by Don Johnston
A hardy group of well-wishers braved the cold on Saturday morning, December 27th, to say goodbye to a special visitor who had spent the Christmas Break in Almonte getting ready for the next leg of her amazing journey around the world. Katharina Kneip, an artist from Germany, has been circumnavigating the Earth for almost three years exclusively by foot, ski, sailboat and kayak on a northern route for her art project Round:Motion. In July she entered Canada in Newfoundland, coming by sailboat from Iceland. Since then she has walked across Newfoundland, sailed across the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and then walked through Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Quebec all the way to Mississippi Mills.
Katharina stayed at the Almonte home of Nina Stefansdottir and Tony Lopes over the Christmas Break while they were away on vacation. Katharina had met Nina’s parents on her journey during a stop in Iceland and it was through them that she was offered a place to stay in Almonte.
As she set off on her journey from Almonte last Saturday, Katharina received warm wishes from her fans gathered at the Library. To mark the occasion, Almonte resident Christine Hume gave her a moonstone (a crystal for travellers), and a note with a quote from Merilyn Simonds book, ‘Walking with Beth’: https://www.merilynsimonds.com/walking-with-beth.html
The main thing is to stop seeing life as a ladder, in which success depends on climbing ever higher. That’s a child’s dream. Life is a walk over the planet, across swamps and mountains, and the way you keep going is you just keep walking.” (Sloan Wilson, The Man in the Grey Flannel Suit)
Katharina later wrote on her Facebook page that she had been “wished a wonderful farewell, a poem was read and I was once again overwhelmed by this incredible community.”
Katharina is very pleased to have been granted a visitors’ visa permitting her to stay in Canada for up to two years. Unfortunately the visa does not permit her to engage in paid work while here. Those wishing to help Katharina with a (non-tax deductible) donation can do so on her website at round-motion.com by clicking one of the 3 buttons at the lower right of this page https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1ZzS76HUbM/. Alternatively, a (cash) donation can be dropped off with Mill Street Books.
Katharina’s next stop will be in Renfrew; stay tuned.
