Hi we're Dana and Elise, both from south-west Germany. After finishing school at the beginning of 2018 we decided to go off on an adventure starting in Bali, Indonesia for a relaxing cultural experience then heading over to Australia, specifically Tasmania for an awesome cycling trip up the east coast. We spent three months driving our minivan around both the South and North Island of New Zealand, including a lot of hiking. From there on we continued our journey to Southeast Asia, enjoying the luxury of not having to cook (although we love making delicious vegan and veggie dishes) and a lot of sunbathing next to waterfalls. After finishing our one month solo horse trek in the north east of Mongolia we headed over to the Stans and spent an awesome summer hitchhiking and camping along the silk road. We met amazing people and fell in love with Central Asia.

Now we're heading off on the next adventure! As we've decided to no longer travel by train, we're on our way to Russia to cross the country by train and then take the ferry to Japan.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

We love meeting new people and feel like interacting with locals is the best way to learn about the countries we visit. Since extending our trip for an extra few months money is starting to get tight so we're always looking for budget friendly travel options apart from camping( our tent is not waterproof)

Interests

• animals
• cooking
• chess
• traveling
• cycling
• hiking
• history
• riding
• art museums
• baking and eating together

Music, Movies, and Books

We both love documentarys especially historical and political subjects but also enjoy a good old Disney classic or happy ending romcom once in a while. Our music tastes are pretty different Dana mainly listens to indie and alternative rock whilst Elise prefers hip hop, rap and sometimes punkrock. However we can normally agree on reggae and a few rock groups. Especially since traveling we are both super open toward whatever books are available and love to read when we get a chance.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

After a long debate we've decided on our solo horse trek, probably because the memories are still so fresh and present. Once we realised how expensive most tours here in Mongolia are but still wanting to see some of the amazing nature specifically the steppe and learn about their nomadic culture, we decided to buy two wonderful and very old horses: Albert and Walter. The whole experience was absolutely amazing, camping in remote places, spending time with the many herder familys we met along the way. And although we we're robbed and had a scary wolf encounter we never once thought of finishing early and the overwhelming amount of kindness and help we recieved proved us right. All in all the biggest adventure of our lives so far!

What I Can Share with Hosts

We both love sharing our passion for veggie food and exchanging life stories with the people we meet.

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, Austria, Belgium, Cambodia, Canada, Czech Republic, England, France, Guatemala, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Malaysia, Mongolia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Scotland, Singapore, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand, United States, Uzbekistan, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

England, Germany