The Travel Memoir Review

An enjoyable and informative insight into what it’s like to travel as a couchsurfer, learning about places from the people who live there.

Review by Fran McElhone

• Author: Ingrid Hedman (photography: Ylva Bergman)
• Book First Published: 2026
• Publisher: Hedman & Bergman Förlag
• Rating: ★★☆

How our ratings work:

★★★ – Loved it. Highly recommended. Transcends interest in the location alone
★★☆ – Liked it. Recommended, especially if you’re interested in the location
★☆☆ – Didn’t like it. But may still appeal to those interested in the location

The Gist

Accompanied by her 12-year-old son Tim, and her friend Ylva, who captured everything on camera, author Ingrid, a journalist, writes about their trip couchsurfing in the summer of 2024 across Eastern Europe.

Beginning their month-long odyssey in their native Sweden, the trio traverse the continent by rail taking in six locations – Berlin (Germany), Krakow (Poland), Budapest (Hungary), Kanal ob Soči (Slovenia), Pula (Croatia) and Kněžmost (Czech Republic), so, a combination of well and lesser-known places.

The book combines three main themes; travelling sustainably, travelling as a couchsurfer (via the online community couchsurfing.com) and travelling on a budget. And it is as much about the words as it is the photography with Ylva’s delightful images bringing to life Ingrid’s storytelling while giving us a personal insight into their experiences, a layer often missing from travel memoirs.

Ingrid and Ylva’s book combines their first-hand experience with viewpoints from their hosts, through the many kitchen table conversations they have with them. So, not only does it provide travel tips and a review of the things they got up to, but commentary from the locals about each destination’s political past and present.

At the end there are sections which dive deeper into couchsurfing, sustainable travel and rail travel.

The Guts

If you’re from the West, the personal accounts of the hosts who have grown up in the more oppressed East, will give you an appreciation of, or renewed appreciation for, societies with unrestrained freedom.

What the hosts have in common is that the palpable oppression within their birth countries was the impetus for them wanting to break out beyond the barrier surrounding their own countries and see more of the world. This is why they are couchsurfing hosts; they know how enriching and life-affirming travel, and conversing with people from other nations are, and because of the “cultural exchange” you can have in your own living rooms.

There are plenty of interesting details throughout the journey, including insights into each destination’s signature dishes; the Polish pierogis sound particularly delightful. And, the author’s journalistic skill shines through as she retells the discussions about what life is really like there, bringing to the fore contemporary issues like national service and the war in Ukraine.

While providing insights into poignant moments of history from those who lived through them, like the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, the trio’s journey reveals lesser-known facts about these parts of Europe: how ordinary Polish citizens weren’t allowed passports to travel to the West prior to 1989; why Berlin has a museum dedicated to David Hasslehoff; why there’s a law in Hungary stating that books with homosexual content must be wrapped, while the country is also the “promised land” of natural thermal spas.

You can enjoy the ride while confronting and contemplating the stark differences between East and West.

Why read Sofas & Strangers?

You’ll like this book if you’re interested in sustainable travel, intrigued by the couchsurfing movement, are considering travelling with a child, travelling on a budget, are interested in experiencing Eastern Europe, or learning more about it, even if you have no plans to visit any time soon.

Ingrid has done a good job of presenting the reality of couchsurfing, a budget accommodation choice, leaving it up to you to decide if it’s for you or not. So, while her book inspired me to travel to Eastern Europe with my young son who is around Tim’s age, I’m not sold on the couchsurfing bit – I like my space too much.

Noting that as a member of the online Couchsurfing community hinges on reciprocity – you are expected to host as well as be hosted – benefits which all the well-travelled hosts concur, include the way the world is brought into your living room, while being a guest in a local’s home allows for a far more enriching experience than a hotel room could ever offer.