CURRENT MISSION

Planning a huge trip to South America early 2023

ABOUT ME

My friends say I`m a nice guy to hang out with. In general, I am open minded and always looking for new experiences. If there is one thing that is not fitting my personality then it is trying to describe myself. Originally from Germany but I have gotten around the world a fair bit and feel at home pretty much anywhere. After my studies I spent 6 months traveling to a lot of different countries and generally go to as many as possible. Currently working in Portugal as a travel agent, so it's really in my blood :D

I find consumerism absolutely disgusting and if you have a similar attitude, we will likely get along really well. It is also useful because the refusal to buy stuff that doesn`t actually hold any intrinsic value makes funding travel plans a breeze.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I have a couch in my living room, it's nothing special and probably not the best for a longer stay but it'll do for a short stay. - CURRENTLY NOT ABLE TO HOST -

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I had very good couchsurfing experiences, both in Terms of Hosting travelers and in staying with locals.

I think Couchsurfing gives you a better understanding and view of the place where you are staying. So much better than just sticking to the tourist version of a place. I believe it should be a cultural exchange in which the traveller can make use of the local knowledge of the host and the host can maybe learn something about other places in the world instead.

Of course we all want to save money (again I don`t like consumerism and putting too much importance into materialism or just in money in general) but that should not be the only reason to be engaged in this community. Rather I think it is much more about making new connections and friends around the world.

However if you are not interested in a real experience, don`t waste your time and write me. Prove you understand what Couchsurfing is about, I get a lot of requests and have to refuse the majority.

Interests

I love eating, including cooking and trying new food. I am also very interested in politics, history and languages.

In terms of outdoor activities, I quite enjoy hiking, kayaking, swimming and playing football/volleyball. If you`re into one of these things too, great, let`s go for it!

Music, Movies, and Books

I listen to lots of different music, also sometimes inspired from my travels and have a weird passion for music in languages that I don`t understand.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

When I was 16, I went on a 2-week-school exchange with a highschool school in Beijing which was my first experience with proper travelling and opened me to the world.

In 2014, I studied in Sweden for 6 months. The most amazing things I`ve done there are probably driving a motor boat through a fjord and going to a sauna and then jumping into an ice hole in a frozen lake (the temperature outside was -20 degrees)

In 2015, I went on a month-long trip through Canada and the USA, the most interesting experiences being attending a Ribfest, seeing the Amish in Pennsylvania and taking a 22-hour-train ride through the Canadian outback. Later that summer, I wanted to go to Austria for 3 days and was supposed to go back to work which I simply didn`t because travelling was more fun.... it turned to out to become a trip into Slovenia and Croatia as well, lasting for 12 days instead of 3. The best part of it was going kayaking in Lake Bohinj in Slovenia at 7 in the morning, I felt like I was the only person in the entire Alps.

After this I relocated to Berlin (with a break of spending one semester in Scotland where I was lucky enough to experience some of its amazing nature) where I did my Masters and started working to save up for some more world exploration afterwards. I have travelled a bit around Europe, though, in which I ended up on the back of an old army truck in Kosovo driving up a hill towards an Ottoman fortress. There was a gas tank that fell from the truck and crashed against a car, but somehow there was no explosion and I survived. Celebrated that fact with Rakija, which I also survived.

I basically lived as a nomad from November 2017 to September 2018 travelling non-stop, with some breaks staying in places longer. Since then, I spent a night camping in the Sahara desert of Morocco, I worked on a small farm in Southern Spain, went on an amazing trekking adventure through Myanmar, drove a scooter around Thailand`s beautiful mountains, climbed a volcano in the Philippines and stayed in a monastery in South Korea. After that, I went on a roadtrip camping in the woods of the Western United States for a few weeks, including a side trip down to Mexico, proceeded by sliding down some of the world`s largest dunes in Namibia head ahead. After that, I volunteered as an English teacher in a rural village in Swaziland with no running water and electricity for 2 weeks.

When I came back to Europe, I didn`t immediately find a job, of course so I decided to roam around a bit more. Ended up going trekking in the Carpathians in Ukraine and climbing one of its highest peaks, despite terrible weather. Now I am living in a suburb of Lisbon and working as a travel agent for corporate rich people.

What I Can Share with Hosts

Travel stories

Great food, I like cooking :)

Countries I’ve Visited

Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Canada, China, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, England, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Indonesia, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Moldova, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Netherlands, Northern Ireland, Paraguay, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Scotland, Singapore, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, United States, Vatican City State

Countries I’ve Lived In

Germany, Netherlands, Portugal, Scotland, Sweden, United States