Back when I was becoming a photographer (way, way back in the beginning of time), we had lessons in the history of art. In one of the lessons, the teacher asked us to draw up the ideal house we would want to live in. At the time I was a stubborn and snotty, and I was more interested in travelling than being at home somewhere. So I decided I didn't want to draw a house, ideal or not.

A lot more recently (maybe a few weeks ago) I was doodling something in my sketchbook. Out came this little landscape with the house on the hill. It doesn't say much about the details of the house, or if it is even supposed to be ideal and how... but I can imagine it would really be a very pleasant place to live.

Currently I live in an old house. It is not located as nicely as the one in my doodle, but it is indeed quite nice. And speeking of old times, I mean really old times, even older times than my old photography days: This being an old house, it has it's own history.

During the german occupation, all movement from and to the islands was at times severely limited and controlled, at times completely cut off. Which resulted in people from Athens and other parts of the country being stranded in some place. I can imagine there probably also were internal refugees. And a part of the history of this house I currently live in is that it had become a haven for some of these people.

According to the old family members of the owners, in each of the rooms of the house there lived a family of people. As I enter different rooms in the house, I often think of them. How they lived there, how they felt. The situation with war and occupation must at times have been frightening, but they still must have had days of content to live here, even of joy in their life here. We know that there is at least one person who was born in this house, he came to visit this house some time ago and showed it to his daughter.

Unfortunately nobody recorded the oral history of these people who had lived here for some years. I would have loved to hear or read those stories. I don't know if the house had become an ideal house for them, but I'm sure they were thankful for the house to be there for them.