I'm Ellen, currently living and studying near Salzburg ( originally from Germany). It´s always a tricky question, who you are or what describes you best in only a few words. I think friends & family would say something like..

open minded & open hearted, good listener with her eyes, gives individual little and unexpected gifts & surprises, while working on crafts like bookbinding, paper making..listening to good old music from the 50s ( rat pack :)), collecting furniture that could tell stories, is learning, how to get a green thumb, practicing becoming a minimalist, is living a sustainable and zero waste lifestyle- foodsaver/foodsharer, plant based eater.., tries to read one book/week, writing lists, starts and ends her travelstorys with pictures of her feet, ... ,

curious-melancholic-calm-down to earth-thinking before talking-dancing-emotional-..
and so on and on an on.. it think, once you've started or asked, the things other people could tell about me, and even myself, its a never ending list ..

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

for the next couple of weeks until the end of April I will be in Graz to study for my trainee to become a bookbinder. the fact that I am new to the city and don't know anybody, it would be great to meet new people, show me there city, just chat and have some good time together. I am open to meet new people. if you want to meet up, just let me know..
i am really excited for my time in Graz.. I know it will get really stressful, full of hard work at school..but I am actually more stoked about to live in a place where I've never been before (well, once for two days) and explore it with some of you.. :)

like everybody else on this platform, do I love to travel and to meet new people. to share our lives and thoughts. while staying at a place, where I`ve never been before, I want to feel and to live the real life, with people they know the culture, history, secrets... of the country/city. of course I do like sightseeing, but even these tourist traps are more fun and interesting, with the eyes and knowledge of a host ..

Interests

I always try to learn new skills and to be productive during the day. i don't mean to do something every single minute. no. but I realized that I`m the most happy with myself, when I can tell I`ve done something good, moved my body and learned something new or got better in the things I`m interested in ..

I just try to be more focused on the things that really matter for me and not to think about, what I should do, who I should be .. for others. the person you spend the most of time with, is you. its the most exhausting, but also thrilling job and duty, to really get to know and listen to ourselves.

• vegan
• yoga
• running
• crafts
• minimalism
• hiking
• sports
• philosophy
• mountains
• nature
• ...
• bookbinding
• zerowaste
• lists
• reading and writing
• cold showers
• early mornings
• reallygoodcoffee

Music, Movies, and Books

that's changing.. but the song I can listening to every single time: mother of pearl (Roxy music), Moby,.. 80s..
books: Sartre, Knausgard, Proust,..
movies: dead poets society (club der toten dichter), rocky horror picture show,

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

a parachute jump (4000m) ..i've never felt that alive
standing on top of the vulcano Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland
helping at sheep and cow farms in Iceland with around 700 lamp and calf birth

What I Can Share with Hosts

lets talk and see..

Countries I’ve Visited

Czech Republic, France, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Macedonia, Netherlands, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

Austria, Germany, Iceland, United Kingdom