ABOUT ME

Already living for more than 10 years in Utrecht, I feel more and more connected to the city, its people and its environment. I am somebody who likes the atmosphere of a city: people going and arriving with different opinions and ideas. During my student life, I lived in a student house where also foreign students lived. It was very easy then to meet people from abroad. Now that I live in an apartment, I still hope to get to know people by using CouchSurfing.

PHILOSOPHY

I am interested in Buddhism and in its similarities with Ancient Philosophy, like Stoicism. At the same time, I want to combine them with modern day-life, work etc.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I hope to meet people with different backgrounds and from different countries.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I have some couch experience by a friend of me, who is a couch surfer. By his network, we could stay at a guy in Berlin and that was really a good experience. This encouraged me to become a couchsurfer as well.

Interests

I studied Earth Sciences and that is still an important thing in my life. First of all I apply it in my work. But I also like hiking in the mountains or in the hills and peat areas near Utrecht.
Besides hiking, I like biking. It is a very good way to explore the country. I have gone by bike to Berlin and Chartres in France.
Because of have to travel a lot by train, I have a lot of time to read books. I read different genres of literature. I like the 19th century Russian literature, but I am also a fan of the books of Frank McCourt. They describe in a very good way the problems you have to face, when you grow up, but at the same time, they describe the beautiful sides of life, when you are young or when you are older.

• books
• literature
• environment
• traveling
• socializing
• cycling
• hiking
• buddhist
• earth science
• mountains

Music, Movies, and Books

At home, most of the time, I listen classical music, but when going out I like the dance music as well.
I am especially interested in the French culture: its language, its literature (l'Enfant Bleu; Le Silence de la Mer), the films (Être et Avoir etc) and its music (Stanislas).

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I made different biking holidays with a friend of me to Berlin and to France in 2008 and 2009. I really liked these holidays because I saw many interested sides of Germany and France. Also many people were interested in us, resulting in good conversations during our trip

These experiences encouraged me to continue with biking holidays. In 2012 I began biking myself along the Danube from its source in Donaueschingen (Germany) to Budapest. Last year (2013) in July/August, I continued my Danube bike trip and biked from Budapest to Vidin in Bulgaria. Especially this biking holiday was very special for me, since I discovered Serbia and Bulgaria, countries where I have not been before.
I was especially touched by the hospitality of the people during this biking trip. When I had troubles with my bike, already within a few minutes people came to help me, which occurred in Hungary and Serbia. The language difficulties could be overcome and these moments were one of the most special moments of my biking trip in 2013. People offered me so much, that I almost felt at home in these countries, although quite remote from The Netherlands.

Teach, Learn, Share

I am not specifically interested in one kind of people. The variety colours life.

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Spain

Countries I’ve Lived In

Netherlands