Cabin fever #3: 2 nights in a Slow Cabin

I’m starting to sound like a broken record when I say I’m as partial to a getaway in a cabin/tiny house as the next city-dwelling millennial. I wrote about my stays at Nutchel and at a refurbished vintage trailer before, and my bucket list of tiny weekend getaways is far from complete. I’ve been extremely busy with work and studying for an exam, so it felt wise to book a short trip to force myself to take some downtime. This time, I opted for a Belgian company that’s very vocal about the sustainability of their little homes-away-from-home: Slow Cabins.

The deal: you book a two night stay at a cabin that’s completely off-grid and located in a tranquil and green setting, about a two-hour drive from your own doorstep. Plot twist: you only learn about your destination two weeks in advance. All info about what to do and where to eat comes in a neat little digital brochure, pointing you to beautiful spots, fun activities and gastronomic hotspots wherever you’re going.

I’ll keep our exact destination vague so as not to spoil anything for those interested in their own Slow Cabins adventure, but we set off to the land of a million orchards: Limburg.

The cabin

Rooms

You would think I would be used to it by now, but opening the door to a new cabin never stops feeling a bit like Christmas for grown-ups. First impressions: a little minimalist contemporary Scandi sanctuary, perfectly accessorized yet no visual clutter. Also, the place smelled like pine, which is by no means required, but appreciated nonetheless.

The main area combines a kitchen and dining area, a sitting nook with a beautiful (and comfy) woven chair in front of the fireplace and the built-in queen size bed. A sliding door opens up to a surprisingly roomy bathroom with a washbasin, rain shower and composting toilet (more about this elusive contraption later).

Surroundings

This is the first cabin we have visited that is actually quite remote. Walking from the parking space to the doorstep would have been a 15 minute walk on a little dirt road between the fields. We took our bikes with us, so we were able to do it in half the time (but I was slightly concussed upon arrival as road race bikes and lumpy dirt don’t mix).

The cabin’s location was great though. Fields in the front and woods in the back: ayo woodland creatures! There were shrews checking out our little bonfire and birds of prey during all hours of the day, and we even woke op to 4 young deer having a morning stroll in full line of sight. Needless to say, with views like these, we never pulled the curtains down during our entire stay.

Sustanability

Build

The cabin was constructed with sustainable materials: loads of renewably sourced pine. Everything from the kitchen to the bed to the bathroom is bespoke. It’s all built with incredible attention to detail and user comfort, feels durable and above all, it just makes sense.

Water & power

What drew me to the concept is that it’s a completely self-sufficient off grid build, running on filtered rain water and solar energy. This was no hassle whatsoever: there was a five liter glass container with tap on the kitchen counter for drinking and brushing your teeth. For showering and dishes, the rain water was perfectly fine.

Then, on to the thing I was most curious about: the composting toilet. This had a separator for liquids and was pretty straightforward to use. Everything ends up where it should be, you pour a cup of water through the liquids funnel or a cup of wood shavings in the solids compartment after use, close the lid and forget about it. It’s really no less comfortable than a flushing toilet. However, there is one downside: it wasn’t completely odour-free. I have read into this a bit more, and I believe it’s because this was a very simple build with a bag that’s disposed of (via the Humanure method, if you must know) before new guests arrive. More sophisticated composting toilets have a fan connected to the outside, which should eliminate the problem. However, these types of toilets store the waste for longer periods of time. I can imagine some guests finding this an unpleasant idea, so I fully understand why Slow Cabins went for the no-frills approach instead.

Thank you for listening to my TED-talk about human waste, now let’s get back to the finer aspects of our stay.

Interior

Yes, the interior of the cabin feels very aesthetic, minimalist and “slow”, but that’s not just for show. While some cabins just aim for the sustainable look and leave it at that, Slow Cabins actually walks the walk. I was pleased to recognise lots of accessories from actual sustainable brands I already know (like the Hadithi plant baskets, Tucurinca woven chair and Yumeko towels) and took some mental notes for our own place.

Activities

When booking a weekend with Slow Cabins, you’ll never get bored (unless you want to). We went for a 27 kilometer bike ride and were happy to leave it at that, but if you’re into museums, historic city centres or great food, the brochure will have plenty to your liking. And while a bike ride sounds pretty lame compared to the schedule of our previous cabin trip, it was actually quite lovely. Temperatures rose to 24°C which is absurd for the end of October and should probably remind us of our planet’s impending demise, but we had a wonderful time.

Conclusion

Slow cabins provided us with our most sustainable cabin experience so far. The cabin was beautiful and cleverly designed, the location was everything we could have hoped for, and we went home completely recharged. I cannot recommend them enough.