Six countries. A minimal budget. A longing to travel sustainably and connect with people across geographical and cultural borders. To dare to step outside one's comfort zone and discover new cultures, customs, and ways of life.

In Sofas & Strangers, journalists Ingrid Hedman and Ylva Bergman portray a four-week Interrail journey through six countries together with Ingrid's 12-year-old son Tim. For four weeks, they stay in the homes of strangers through the global Couchsurfing network, a community in which members offer free accommodation to fellow members. Along the way, they stay with a man who grew up in the former East Germany and speaks about life behind the Iron Curtain; a gay couple in Budapest who share their everyday experiences in a country with an openly homophobic government; a Polish family whose sons become best friends with Tim; a Croatian couple who runs a dog daycare business and is deeply committed to animal rights; and a family who has turned their backs on a fast pace city life in the United States in order to run an organic farm in the Czech countryside.

With this book, Ingrid and Ylva hope to inspire more people — especially families with children — to choose a way of travelling that is more sustainable, adventurous, and kinder both to the wallet and to the environment.