Hi Everyone!

We are a family of six, with children aged 8, 10, 13, and 15. We live in Leányfalu, near Budapest, in a region called the Curve of the Danube — one of the most beautiful parts of Hungary, right next to the charming town of Szentendre.

Richard is a French language and literature teacher. He was born and raised in Brussels, so he speaks French fluently as his mother tongue, and also speaks Spanish fluently.
Anna is a trained building and architectural conservator, specialized in silicate-based materials, and is currently a full-time mom. We both love architecture and nature, and we enjoy long walks — even our younger children are happy to join us on long hikes. We are also very interested in permaculture and natural building techniques.

Two of our children are homeschooled, and our eldest son is about to begin studying carpentry and design. Each of our kids has a unique personality and specific interests — they are mature, independent, and genuinely fun to be around . While we are strong advocates of homeschooling and independent learning, we are by no means indulgent parents. We believe in structure, consistency. One of our core values is to treat others with respect and to take care of the world around us — whether it is man-made or natural, and regardless of ownership.

We love history — especially our oldest son, who, along with his brothers, knows the world’s flags inside out. Our daughter enjoys traditionally feminine activities, such as handcrafts (embroidery, crochet, knitting, weaving), and she can make fantastic pastry cakes. Our second son, despite his young age (10) is more into natural sciences. Our youngest boy is the most active and energetic, always ready for an adventure. He’s the first to sign up for a bike ride, whether it's a small one or not-so-small. Besides all of that, visiting museums is one of our destination for the whole family — even our kids enjoy them!

We also enjoy working with our hands, especially when there's an artistic element involved, like crafts or traditional handiwork. In fact, we are happy to participate in any kind of workshop. Recently, Richard and our middle son had the opportunity to help prepare beehives for winter. We actively seek out opportunities like this for both our sons and daughter — and for us, the parents, too!

As a family, we love hiking, running, and cycling 🚴‍♂️ from spring through autumn. Unfortunately, the Hungarian countryside is not very suitable for multi-day family bike trips, but we hope that one day we’ll be able to experience that together as well. We are environmentally conscious and avoid pollution whenever we can, though for now we do travel by car — at least we make the most of it, since we are six people in one vehicle, and often head out to nature.

What we love even more is when the natural environment meets the built world in harmony — old stone houses 🏚️, cobbled streets, or modern forms of natural architecture such as straw bale houses, earthships, or superadobe buildings. We’re especially drawn to places that combine functionality and beauty, like gardens and farms designed with permaculture principles. One of our biggest dreams is to live in such a place as a family — and although we don’t live on a farm, we’re lucky to be surrounded by this kind of atmosphere. There aren’t many places like this in Hungary (even if the country has other kinds of beauty), but Szentendre and the Danube Bend are beautiful exceptions, where nature and human creativity truly complement each other.

Por qué estoy en Couchsurfing

We're here to connect, share stories, and soak up real life. We travel as a family with a spirit of adventure — not just for fun, but because it's how our kids learn. Homeschooling, worldschooling… for us, the world is the classroom. We’re always learning — and sharing what we can.
And... there’s always something special about being welcomed into someone’s home.

We love meeting new people wherever our travels take us. Once, we met an 86-year-old Dutch woman at a campsite in Hungary who was traveling alone with her caravan. She told us she once hitchhiked all the way to Japan — such an inspiring woman to spend time with before our paths diverged.

Another time, we met an older Belgian couple who invited us to stay at their home while they were away on holiday — we spent a few wonderful weeks there. On yet another occasion, we became friends with a Flemish couple who hosted us for a few days in their home. They planned activities for all three days, and we had an amazing time together.

Older people can be so open and welcoming; they really enjoy company — and often kids too :-)

We’ve also been hosting people ourselves for years — friends we’ve met along the way — and it’s always a joy to share our home and hospitality with them.

Last but not least: we can prove that you can stay adventurous even as a family with 4 kids! 😎😜

It seems we are somewhat more active on BeWelcome, so please visit our page for more references: https://www.bewelcome.org/members/AnnaSipos/comments

Intereses

• architecture
• running
• hiking
• canoeing
• permaculture
• reading books
• bike riding
• playing music
• off-grid living
• natural building
• siteseeing
• earthships
• personal stories
• family travel
• camping,
• making connections
• natural building techniques
• permaculture off-grid and garden design

Música, películas y libros

Music: Progressive Rock, World Music, Some Classical ones...

Movies:
Richard: Blade Runner (1982) — from another chapter of his life
Anna: My Family and Other Animals (2005)
As a family with lots of children: Back to the Future, French comedies from the 60s-70s

Books:
Richard: George Orwell: 1984, Animal Farm, among others...
Anna: In my late teens and early twenties, I devoured books. My favorites were Dostoevsky (the longer, the better), Hrabal, Kundera, and the like. By now, I feel full — in a good way — with my own experiences and memories, so I no longer crave stories read from books. These days, I’m more drawn to biographies. A few of the last ones I read were about Hedy Lamarr and John von Neumann, Einstein - The wold as I see it, György Moldova: Who killed the dead sea? (Hungarian).

Personal stories have become more important to me now — especially when shared through spoken words, in real connection with people.

I recently read My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell (one of my children’s favorites). The film adaptation (2005) is also excellent — even though it’s not entirely faithful to the original book, but it has become my recent favorites.

Both of us: Old and New Testaments

Algo increíble que he hecho

Every little personal achievement is amazing!

Enseña, aprende, comparte

Richard plays both electric and bass guitar—he might even show you a few cool riffs.
Anna’s happy to help you sculpt something if you have a bit of clay.
Our daughter can teach you how to crochet or embroider,
and our son knows his way around chopping firewood for the winter.
As a family, we probably have a few other things we’d enjoy sharing too!

Qué puedo ofrecer a los anfitriones

A sense of our vibe and our spirit of adventure.

A delicious meal prepared by us.

A good mood and interesting stories to share.

If you have children, our kids can be playmates.

We’re used to living in a small space, so we’re tidy and organised. We’re always glad to help with housework, cook a meal, and share good stories.

Países que he visitado

Austria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Côte d'Ivoire, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Monaco, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Scotland, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Ukraine

Países en los que he vivido

Belgium, England, Hungary, Spain, Sweden