CURRENT MISSION

I like to be in touch with younger gay men from all over the world. I live with my husband. In the past I traveled a lot through hitchhiking and using public transport. I'd like to return the hospitality I encountered then by opening up my house to young, gay travelers

ABOUT ME

I am a married gay man of 72 living with my husband in an apartment near the centre of Amsterdam. My previous home has always been a haven for travelers, especially for gay men. That has already been the case from the 70s, when I was active in the gaylib movement.

PHILOSOPHY

Open minded, internationally oriented, kosmopolitan, eager to learn and realizing that learning never stops.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I heard about couch surfing from a friend and decided to check it out.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Quite some so far since December 2011, and very wonderful encounters with travelling guests too, some of whom became good friends. I already had 'couchsurfing' experiences through the political gay movement in the 70s and 80s, where a lot of travelling was made possible by opening up eachothers houses and couches.

Interests

Music, opera, singing and singers, literature;
architecture, cities and city planning (my field of study and my job);
gay life and lifestyles, especially how gay men manage to lead their lives at home and abroad.

• literature
• singing
• architecture
• partying
• traveling
• music
• opera
• surfing

Music, Movies, and Books

Händel and Vivaldi, Wagner, Mahler, Schubert and Schumann. So the baroque period and roughly the second half of the 19th century.
Being an amateur singer myself (baritone/tenor): Italian and German and occasionally Russian and French songs.
And also the American crooning period of the early 20th century.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

As a student (1970-75) travelling overland to Nepal, Israel, Syria, Irak when there was yet no travelling provision whatsoever.
Later, in 1991, travelling by Trans Siberian to Nachodka and Japan. On August 19 1991 on Red Square witnessing the Red Army tanks ride up to throw out Michael Gorbatsjov, and being there when Boris Yeltsin on top of a tank abolishing the Soviet Union and the Communist Party.

Teach, Learn, Share

Learning never stops, teaching is a way of life.

What I Can Share with Hosts

Being 72 now means: sharing life experience and being tought by the younger generations.