Hi! I'm Lex and it's great to meet you.

In short: having travelled by myself in the summer of 2021 through Scandinavia for the first time, I once again took a huge train backpacking trip throughout Great Britain (not forgetting Ireland) for one entire month!

In more detail: in 2021, I spent a holiday without my parents for the first time. So I decided, in my wanderlust, that I wanted to backpack around the Baltic Sea solely by train. I ventured through the capitals of Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland, which, I had only travelled to Germany before. I succeeded in Couchsurfing in each city, except for Berlin and Warsaw (due to a late arrival and exhaustion), and each experience has been a blast. It is one of the fondest memory I have. So afterwards, I immediately knew to partake in such an adventure again, this time for even longer than the last. My eyes set on Great Britain, having only been in Newcastle-upon-Tyne for an afternoon. For the entire length of a month, I stayed in 15 cities, visiting (without a layover) at least 2 more, being: London, Cambridge, York, Edinburgh, Inverness (or close-by in the vicinity of Drumnadrochit, rather), Glasgow, Belfast, (Giant's Causeway), Dublin, Killarney (National Park), Cork, Galway, (Cliffs of Moher), Liverpool, Manchester, Norwich (visiting a friend) and Windsor. I passed through Dublin twice and London trice due to looping around. Having finished that one as well, I'm looking forwards to a third trip already!

More on me: I am straightforward, go-with-the-flow, open-minded and an adaptable Dutchman who never lies, nor knows any taboo, so anything is up for discussion! My life tends to be quite split into different interests and everything seems to have two sides to it, combining the two ends of most spectrums. I definitely know a thing or two about any topics you may find interesting, more on that in my interests tab :).

You may find me on my social media (all public):
Instagram: @lex__p
Snapchat: @lex_pl
Discord: @Lex#6882
Facebook: l.plantenga
Email: lexplantenga@gmail.com

You may also go to linktr.ee/lex__p to find the aforementioned and more.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

Having some experience now, I can say that locals have your best interests at heart and add to the experience of travelling. Not because they are like hotel servants, but like equals who like to share what they have experienced abroad before, too. I have met and spent a considerable amount of time with over 30 people in the Great Britain tour alone, plus more than ten on the Scandinavia one. I cam recount all the experiences I've had with them :).

Interests

As you might see, I have an insurmountable amount of interests. If the metaphor "Jack of all traits, master of none" were to be personified, it would be me. I find practically everything fascinating. Currently, I am studying physics; as a hobby I write (English) poetry; love to cycle through nature; am a huge geek and can listen and talk for days, while spending time alone is also a favourite pastime. Whatever your interests are, I bet to you I share them and can conversate about them at least to some extend. You may also enjoy that I listen to every genre of music and watch every genre cinema has to offer, anything is on the table :).

• arts
• writing
• poetry
• design
• cooking
• politics
• trivia
• traveling
• music
• cycling
• hiking
• sports
• biology
• geography
• history
• physics
• psychology
• nature
• linguistics
• gaming
• learning new things
• cinematography
• debating
• cubing

Music, Movies, and Books

Music: Believe it or not, I listen to every genre, from classical to EDM, all the way through to heavy metal and blues.

Movies: I adore Harry Potter and the MCU, but my all-time favourites would be Inception and Interstellar. The Father has recently been added to the best films I have seen. Though I practically like every genre of film, too, I prefer not to see overly cliché romcoms/sitcoms or jumpscare horror.

Books: although I haven't read a lot, I really enjoyed The Fifth Science, a hidden gem by the not so well known writer Exurb1a (because he is more well-known for his videography work). As a teenager, I was also plenty into the Harry Potter, Hunger Games, Divergent, and Maze Runner series. I intend to read more classic literature to learn from big names, as I am a writer of poetry myself.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I am humbled by what I am about to share. But for my Scandinavia tour, the most memorable, picturesque, seemingly being picked freshly from a romance, memory I have, was right at the start of the trip in Berlin. I had dinner with a fellow traveller and Couchsurfing member and walked through Treptower Park. There, we sat down close to a dance group. A couple, unbothered by others or even the music, just had the biggest smile on their bright faces and radiated just the utmost joy being together, twirling around each other as the sun settled. They were really just picked from a feel-good film or the Woodstock Festival, with hippie-looking clothing. That was an otherworldly experience and sparked me into writing a poem bundle all centred around dance, with experiences in each city I visited thereafter.

Teach, Learn, Share

To teach: writing techniques; physics; calculus; debating skills; solving a Rubik's cube or other puzzles; and trivia for days!

To learn: whatever neat thing you have to offer!

To share: plenty of amazing travel stories or experiences from the past; I'd love to share mine, but also hear yours!

What I Can Share with Hosts

We can share stories, explore the city together, you might receive some Dutch treats too ;). I can travel quite tidy and won't leave a mess. I am adaptive to any environment.

Countries I’ve Visited

Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Denmark, Egypt, England, Estonia, France, Germany, Hungary, Indonesia, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Malaysia, Morocco, Poland, Scotland, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, Turkey, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

Netherlands