Last year, after two very hard years, during which my bank account emptied due to the off grid initiative in which I invested all my savings (to the point of needing a crowd funding campaign in order to survive the severe heatwaves), I sold my maternal flat, the house where I grew up, which is in a suburb of Athens, to migrate to Sweden with my partner and my pets.
Lesson No 1: Do NOT buy new cars!
The first thing that I did after selling this flat was to buy a mini van (which by now I have thankfully already sold) and since we couldn’t find a reliable second hand one, I got a new one. Big mistake! The new cars are “smart” cars and they can very well get into your nerves, due to the many warning messages that one can’t deactivate once and for all. As a result, my anxiety only increased. That is also the main reason that I wanted to sell it after we got settled in Sweden. Each time we entered the car, we had to manually deactivate 5 different warning messages. This was so tiring… Also, the car started giving messages of several errors, which soon after were disappearing, and the worse part: One day it started breaking by itself! Can you imagine, while you drive, to experience your car taking the initiative to use the breaks? It was so scary. Of course, they fixed this for free. But I was no longer feeling safe in it, by November, not even 6 months after its purchase.
The Migration Trip
Anyway, the trip of the migration itself, with this car, was at least safe. We drove from Evia to Igoumenitsa port, on the 19th of July (the day that Joanna Macy died, which I find quite symbolic, as the reason for this migration is the climate anxiety and eco grief that I was experiencing, things about which Joanna Macy was the first to speak about) from where we took the ferry to Brindizi (8h trip, a good night sleep in a pet friendly cabin) and from there, we drove to Bari to enjoy the best focaccia in town, on our way to Sant’Angelo Pontano where we spent the 2nd night to rest. We left Greece while there was a heatwave, so, the temperature was around 45 Celsius degrees, while in Italy it wasn’t much better (42 Celsius degrees). Next day, we drove to the south of Germany, and that part of the trip, crossing through Austria, was the most fascinating as the landscapes are breathtaking. In Austria we had the best vegan pizza and caprese salad, with the best vegan mozzarella I ever had in my life from Meow Pizzeria Verde but of course to take away, due to the animals who we had to take as fast as possible to the next stop for resting. The house that we stayed that night was awful, the host was very strange, something was very odd overall, and the energy was bad. It definitely affected Tsifki, my cat, and myself too. We found that house through the platform Vrbo on an attempt to minimize our use of Airbnb (although I now see that them too, support the colonization of Palestine), as we try to avoid supporting companies that don’t boycott Israel…
Anyway, the next day, we drove through Germany, while it was raining like crazy, and since I was exhausted from the bad sleep that I had in that odd house, it felt like an endless trip even though we were sharing the driving hours with my partner. At least, the house we stayed at on our 3rd stop, in Oeversee in the North of Germany, just a whisper away from Denmark, was nice and relaxing. And, finally, the next day, we drove through Denmark and arrived to our new next home, in Sweden, in Höör (Skåne).
Trips to Stockholm and to Belgium (by bus)
It was magical in Höör, until November, when we experienced the deforestation right next to our home, exactly where we were walking my dog, Caramelo. I have written all about it here, so I won´t write anything more about this deeply traumatic experience that stopped my menstrual cycle. By then, I had already travelled to Stockholm, by (Flix) bus and to Belgium (for health reasons), by (Flix) bus again, which is something I am not willing to do again though. Endless trip, very tiring and since the co-passengers may very well be disrespectful, annoying and disgusting, I prefer the train ever since. At least in the train there is more space and one can change seats.
I got very sick in Stockholm, maybe because entering to a bus, after 8 years in isolation while I was going everywhere by car, with my dogs and my cat, my organism had no more immunity to foreign bacteria and microbes. Or maybe it was due to my meeting with some vegan activists who either are Zionists or they stated that “they don´t care for the environment”, but “only for the animals”, so that´s why they travel by plane without shame, even for just two days, (e.g taking bullshit flights, more about that here). I should have lost hope of meeting people who don´t eat animals and their secretions, but they also care about all animals and the environment, by then, but I had not. Well, after that dinner party, I did.
Trip to Germany and the NL (by trains & buses) and some get aways in Älmhult and Växjö (Kronoberg county in the South of Sweden)
After the destruction of the forest started, I left to go to Germany and to the Netherlands, a trip that I had already arranged before learning about the deforestation. I have written about this trip here. After I came back from that trip, which I essentially did because I wanted to go to Sam Garrett´s concert in Cologne, I felt depressed due to the incident of the deforestation and our incapacity to stop that. As we were quickly approaching winter, my only escape from this graveyard was my weekends in Älmhult and Växjö, where some vegan activists live and had the kindness to open their house for me, in order to survive my first Scandinavian winter while trying to overcome the trauma from the natural disaster that took place right next to where we were living.
When xmas came, we went twice to spend the night elsewhere, sadly by using airbnb, despite our efforts not to, because we wanted to join a Tasty Future Brunch (food activism), in Växjö, which is hosted by our Italian friends there. The only way for both of us to do that, is to book a house nearby where Caramelo can stay while we are away, between his feeding and walking times. We also wanted to join a Xmas eve´s dinner in Älmhult, without having the stress to go back home feed and walk the dog. I will never forget that night: 10 vegan – antispeciesist activists VS a couple of former vegan people, who now not only eat meat, but the guy is even a hunter(!). His wife did the mistake to ask if we were all vegan while we were playing a board game, but the conversation after that, went very well and it was very civilized (to my surprise) plus the hunter left the dinner with an anti-hunting book!
The new year found us at the cute tiny cabin of a Dutch-Swedish couple, who live in the middle of a forest with 2 cats, a bit outside of Älmhult. We were all there together with a lovely Indian friend, and a Polish/Danish couple from Älmhult, we all brought xmas homemade goodies from our country, all veganized of course, and it was so cozy (except for the outdoor compost toilet as the temperature was well bellow minus 10). There is nothing better for my soul, than attending such intercultural meetings during holiday time! I had a similar experience when I was living in the Netherlands back in 2014 and it has kept me until I managed to leave again from Greece.
Joining a vegan winter camp in Southern Sweden
After the new year, we joined a 3 day Vegan camp in Sösdala, at a venue located right next to a frozen lake (the temperature was from -10 to -15) where we met vegan people from all over Sweden, Denmark and some foreigners living in the North of Sweden. The food there was really bad, to say the least, so I hope that next time they will consider asking for a vegan chef to save the situation. We met interesting people, but we didn´t make friends because simply, here, up in the North it is impossible to make friends. The highlight of that event was the sauna where we sadly realized that one of the participants was not vegan, but vegetarian, as she was telling us about her chickens who she exploits for their eggs (or better say, for their stolen periods).
Trip to Oslo through Gothenburg (is hospitality unknown in the Nordics?)
Right after that event, I took a train to go to Gothenburg, where I spent the night at the house of a very nice antispeciesist introvert acitivist who I´ve met at the local farm sanctuary in Skåne months before, who is half Iranian, half Swedish. She lives together with her Swedish partner, two rescued bunnies and a rescued (plant powered) dog from Ireland who has the best dog breath I ever (actually not) smelled because they are washing his teeth!!! The next day, I continued my trip to Oslo (an unforgettable trip as everything was covered by snow and I couldn´t stop making videos, here´s one of them:
I went to Oslo only to attend Christian Löffler´s concert, one of my favorite Djs. It took place at the Opera house, a magnificent building that even Architecture students from Gothenburg visit with the university.
It was magical.
Outside the temperature was -15, the train from Gothenburg couldn´t go all the way to Oslo, so they put as in a bus for some part of the trip, and then we continued with the train (because the railway was too…frozen! Which made me wonder, aren´t Norwegians used to these temperatures and how to deal with them? How come the infrastructure paralyzed?). But anyway, I will never forget what I saw when I got out from Oslo´s railway, the sunset (cover photo of this post) and the huge seagulls there.
And then, the water that evaporates due to the cold in the atmosphere…(check this on that video here).
But I will also never forget how impossible it was to find a hotel with receptionists. I stayed somewhere where I never saw anyone. I only received info on my phone with a passcode to open the doors…Was it always like that? I wonder.
I mean, I have already noticed that Swedes don´t know what hospitality is, as in both airbnbs they had the sheets and cover of the duvet left for us to put…and no one bothered to leave even a review after we left (I have reviews from hosts in all other countries where I have been in the past, namely from Spain, France, Italy, Croatia and Serbia and of course from Greece but also from Germany). So, I thought, that maybe it´s just the mentality of these people here. But, to see no person greeting me where I went to spend the night in Oslo, at a hotel, felt so….soul-less. The food there was only junk, I wonder how vegans survive up there…but I would like to go again, with a campervan with a kitchen where we will be able to cook healthy nutritious foods, while exploring the natural beauty of this country. The highlight of that trip was a tour around Oslo´s fjords, with an electric ferry. It was the first time in my life that I was stepping on an electric ferry and I was positively surprised with finding a vegan option at the canteen. I will also never forget the feeling of being in the heart of a capital at 23.00 after a concert, on a Saturday night, where no one is walking around, but of course, with -15 Celsius degrees why would anyone be outside?
On my way back from Oslo, a nice person that I´ve met at the Vegan camp hosted me, but him too, he just showed me where I would sleep and gave me sheets etc. However, he was kind enough to have cooked some food in the oven which we shared while exchanging our life´s experiences from traveling and living abroad. I must say here, that the girl who hosted me on my way to Oslo, made my bed, and I believe that this comes from her origins from Iran. Because as people in the Balkan countries, likewise the people from West Asian countries (I deny using the colonial term middle East) know what hospitality is in comparison with the Nordics. An example of Greek hospitality in Seta, Evia, that I experienced in 2021 is very well shown in a video here.
Roadtrip to Latvia & Lithuania – what a bliss
Since the months were passing, and we couldn´t find another house to rent, because the market in Sweden is dead during the winter…and since my beloved cat Tsifki got diagnosed with a serious chronic disease in February, which exhausted us with the treatment as she is a very hard cat who doesn´t take meds easily, my menstrual cycle was again non existent, and my mental health had been affected deeply. But even when we found a house, to buy, we couldn´t move when we wanted to, because, believe it or not, in Sweden, when you buy a property that is part of a building complex which is run by an association, you actually buy the right to live there, so you can´t just construct a fence on your own garden. You have to apply for it and wait for them to have a board meeting in order to decide if they allow that. Overall, I was so fed up with the rules and the bureaucracy in Sweden, that I just booked a ticket to Latvia, and I drove all the way up to Stockholm, to get the ferry and get the Hell out of here. And how wise was that decision! Spending 10 days in the Baltic countries was so nourishing to my soul! This was a gift from me to myself, with love, I, as my mother used to say! For my 40th birthday.
Latvia
Upon my arrival in Latvia, I first visited the widest waterfall of Europe, in Kuldiga, where, when I parked my car to take a walk to see them…I asked a young man that was about to leave with his car, if there is any spring source where I could fill my water bottle but he said no, however I could go in his house and fill it. This is something that a Swedish person would never do, and I felt so much gratitude for the warmth of Latvians that I received even from the moment when I stepped my foot in the ferry. My heart had missed that. The man who let me fill my water bottle was impressed by my car´s plates (“did you come here all the way from…Greece?”) and he told me about his Greek friends in UK, during his studies abroad, with who he was getting along so well. On that moment he said “maybe you moved to the wrong Northern country” and I thought that maybe he was right. For many reasons.
I then drove to Riga, where I stopped somewhere along the way, to capture in a photo some deer who sadly run away. Upon my arrival to Riga, I parked next to wall of an Indian restaurant which had a hole where a small sparrow was chilling and singing – communicating to other fellow sparrows. What a warm welcome! It was easy to find vegan food and specialty coffee there (I use this guide in order to find specialty coffee where they serve decaf and plant based milk). The highlight of Riga was my visit to the very first aquatic sanctuary in the world Akvariga where one can see rescued fishes, freshwater turtles and even a…crab!
I remember the Dubai chocolate dessert that I enjoyed from Kozy Eats because by this time I was seeing it everywhere but couldn´t try it as there is never a vegan option. And I remember of this one because I found another one to try from a vegetarian cafe in Riga next day which was really not nice. The quality of the food at Kozy Eats is just amazing. Of course, I can´t forget the Latvian national Museum of Arts, mostly the building itself that has astonishing beauty, but also the art pieces that one can enjoy in it.
On the next day, I visited Sigulda, to admire some castles and ruins from old castles, where I welcomed the Spring by walking barefoot at last after this harsh winter (harder winter in 15 years as people in the North say) and then I drove to Lithuania where a friend hosted me for a couple of nights in Vilnius.
Lithuania
I must say that I didn´t like Vilnius as I don´t like capitals overall, maybe because since 2018 I live in remote villages and I just find big cities overwhelming. My friend took me to so many different churches, the Russian one, the Lithuanian one, the Greek one, the Gothic one…and for someone not religious like me, who also really dislikes Orthodox churches, this initiative was not the best. I find it unacceptable to see so much wealth in churches when there is so much poverty around it. But at least this walk ended with some nice photos at a vegan restaurant where we had nice vegan food (and so affordable! Especially in comparison to Sweden).
On the next day, I drove to Kaunas, but only after visiting Trakai with my friend. However, since Spring had just arrived, it was too crowdy and I didn´t enjoy that walk so much.
On my way to Kaunas, I couldn´t believe that I was driving with the window open again, and that it was 15 Celsius degrees!!! Paradise, but also alarming. It was the first heatwave for this year, in Lithuania.
I absolutely LOVED Kaunas!!! I spent there 3 nights, because there was so much to see! The vibe was incredible. It reminded me of Thessaloniki. I visited an Art Deco museum, which is consisted by tours where you basically go through an experience, and even though it was in Lithuanian (there are also in English but not during the days that I was there), I enjoyed it a lot. This house reminded me of my grand parents homes. In Kaunas I enjoyed shopping at an organic shop, something that here in Sweden just doesn´t exist and I don´t know why…and I also enjoyed coffee (as much as a coffee lover raised in Greece can enjoy coffee in these countries up here) at a very cozy coffee place. The highlight of my stay in Kaunas was on my way back from a visit to a castle, when I saw a Mexican flag and I entered a Mexican restaurant where I enjoyed a warm cocktail (I didn´t even know this exists!) and nice vegan fajitas. The restaurant is called Agave and the chef is Mexican so they serve pure Mexican food. This finding was the definition of serendipity.
Also, I shall not forget to mention the Holy Donut place in Kaunas where they have 4-5 vegan options at least!
Last stop in Lithuania, I visited on my way back to Latvia (from where I would take the ferry back to Sweden) an Archaeological site protected by UNESCO in Kernavė, where my grief for Misoy hit me hard. On that moment I realized that whenever I would visit natural spaces, I would miss him because together with Misoy, we explored the world for 11 years, and with him by my side, I didn´t need anyone else. I was feeling whole. How much love this being has given me. How much will Ialways be missing him. And maybe that is why I prefer to visit cities ever since he left his body.
Back to Latvia
On my way back from Lithuania, I stopped for a couple of nights at Liepaja, where I had a blast!
I couldn´t believe in my eyes, when I entered a restaurant with delicious and so affordable Asian food, it is called Risi and Nudeles. The waiter there was also very chatty and she told me a place or two, to visit.
In Liepaja I visited a museum that has three different exhibitions and it´s in a magnificent building, a piece of art the building itself. One of the exhibitions is the LIFE AND CREATIVE WORK OF WOODCARVER MIĶELIS PANKOKS who most probably has been an antispeciesist of his times, and a griever who fled to another country for many years. For sure, he must have been a neurodivergent too.
Last but not least, on my very last day I visited the Pape Nature park where I saw for the first time in my life, free wild cows: the Auroxen.
It is way better to witness them in the wild, than to visit a farm sanctuary, because in a farm sanctuary they are not liberated. They are just not exploited anymore. And there, they can’t reproduce either. I wish that more programs like this one will start existing, all over the world!
(The last auroxen died in Poland in 1627. There are no heirs of the Auroxen, but there are still many European domestic cow species having similarities with the ancient ancestors: long horns, dark colour etc. In the early 20th century, the Heck Brothers, German scientists, started to interbreed the domestic cow species similar to the Auroxen. The goal of the interbreeding was to get animals, similar to the extinct Auroxen in appearance, behaviour, and ability to survive in the wild. The animals interbreed by the Heck Brothers were called Heck Cattle, but in 2004, they were renamed auroxen. It can be said, that the new auroxens are weaned domestic cows. It can be seen in their ability to survive and reproduce without any human help, change the summer fur for the winter fur and keep fat reserves. The cows have a well developed bovine instinct and the ability to find food also in winter: withered grass, leaves, small branches or bark. More info about them and the part here.)
I certainly want to go back to Latvia and to Kaunas. There is so much to see over there. So much art, and music, beautiful buildings and good food.
But the sad part of this trip, is that there too, the logging industry is destroying the forests. Part of these forests are destroyed by Swedish companies (as if they don´t destroy enough forests in Sweden). And as a Latvian that I met online in some meetings on eco emotions told me, Latvians are inspired by Sweden, so the logging industry is thriving there too.
For a Mediterranean like me, who has experienced the loss of forests due to widlfires, what the Northern countries are doing will always be shocking and impossible to comprehend. The amount of grief that I feel whenever I am thinking of the destruction of these forests is just overwhelming. All these wild animals that are losing their homes because of the human monstrous species greed, is just unbearable.
Back to Sweden, moving to Lund, a short trip to Stockholm (by train) for an Effective Altruism conference and off to…Greece by car!
Eventually they allowed us to build a fence in our garden so on Easter day we moved, at last, after 5 horrific months next to a graveyard of trees. Soon after, I had to go to Stockholm, to attend a conference hosted by Effective Altruism Nordics. I was invited to attend, and my train tickets were covered, otherwise I wouldn´t have gone. There, I met (only) three impressive antispeciesists, from Norway-USA, India and Germany, two of whom are also scholars, doing PhD with Oscar Horta and actively working for the better of animals and a nice vegan girl from Ecuador, with vibrant positive energy. Altogether, we had a dinner for animal liberation at the end of this event! For the rest, this conference was not a space for me (too much welfarism for an abolitionist), but at least the food was vegan so this was a first as an experience for me! The most disappointing in the conference was the number of people who came by plane there. Even from Germany…I don’t know what it will take for people to realize that at this point, we really all must reduce the use of planes?
Some days after my return from Stockholm, I started the big trip: From Sweden to Greece, through the Balkans. I had to sell the mini van and see a doctor (the Swedish Health care is probably worse than the Greek because at least in Greece you have the option to see someone privately).
I took the ferry from Malmö to Rostock, on a sunny day of 24 Celsius degrees from where I drove to Lubeck, my favorite German city where sadly the experience at the hotel was not the best (found it on the map and booked directly by emailing them) but at least there was a receptionist there (whose English were quite bad though).
On the next day, the temperature was insanely high in Germany, 30 degrees! While I was driving to Prague, I learnt that in Greece, on that day, it…snowed in Corinth and threw hail in Pelion. I was so confused… What was going on in the world?
I stopped in Berlin for food, where a nice old man offered me his private spot at a parking lot, gesture that again someone in Sweden would never do, so I appreciated it very much, double appreciation I would say, due to the lack of kindness in Sweden. I certainly have to visit Berlin again one day, as it´s a vegan paradise, and when I did visit it, back in 2012 I was just a vegetarian. It has a great vibe…
In Prague, it was too late when I arrived, but again, gladly, there was a nice receptionist, Spanish speaking from a South American country, so I did the check in, in Spanish! I have actually done it online already, but I mean that there was a human being there, 24\7 at the reception. I found this hotel through the Veggie Hotels platform and I am grateful to it because although I couldn’t sleep from noisy people and loud music in other rooms, I had an incredible vegan breakfast and lunch. Between breakfast and lunch, I walked around the city, and did some shopping, eco gifts for my spiritual daughter, and some clothes from an impressive 2nd hand vintage shop called Blondies. My goal was to daily walk as much as possible, in between the driving hours of this endless trip from Sweden to Greece.
Off to Slovakia….where I stopped in Bratislava to do blood tests, as ordered by the (German) holistic gynecologist who I was about to see in Athens, Greece and rest. I was so happy to have found a hotel from the map, nearby the Medical center, because this was the first hotel where they actually gave me a real key instead of a card, and the receptionist even took me to my room. In the age of digitalizing everything, these rare finds are so much appreciated! I woke up easily (to my surprise) at 7.30 to walk to the Medical center and go back to the room, just on time for the check out.
I continued my trip to Romania, through Hungary, and spent that night in Timisoara, hosted by a gentle giant guy who is a climate activist and a scientist, and their cute cats. Sharing homemade food while having nice conversations was a nice break from eating in restaurants, it was heart warming. The highlight of Romania was the permaculture garden of my host and the place where I went to get coffee from, before continuing my trip, because it had signs on all tables which were saying “no laptop”. I love that! More and more businesses encourage offline real connections between humans!
Off to…Serbia! Before leaving from Sweden, I took the mini van to a Serbian car repair guy, who fixed the color in one spot. With that opportunity, I asked him where I could stay, as I wanted to avoid Belgrade (where I stayed in another road trip 11 years ago, from the NL to Greece). Thanks to him, I stayed somewhere where there was a pool and a sauna, so my body rested there, for real. I swam as much as I could. On my way from Romania to the hotel in Serbia, I stopped in Belgrade where I had excellent vegan food, of high quality (the restaurant is called Vegangelov). I even found to park in the corner right next to it. Which are the odds?
Sadly, right next to the hotel there was another graveyard of murdered trees for profit. I couldn’t believe it. Even in the Balkans? When did this logging madness start? I am sure that when I drove to the Netherlands in 2014 and back from it in 2015, I saw nothing like that anywhere. Same goes for when I drove to and from Spain in 2020. When did people start destroying forests all over Europe?
Off to…Montenegro!
As in my trip from Greece to Spain, I went through Northern Macedonia, this time I wanted to go through another country. Also, I had a very good reason to pass through Montenegro, as there, a very important Russian man lives, and has started a community project in the mountains of Mojkovac. It is called Mountain land. I wanted to visit that place. And I am thankful I did so!
Igor, this important Russian man, has founded a school in Bar, the coastal city of Montenegro, for kids from Russia and Ukraine. I met Igor online back in November, during some meetings for an Erasmus+ project, which’s subject is the creation of a curriculum on Eco emotions. You can learn more about this project here. We have met with Igor in person already once, in Stockholm, before my trip to Greece. It was relieving to meet him that day, I must say, after spending all day in the conference, because as I said, I don’t fell like I belong in that world because it was full of ambitious people and very much career orienated. I am more of a hippy, although I don’t identify as hippy.
Igor’s writings are very interesting to read, and he has a PhD on “radical criticism of the modern society” so you can understand what kind of person this man is.
That first night, his friend Anton had made some food for us, enough not to keep me hungry. The next day, I woke up to this view (which is food for soul):
Since Sweden is flat, and I am a person who has spent a lot of time in the mountains, I had missed this so much!!! After waking up, I enjoyed the morning, grounding, with an amazing doggie who lives there, who is the only inhabitant of the project with a passport from Montenegro! Look at this cutie pie, his name is Medo.
After this slow morning, Igor and Medo were my guides and showed me a big part of the land. There, my heart started healing, because the forest bath that I experienced was exactly what I needed, since the traumatic experience with the deforestation (you know, the trauma didn´t stop there, in Höör. Since this happened, wherever I have been going with my dog for a walk, I spot the cut trees and see the young ones that will be cut in some years from now. And of course I always see big trucks carrying murdered trees, so, it feels as if I am living in a huge slaughterhouse in combination with a huge an-ag farm where instead of animals exploited until the day they will be murdered, it is trees. Hence, I experience an ongoing eco grief, ever since, that’s only building up. And now, I only dare to walk my dog around my house where these trees are not endangered because it is a residential area. What a -bad- joke this country is.)
Back to magical Montenegro, Igor introduced me to this incredible tree where I sat to receive its healing effect. On that moment, I thanked myself for going through the Balkans to Greece and I thanked the universe for bringing Igor in my path. This moment was invaluable.
After the walk, we drove to Bar, but at the end, we found ourselves at another magical location, on another mountain where I met three more Russian guys. That place is an educational resort, with lots of activities for kids. You can read more about it here. The vibe there was amazing. A scientist / engineer who creates these educational activities, a yogi, a professional poker player and a musician along with Igor.
How did I find myself there? I wondered.
I loved their energy anyhow, they were so loud and chatty, I couldn’t understand a thing from what they were saying but I just loved it. What I appreciated the most was their hospitality. The way they said directly “yes, stay here for the night”, and how they offered us vegan nutritious food, buckwheat and salad (I’ve got to thank the vegan yogi for the existence of that food).
Around the house there were peacocks, cats and another cute doggie, Rocky. Look at the view of that place:
But I had to continue my trip so I said goodbye to this magical country and left for Albania. Before saying goodbye though, Igor took me to a place where I had maybe the best juice ever (from pomegranates and white flowers), which has also the best view ever. The professional poker player has helped the harvesting of the pomegranates and recommended to Igor to take me there. So much gratitude!
Check it out and feel the vibe of that place here and here.
In Albania, I spent a night in Vlore to rest at a hotel where I don´t want to ever find myself again, as it is extremely touristic…and at last, the next day I at last entered Greece. Wherever I tried to stop for food or coffee, it was impossible to find parking, I felt overwhelmed in Tirana (as I do in Athens) so I just went straight to the hotel and walked to a nearby Italian place.
It took time to cross the border, and the people there asked me if I had with me cigarettes, alcohol or meat. Good for me that I am a vegan who doesn´t smoke and only drinks occasionally. Maybe people should start wondering why these three are not allowed to cross borders. The Albanian authorities were very suspicious with me and my car. They were looking for drugs, I suppose. Too many questions…and it was so hot. I certainly hadn´t missed the Mediterranean climate.
But, right after crossing the border, I saw a lake on my right hand, and I entered this magical forest where I walked barefoot. I saw many lizards and I enjoyed the birdsongs. I grounded myself…And of course, there, I took a photo of Misoy´s figurine, something that I started on that trip, to honor him, and my grief for him, each time the grief hits me hard.
I spent a night at a suburb of Ioannina city, nearby the medical center where I would do some more blood tests, and I was negatively surprised by the place where I slept because it was a smart home. This building had nothing to do with the surrounding location…the contrast between the building and the surroundings was intense. It made me wonder, why do people build these ugly boxes and create these smart homes, even in…Greece? Who enjoys this?
Do we have to start a petition towards all the hospitality industry and ask them to bring back the lost soul of it? Bring back traditional keys. Bring back warmth!
But in Greece, I got to enjoy coffee again! And food! Good specialty coffee is something that only in Greece and in Germany I have really enjoyed. And my favorite barista even offered me the coffee, because this is what happens only in the Mediterranean (in Europe I mean), people offer you food and drinks. You don´t always have to pay. Despite the financial difficulty that people endure, people always have generosity.
In comparison to Sweden where they ask you to pay even before having had food – drinks, whatever you want to have. This society is so capitalistic. It is run by greed. That is why there is no poverty here. That is why I don´t plan to stay forever here. This mentality does not suit me.
Going back to Sweden, from Greece, without the car
After I finished with my errands in Greece, in just 6 days, I took a bus from Athens to Igoumenitsa, a ferry to Bari (where I stumbled upon a march for a free Palestine) and then a train to Bologna, where I decided to spend 2 nights to rest, because I also had to attend an important online presentation (on why neurodivergent people feel the collapse earlier than neurotypical people, hosted by the Climate Psychology Alliance where I am a member since last year).
I must say here that I felt so liberated without the car.
But Bologna left me with a bittersweet feeling.
I booked a room in Bologna that didn’t allow me to do late check in, and so, I lost 130 euros. Never in my experience as a traveler, have I ever got this hostile response “no madame, we are not a guest house”. I asked to cancel the booking and get my money back but their reply was negative. Unbelievable. Normally, they give you an option for late check in, with at least an extra payment, or you can do self check in. But in that awful place, no (their name, Lame 46). They even didn’t allow me to use the room, on the 2nd day, because I didn’t do check in on the first day (I had the intention to offer it to a homeless person for a shower and a nap).
Eventually, I found a place that allowed me to do online check in but the experience was 100% digitalized: I never got a key in my hands. Only a link through which I pressed buttons and the doors were opening.
This is scary. Because, O.K, even if in Norway I never saw anyone either, and I just received a text message there too, at least there I used a passcode that I could memorize or write on a paper to open the doors.
In the case of Bologna, what if, the phone runs out of battery? Or you get your phone stolen? Or the internet doesn´t work due to power outage. The handles of the doors had buttons(except for the main entrance of the building), so they could provide a code to memorize, but their reply was negative. I would never book such a place again. What happened to hospitality? Now, I know in my bones, what is going on with airbnbs, what I was just reading all these years while I was living isolated as a hermit, in my off grid bubble. The room was in an apartment which is in an old building. The apartment has 3-4 rooms, and each has a bathroom, that was badly constructed so the water was going everywhere in the bathroom, after I was taking a shower. People want easy money, by providing medium to bad experiences to travelers.
Anyway, the positive sides were the wonderful people that I make, Tiziano the jeweler and Barbara, the vegan cheese maker!!!
I communicated in Spanish with him and through translator with her. She made me try all her vegan cheeses, she offered me wine and she didn’t even want me to pay for the small traditional dessert that I got, with her plant based delicious mascarpone!
This is hospitality!!!
I went back there, before taking my next train to Munich though, the next day, and I got some nice cheese / spread to have with crackers. Barbara is not just a cheese maker, she was a volunteer to a rescue center with mice, rescued from laboratories. So, we have something in common in our past, as I was too a volunteer animal caretaker of monkeys and small mammals, and some of the monkeys were rescued from labs too…
And I got a nice ring from Tiziano, to remember this long and adventurous albeit exhausting flightfree trip of mine.
In Bologna, I enjoyed quality food, juices and local kombucha too.
But the city is dirty like Athens, hot like in Athens, and overall, full of tourists.
I thought many times in Bologna, of the podcast hosted by the poetic Chris Christou “The end of tourism”, which I was listening the last years, and has influenced me a lot but only now I realized why he started it.
I was relieved to leave from Bologna, and I enjoyed very much the trip to Munich, through Austria.
The highlight of this trip was the glass water bottle that you could return for reuse and the conversations I had with a man from Montenegro who studies in the States and had just adopted a dog, in his time in Bologna, during an exchange program of his studies.
After arriving in Munich, where I enjoyed nice Vietnamese food while listening to some Spanish people chatting in the next table (the definition of globalization), I took the night train to Hamburg. I spent the first hour in the wrong wagon but then I went to the right one and found my couchette.
I was positively surprised by the fact that all food offered in this trip was inherently vegan and the tea was fair trade & bio! Plus, the water came in a plastic free package. Congratulations to OBB (Austrian train company).
I will remember this morning for a long time. There is nothing better than having breakfast in front of a moving lanscape!
I left my luggage at the station and walked to a mall where a nice Syrian barista made my specialty coffee and I had a vegan croissant for breakfast while doing some online work. In the same mall, I found a Persian vegan eatery, where I had lunch and when it was time to check in, I walked back to the station, took my luggage and went to the hotel, which I want to forget. Stinky, in the middle of a very unsafe area, overwhelming for my nervous system…I wish someone had warned me about the situation around the train station in Hamburg. Surprisingly though, it had some vegan options for breakfast!
Anyway, exhausted as I was, I took a nap and then, I woke up to go and join an offline event. I was so excited for that, as I have been following those events online (what an irony) for a couple of years. Sadly, one of the people who came was behaving bad and the organizer of the event called the police. Apart from that, it was refreshing to leave my phone(s) in the “phone hotel” where they rested away from me, while I was chatting with strangers and playing a game with cards that encourages deep conversations.
I also won´t forget the handmade vegan donuts at Hamburg´s train station…Serendipity!
Do NOT travel with DB (German train company)
I try to remember all that, instead of the stinky room where I stayed, and the train to Copenhagen that got cancelled without any information…(in comparison with OBB that informed even for a 10 mins delay). I also try to remember the Syrian vegan place where I got food from, to take away, which grounded me after the almost-panic attack that I had.
I don´t want to share in detail how difficult it was to reach home, due to this cancellation (I took 2 buses instead and I should continue travelling with a train and then I had one more to get) nor how expensive it was, because I eventually asked my partner to cross the bridge and pick me up from Denmark.
I hope that I will get a refund from DB, which I recommend to everyone to avoid travelling with any trains from them.
On that note, there is an app for checking reliability of German train journeys and an app that assists travelers during their journeys.
Needless to say, that after that trip I don´t want to do a single roadtrip for the rest of the summer, and I only want to move by bike and Swedish trains. I need stillness and I am so very happy that I live in Lund these days. You can smell the flowers in the air while biking, the weather has been great since I came, sunny and around 20 to 23 degrees during the day…This is why we moved here!
We can all enjoy the sun again, without fear of getting burnt from it or experiencing a heatstroke.
If you managed to get all the way to the end, I admire you! That was too long. I hope you got something from it.
Καλό καλοκαίρι!
P.S The cover photo is in Oslo.