I was born a Bavarian girl and used to watch my world from the top of the mountains, until the wind whispered into my ear, that there is also something beyond. I got, that the wind was not just talking about the Austrians on the other side of the Alps. So I got a backpack and some money and left.

I somehow ended up in India, my first foreign, non-European country. I let myself go, absorbed the country, the colours, the smell and only realised once back in Germany and suffering from social rehab, how far I had gone. However, since every joy comes with pain and vice versa, I got addicted to travel and I am trying to use the time on this amazing planet to get to know more about it and (almost) everything that is happening on it.

As I have come to see, everywhere I go, I loose a bit of myself and gain two bits in return. By now, my heart feels like a patchwork pillow, triple the size of a normal one, and only my regular yoga practice can keep it together.

MY PHILOSPOPHY:

1) Stay hungry, stay healthy (hungry not literally, but in a curious way)
2) There has to be a reason (you get what I mean?)
Well, I used to have two philosophies, but after I saw this new Star Wars Movie, I have one new one:
3) "I am one with the force and the force is with me!"

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

Wherever I have travelled to, the best things happened, when I stayed over at a friend’s place, or at a place of a friend’s friend. Travelling without getting to know and getting close to the routines of people isn’t satisfying any more. Sometimes I get to assist people cook specials from the local cuisines (Thanks Auntie for the very best misti doi in Kolkata ever!), sometimes involve myself in other housework (like breaking down a rock oven with a sledgehammer) and sometimes just join folks in different places in relaxing and spend the evenings (Sundowner in the Okavango Delta).

Couchsurfing has not really been on my radar yet, but over the last month more and more friends have told me about it and I also want to be a part of it. (To be honest, my account is 2.5 years old, and I cannot really remember how this could have happened.)

I am not hosting currently, as right now I share a small apartment room with my boyfriend in Berlin (my personal space is 2 sq. metres on the floor, where I sleep), but we love having people over, and as soon as we have a large enough apartment, we will get a couch.

Interests

until recently I was not really into animals, not at all, but then I met a cat and now.... how cute are they!

• cooking
• vegetarian
• yoga
• reading
• traveling
• mountains
• eating

Music, Movies, and Books

Sometimes I am looking for answers and start reading books by Jung or Fromm, but mostly I stick to Suther (awesome author from Switzerland!) and Harry Potter…definitely! And if I need my hands to be free while doing some arts or craft, I just listen to the audio books of the ‘The three investigators’.

Movies, I love movies. There are so many good movies out there and some of them I have seen quite a few times (Grease, The Kings Speech, Vincent will Meer). I have to admit though, there are some genres I simply cannot watch. I am sorry, but I don’t get horror or slasher or whatever these movies are called and Hangover Part 1 to Part Infinity. What is this, please? One reason to go to India again and again, is, that I only have to pay about 50 Cents for one Movie! And I love being at the cinema!

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

As part of being a spreader of Yoga, I unintentionally and unexpectedly end up teaching people Yoga in unexpected situations and places. I taught an elderly couple (both above 70! and the man hated Yoga) during a pilgrimage through Spain, my Indian classmates in Mumbai (I also taught them Salsa, which they seemed to like more), I taught a friend an hour before her PhD defence in Rotterdam and a group of refugee women at the Gold Coast in Australia.

Teach, Learn, Share

I love teaching and practicing Yoga. I barely travel without my Yoga mat (I even got a foldable one for my backpack) and I am always looking for people to practice with (and it doesn’t matter how good they are).

I am officially a health care economist, so in case you have always wanted to know the why’s and how’s of health and insurance, don’t hesitate to ask me or stop me, if I end up lost in passion.

I am a big fan of a nice cool beer (born as a Bavarian) or a glass of wine, but cannot share any passion for any other drug on earth.

You can teach me how to sing (I have a very nice voice but it turns into noise when I try to sing).

You can also teach me how to do arts. I never made it much further than basic painting and the world is full of several types of art.

And you can teach me all you know about engineering and other technical things. A calculator is already witch-magic for me.

What I Can Share with Hosts

A honest big smile. I love smiling and nowadays one cannot smile enough and I feel people smile too less.
There is almost no end to my curiosity (luckily for mankind, I grew up and now know how to frame proper questions instead of just asking “why, why?”). I pick up things very quickly. It totally depends on who I spoke to last, whether I have an American, British or an Indian accent.

I am a very fast learner and quick in understanding situations and circumstances (my friends call me ‘The observer’, not sure, if that is meant in a positive or negative way).

I love sharing food, especially breakfast. Before my friends realize generally that I have gotten up, the smell of pancakes or fried eggs tickles their noses.

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, Austria, Belgium, Botswana, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Italy, Namibia, Netherlands, Poland, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Zimbabwe

Countries I’ve Lived In

Germany, India