Monastery Retreat: Mind Detox with Qigong, Mindfulness, Meditation, and Hiking (with health insurance reimbursement)

The Guest House at Steinfeld Abbey
In 2015, the new guest house at Steinfeld Abbey opened its doors. The former boarding school was converted into 64 rooms meeting high four-star standards. Only the floor plan and the stairwell serve as reminders that students once lived there. The double and single rooms, ranging in size from 25 m² to 30 m², and the two junior suites, each measuring 48 m², exude monastic simplicity combined with contemporary design and comfort.

They feature solid oak plank floors, natural stone in the bathrooms, and natural materials for fabrics, upholstery, and blankets. The comfortable box-spring beds are generously sized at 2.10 m in length. Wi-Fi, flat-screen TVs, minibars, and telescoping reading lamps are standard features. Some of the double rooms are also equipped with a sleeper sofa. In addition, all rooms are wheelchair accessible, and we have three accessible rooms featuring panoramic windows. A glass elevator connects the three floors of the building.
The rooms are adorned with works of art from the Steinfelder Academy.

However, guests continue to enjoy the simple, monastic-style rooms in the monastery’s Baroque wing. The cozy single and double rooms are functionally equipped with a shower and toilet or feature a shared bathroom on the floor. In the double rooms, the beds are mostly separate. Inviting common areas are available for guests, especially for groups or families. Here you can spend the afternoon or evening hours in a relaxed atmosphere.

Incidentally, by staying at the monastery, you are making a valuable and important contribution to maintaining this old, historic building and spiritual, cultural site, and ensuring its continued operation. It’s a small contribution to the preservation and conservation of a unique cultural heritage.

In the morning, we’ll be treated to a hearty breakfast. A full meal is served at lunch and dinner as well. A salad bar is available, as well as a wide selection of fish, vegetarian, and vegan options. Full board is provided for our group but is not included in the seminar price. Special dietary needs (allergies) can be accommodated. Please specify these when making your reservation.

8:00 a.m. Pranayama (breathing exercises), meditative movement, and mindfulness exercises—in the Garden of Silence if the weather permits, otherwise in the seminar room
9:00 a.m. Breakfast
11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Qigong and relaxation
12:30 p.m. Lunch
1:30 p.m. Time for yourself: take a walk, go hiking, or simply unwind
4:15 p.m. Qigong
Time for rest and tea/coffee & cake
6:00 p.m. Dinner
8:00–9:00 p.m. Relaxation exercises/meditation

This schedule is a suggestion, not a requirement—everything is optional, nothing is mandatory. If your body needs more rest, feel free to follow that impulse and take some time to relax. One free afternoon.

Room keys will be handed out starting around 2:00 p.m.; the group will meet at 6:00 p.m. for dinner—4–5 tables in the dining room are reserved for our group. The seminar officially begins at 8:00 p.m. If you won’t be able to arrive until after 6:30 p.m., please notify the monastery in advance so that your room key can be held for you. The retreat ends on the day of departure after lunch, around 1:30 p.m. If you’d like to extend your stay, please make a reservation in advance. Bed linens and towels are provided on site. Feel free to bring your own yoga equipment and blanket—whatever you need for your practice. If you don’t have any equipment with you—whether due to transportation issues or simply because you forgot—you can rent equipment at the monastery for a small fee. Please let the monastery know as soon as possible so that it can be set out for you in the seminar room.

Steinfeld Abbey is located in the heart of the scenic Northern Eifel region and is easily accessible from Aachen, Cologne, Bonn, Koblenz, and Trier.

Getting There by Car

From the direction of Cologne/Bonn/the Ruhr region: Take the A1 highway to the Nettersheim exit (AS 113), then follow the signs for “Kloster Steinfeld.”
From Aachen or Trier/Southern Eifel: Take the B 258 to the roundabout near the village of Krekel. From there, follow the signs for “Kloster Steinfeld.”

Traveling by Train
Take the Cologne–Gerolstein/Trier regional train line to Urft (1.5 km to Steinfeld) or Kall (7 km to Steinfeld). From there, continue to Steinfeld by taxi bus (can be used at no additional cost with a VRS train ticket; please register 1 hour before departure by calling 0 18 06 15 15 15).