Our life of luxury is over

Miller’s house turned into a hotel at Pakruojis Manor

Poor John and I have lived the most unreal existence over the last month. It’s called luxury.

Over the last eight years, most of our normal travels have been on the back of overland trucks or in vans. We’ve camped a lot, sleeping in tents that are waterproof. We’ve used self-inflating Therm-a-rest mats (highly recommended) that are almost as good as many mattresses. Our sleeping bags have been good for three seasons.

We’ve lived in camping clothes—merino (wool) tops that are machine-washable, but which would shrink to Barbie-size in a clothes dryer, and lightweight camping trousers or shorts. My favourite brands are Icebreaker and MacPac for tops, and Berghaus for pants (they just fit me right).

Approaching reception at Pakruojis Manor

But this trip has been totally outside the box.

We rented a car in Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, and have stayed in four and five-star accommodation (with breakfast included). I wrote about some of those amazing breakfasts here.

The only constant has been our devotion to camping clothes. We’ve worn them every day, and worn quite a few layers in an effort to stay warm in an unusually cold spring in these parts. It was 7°C (45°F) yesterday in Tallinn, Estonia and, according to the weather report, the wind made it feel like -2°C.

Accommodation-wise we are back to earth and, luckily, the temperatures are warmer.

We’re still in camping clothes, and in a very comfy and nice B&B in Brussels, Belgium. But for a change, we’re up three narrow flights of stairs with no lift and a toilet that’s next door to our room and shared with another room.

We’ve had a great time being completely spoilt (I’ll be writing about the top three places we stayed), but now it’s time to re-adjust to the real world.

But in case you think we’ve been totally spoilt, I will point out that Poor John (also known as He Who Walks Everywhere) has had us walking to and from the ports in Helsinki, Stockholm and Tallinn. 

Just picture me dragging a 15-kilo bag (on wheels) and carrying a 3-kilo camera bag and a 6-kilo carry-on bag as we trudge between port and hotel. Most walks have been about 40 minutes, until we’ve found the shortcuts to go back to the port.

Wonderful scenery around Pakruojis Manor

Clearly luxury comes at a price.

That said, Poor John once walked from our house in Campbell to the Canberra Airport (at 4am) just so he could say he’d done it. Many years ago, and because the banks weren’t open, he walked from the airport to the city in Istanbul, Turkey. Now that was a stroll in the extreme because it’s more than a 4-hour walk.

Anyway, I’ll be back soon with posts about our luxury stays and our less salubrious stays. We’ve booked a camping/cycling trip for next week in Brittany. Here’s hoping it doesn’t rain.

P.S. Plus lots more to tell about our times in Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. It’s been a fantastic trip.

Our bedroom in Pakruojis Manor. Perhaps the most basic room we had