{"id":6829,"date":"2026-06-08T00:21:33","date_gmt":"2026-06-08T00:21:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ethosandempathy.org\/?p=6829"},"modified":"2026-06-08T01:18:34","modified_gmt":"2026-06-08T01:18:34","slug":"reflections-on-hospitality-from-my-travels-around-europe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ethosandempathy.org\/en\/2026\/06\/08\/reflections-on-hospitality-from-my-travels-around-europe\/","title":{"rendered":"Reflections on hospitality from my travels around Europe"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last year, after two very hard years, during which my bank account emptied due to the off grid initiative<\/a> in which I invested all my savings (to the point of needing a crowd funding campaign<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n

Lesson No 1: Do NOT buy new cars!<\/strong><\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

The Migration Trip<\/strong><\/p>\n

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<\/a> 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…<\/p>\n

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 H\u00f6\u00f6r (Sk\u00e5ne).<\/p>\n

Trips to Stockholm and to Belgium (by bus)<\/strong><\/p>\n

It was magical in H\u00f6\u00f6r, 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<\/a>, so I won\u00b4t 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.<\/p>\n

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\u00b4t care for the environment”, but “only for the animals”, so that\u00b4s why they travel by plane without shame, even for just two days, (e.g taking bullshit flights, more about that here<\/a>). I should have lost hope of meeting people who don\u00b4t 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.<\/p>\n

Trip to Germany and the NL (by trains & buses) and some get aways in \u00c4lmhult and V\u00e4xj\u00f6 (Kronoberg county in the South of Sweden)<\/strong><\/p>\n

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<\/a>. After I came back from that trip, which I essentially did because I wanted to go to Sam Garrett\u00b4s 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 \u00c4lmhult and V\u00e4xj\u00f6, 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.<\/p>\n

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 V\u00e4xj\u00f6, 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\u00b4s dinner in \u00c4lmhult, 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!<\/p>\n

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 \u00c4lmhult. We were all there together with a lovely Indian friend, and a Polish\/Danish couple from \u00c4lmhult, 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.<\/p>\n

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Joining a vegan winter camp in Southern Sweden<\/strong><\/p>\n

After the new year, we joined a 3 day Vegan camp in S\u00f6sdala, 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\u00b4t 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).<\/p>\n

Trip to Oslo through Gothenburg (is hospitality unknown in the Nordics?)<\/strong><\/p>\n

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\u00b4ve met at the local farm sanctuary in Sk\u00e5ne 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\u00b4t stop making videos, here\u00b4s one of them:<\/p>\n