CURRENT MISSION

Go swimming at the Côte d’Azur.

ABOUT ME

In general I'm a enthusiastic traveler.
A couple of years ago - while I was studying - I couldn't afford to travel and didn't use my opportunity of an exchange semester. During the past years I began to catch up on everything. My journey led me through several towns of Austria, later on most of the European countries.
Most of the time I travel by myself but I never feel alone. There are open-minded people all over the planet and you always find a way to communicate.

Last Year I used to live in San Francisco, CA, the Cradle of CouchSurfing and traveled California.

I work as a freelance graphic designer and animation artist. My occupation allows me to take my whole office with me, any time I want. All I need is a Notebook (Mac or paper).

Sometimes I talk a lot after the ice was broken but I even prefer to listen. Different ways of life and culture make me curious and I want to explore as much as I can.

I want to see the world and enjoy to share my thoughts and experience with people from all over this planet.
My aim is cultural and personal exchange. With my work as designer I try to leave my marks in our environment.
A good Conversation has this power as well.

PHILOSOPHY

I believe in sharing. Sharing ideas, food, shelter, experiences and life. This brings people together and leads into a very special connection.
When hosting CouchSurfers I like to show very unique places to them, as much as things which are usual to inhabitants.
To make this possible to you I advice you to walk to your hometown with the eyes of a tourist. Forget about usual routines and every-day routes. Try something different and you'll always find a way to explore something new and exciting.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

Just visiting the typical tourists places on a journey won't satisfy me. Of course, these places often have a lot of charm but the experience I am seeking in a foreign city are more about the domestic culture and behaviors. Food culture is an excellent example. I try to find places where inhabitants use to go, places where I can find typical food and the very special way of eating. Sometimes sharing the table and probably the food with strangers is a perfect start for conversations and cultural exchange.

Especially in Europe you do not necessarily need to travel far distances to find interesting differences in culture and behavior. Theses differences include the whole life-style, the way of dressing, housing, eating, drinking, walking, interacting, flirting, everything...

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

My first experience was outside of the CouchSurfing platform - when a friend of mine offered me shelter when I went to London. We shared the thought that traveling as a CouchSurfer would the future for vacation/adventure trips.
I heard about the CS-community and used it when went I to Paris in 2010.
It was a great experience so I started over to San Francisco. Another French guy, Emmanuel offered me shelter. At his place I met Sarah (NY) & Sarah (France), who joined a trip to Sacramento, Lake Tahoe and Yosemite I planned with Marion (Austria) I met on a train. She invited another friend, Lena (Austria) and the whole snowball-effect led us into a amazing road trip through California.
People come together so easily, and CouchSurfing is an amazing concept to support this gathering.

Interests

As my occupation is quite related to computer work I enjoy every hour spent outside.
Lucky me my Viennese flat is located very close to a huge Park called Prater. I love going running or cycling over there. Apropos bikes: I'm a bike enthusiast! I use it to get everywhere I want, during winter I attach broad, all-road tires to have enough grip in the snow. As long as I have access to a bicycle I feel independent and free.
In summer I love to play basket ball, in winter I go snowboarding in the Alps.

During the dark side of the day I like to go out, meeting friends, playing billiard and, a great pleasure of mine, foosball. There's nearly no week without dancing. I don't care which kind of music is played as long as it fits my mood. In general I listen to Hip Hop, Funk, Soul, Drum'N'Bass, Reggae, Punk, Rock, Indie, Alternative, Ska, Jazz and so on.

I don't believe that good experience or good quality is equivalent to the amount of money you have to spend for it. On the other side I do not hesitate to afford things I really want. The best inventions of the last couple of years have been train or flight tickets, my Mac and my bike. But anyway: the best things in life are free. Such as all the incredible moments I had the pleasure to share with a group of people. For example the stunning view over the Yosemite Valley, the swimming day in Lake Tahoe, or the view of a sunset above the clouds.

I was born and grew up in a 1.7 million metropolis and enjoy the urban life-style, movie theaters, bars, clubs, museums, concerts, and pretty coffee shops. Besides that I love being in contact with the untouched nature. Breathing the fresh air of a forest, smelling a salty breeze at the sea or feeling the warm sand under my feet are incredible experiences.

• culture
• design
• graphic design
• concerts
• dancing
• environment
• dining
• recipes
• coffee
• running
• walking
• drinking
• clubbing
• traveling
• music
• jazz
• cycling
• snowboarding
• swimming
• animation
• freelancing
• software

Music, Movies, and Books

I love em all. It's hard for me to stay day without music. As I mentioned the is a wide spectrum of sounds I enjoy. Sometimes songs remember me on specific situations, people or feelings - I can't always tell why they do but it's very often intense and joyful. When music makes me reminding a situation of love tunes can be really touching.

I could write a never-ending story about movies but rather keep this section short. As a cineast I used to play games like movie quote quizzes with friends. And believe me: I'm good. There is always a right movie for the right situation. I really like mind f*ck movies, but sometimes I enjoy stupid zombie movies. I also enjoy movies which make me cry, or lough.
To name some directors I like: Davis Fincher, Tim Burton, Woody Allen, Marc Forster, Quentin Tarantino, Darren Aronowsky, Kathrin Bigelow, Martin Scorcese, Mattieu Kassiwitz, Luc Besson,...

My reading behavior changes frequently. Sometimes I read three to four books at the same time, in other situations I do not read at all. When reading novels I appreciate stories which keep me fascinated continuously. Some books I would recommend to you are: Sofies verden by Jostein Gaarder, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, 1984 by George Orwell, Die 13 1/2 Leben des Käptn Blaubär by Walter Moers, Momo by Christian Ende, Watership Down by Richard Adams, Wer Bin ich, und wenn ja wieviele? by Richard Davis Precht, Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse, Die Zeit by Stefan Klein, Le Petit Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, to mention but a few.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

http://www.couchsurfing.org/map_surf.html?id=9B8V9OA&show=been_there

Teach, Learn, Share

I could teach you a bunch of things: several graphic design concept/software skills, recipes, every day live hints, the German language or how to open bottles with a lighter. I think many of the most important things to learn are quite easy to acquire and don't afford years of studying or training.

I'm open for new stuff. Show me how you deal with life!

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Guatemala, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Austria, United States

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