation — isn’t something you arrive at by force. It’s something you notice once you’ve slowed down enough to see it. So the first hours in the Land of Hildegard are spent doing exactly that: a walk through the park beside the hotel, a meal taken without hurry, an evening of introductions among people who, in most cases, are strangers to each other and about to become fellow pilgrims.
All of creation is song in praise to God.
Hildegard von Bingen
Bad Kreuznach itself is worth the slow look. It’s known for its spa bathhouses, its riverside walking trails, and a small but excellent Roman archaeological museum — the Römerhalle — a reminder that this landscape was being lived in and cultivated long before Hildegard ever set foot on it. Over the coming days, the group will range out from here to Disibodenberg, Rupertsberg, Sponheim, and finally to Eibingen for the Feast Day itself. Tonight, though, is simply for arriving — for letting the noise of travel fall away and the rhythm of the Nahe Valley take its place.
Registration for the September 2026 pilgrimage is closed, but we’re already planning ahead — Hildegard’s 850th anniversary falls in 2029. Join the waitlist to hear about future journeys first.