My name is Zach, I'm 25 years old and I'm from Dubuque, IA.

I've been camping and hiking since I was a kid, but I have no experience with a trip so ambitious and massive. I am no where near the pinnacle of fitness, but I am enduring and determined. I played American Football and wrestled for 5 years in high school, lifted weights with records at my school, and can run and walk long distances. Not as fit as I used to be, but this adventure will put me back into shape.

Note that I am o.k. with people traveling with me for only parts of the journey, and it's fine if you want to split if to go somewhere else or take a break from each other (idea from Wolter's World YouTube channel about 5 hates and loves about traveling with a buddy).

I would consider myself intelligent and open minded, and I like deep, meaningful conversation. My humor ranges from simple jokes to cards against Humanity level and probably beyond, but I am a polite and friendly person who is open to others. I like science (mainly astronomy, physics) , stargazing, history, philosophy, math, video games (bringing my 3ds with pokemon and Zelda), and intelligent debate, and I don't get offended, so don't worry about talking freely.

I want to experience the festive and night life, although I don't drink, smoke, or gamble. I would prefer to travel with someone who doesn't smoke or someone who doesn't smoke anywhere near me. I don't mind if you drink, but I don't want to travel with someone who is looking to get wasted and becomes a liability. I want to travel with sensible, humorous, friendly people, who enjoys intelligent conversation and won't easily get offended, who is also up for adventure and didn't mind getting side tracked or straining themselves physically.

Note that although I have this route in mind and I would like to visit most of these countries, I don't mind taking detours, and I am open for suggestions on routes and destinations. I want this adventure to be open ended.

I want this to be an adventure, so I want to use as little public transportation as possible.

The biggest reasons I'm doing this trip is because although I have an amazing girlfriend, full time job, an awesome apartment, and awesome friends, I am not happy with living normally and I'm unmotivated and lazy in this lifestyle, and I want to go on an adventure, and I've always wanted to travel and see Europe. I'm no where near rich, but I'm not struggling, but the day in and day out 40 hour work week is not a satisfying life. I'm a huge fan of J.R.R. Tolkin and games like the legend of Zelda , Pokemon, and Final Fantasy (God of War series is one of the reasons I want to see Greece). I know that every walking moment won't be a picturesque scene, but I want to be able to not only have a goal of reaching marvelous destinations, but to stumble upon hidden beauties of Europe. I want to see some of the cities and the major land marks, but I mostly want to focus on the small towns, ruins, castles, and most of all the natural wonders of Europe. I don't want to be the people who day for their entire lives they want to travel, but they never end up taking the risk. I am excited and terrified of the idea of leaving everything behind to travel in a different continent with different languages, but I am more terrified of never going on the journey at all.

If you are interested in partaking this adventure with me, let me know where you'd like to meet, how long and to where you want to go to, and any questions or concerns you have. I can wait or detour to meet up with anyone, and if there's a particular place or destination you'd like to go to let me know.

I'm looking forward to meeting many new people, both hikers while traveling on the trail, and the generous couch surfing hosts in the towns and cities :-)

Warum ich bei Couchsurfing bin

Mostly for the reasons above in my about me. I wouldn't mind hosting people, but I haven't found anyone looking to visit Dubuque, IA. I want to connect with people on my adventures, and not just be some American stranger with a big backpack

Interessen

I'm a fan of many video games like Destiny, God of War, Pokemon, Legend of Zelda, Elder scrolls, Fallout, Jak and Daxter, Ratchet and Clank, Uncharted, Infamous, Civilization, and Final Fantasy. One of the inspirations of travel for me is video games.

I've been camping and hiking since I was a kid. My favorite place to camp is Rock Island, Wisconsin. There is a very small peninsula there that is amazing for stargazing. I like to hike in interesting and beautiful terrain, and climbing whatever rocks I can without harness or tether, and I don't mind changing course to check out interesting sights that I stumble upon. One of the reasons I'm going on my trip is because I want to have a journey. I don't want to just loop a trail, I want to start somewhere, and travel to somewhere else.

I'm a fan of J. R. R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, The Silmarilion, and whatever complimentary books there are like the Atlas of Middle Earth. The books and movies are a big inspiration for my travels.

I larped, specifically Belegarth, which is mostly combat and not really role play, for 2 years. Although I really enjoyed and would like to participate again, in the last year I got really busy with a full time job and lazy outside of work. I mainly use sword and shield, although I do use just a single sword sometimes as it makes me work on my strikes and defense more, and I can grapple easier.

I'm light hearted, easy going, and love to laugh. I have a wide sense of humor, from simple jokes, to cards against Humanity humor, and probably beyond. I figure there are some things that should be taken seriously, but as long as you and your recipients know it's serious and that you know that each other take it serious, then you don't have to talk about it completely serious all the time, and it lightens the mood. Besides jokes, I love deep, intellectual conversation, and although I don't know everything, I will try to inquire on as much as I can. Science, Philosophy, Politics, Ideology, and debately less serious :-) who would win, best and worst games and movies. I live in a town of about 55-70 thousand people depending on what you count as the town, and I know there is a whole world of over 7 Billion people out there, all with unique personalities, lives, and ideas, and I want to meet with as many as I can.

I like to learn about history, because it's fascinating to learn about how we can to be where we are today, and what the world was like in the past. My favorite time to learn about is the birth of civilization, and it amazes me how the Indus river, Mesopotamia, and Egypt all started separately, around roughly the same time. I like to learn about the geography of the world because it gives me a better idea of the terrain, how the people live there, and I enjoy looking at maps.

Musik, Filme und Bücher

Music

Mostly specific songs, but there are a few artists that I exceptionally prefer

Linkin Park
Maroon 5
Carlos Santana

Books

The Lord of the Rings
The Hobbit
The Silmarilion
(I don't read many books, mainly Tolkien and fictional lore)

Movies

Tropic Thunder (WANT SOME? GET SOME!)
The Lord of the Rings
The Hobbit
Marvel Movies (including Deadpool :-)
300 (Because of historical accuracy and not because of the amazing fight scenes)

Eine tolle Erfahrung, die ich gemacht habe

I think one of the coolest things I've seen was when I was night hiking on Rock Island, Wisconsin with the naturalist and my brother, and it was pitch black in the woods were we were, but as we emerged into the clearing along the coast, it was a clear night with plenty of stars, except way off in the distance there was a storm. The storm wasn't moving towards us but it was fascinating to see a clear night with tons of stars, and a raging thunder storm which would occasionally light up the sky.

Lehren, lernen, teilen

I have had some realizations over my lifetime, specifically in the last 5 years.

Everything is a matter of perspective.

Although you should surround yourself with loving, caring people who will support you and help you back up when you fall down, it is ultimately up to you to find what makes you happy, what gives your life meaning, and pursue it.

Was ich mit Gastgebern teilen kann

Fun times, knowledge, wisdom, experiences, humor, help with whatever I can, friendship, a place to stay once I get back home, my attention and input if you need someone to talk to, my support, memories, and for anyone wants to go with me, and adventure of a lifetime.

Länder, die ich besucht habe

Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, Sweden, United States

Länder, in denen ich gelebt habe

United States