I have been in southwestern Germany for 5+ years. I volunteer with U.S. base community theater. I am a very open-minded person.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

To meet interesting people and to save on costs while traveling. I can bring you yummy German goodies if I stay with you!

Music, Movies, and Books

Rock music is what I was raised on, but I have an appreciation for all music. Movies are something I'm not as familiar with, but I do enjoy them a lot. I love a wide variety of genres in books, but don't typically finish many. I prefer to have a lot of them going at any one time.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

As far as traveling goes . . .drove my kids to camp from Kaiserslautern, Germany to Livorno, Italy in summer 2011, going through the amazing Swiss Alps. We stayed in Swiss Hostels, on the way down and on the return home (Baden & Gersau) and then, I also stayed by myself on my trips after dropping them off and picking them up (Baden & Bellinzona). Ah, the mountains, tunnels, clear water lakes, the autobahn, the Mediterranean, the food and the people!

Teach, Learn, Share

Grindewald, Switzerland is probably my favorite place to stay. Our family took the Trotti Bike ride down the mountain from First, Switzerland down to the valley where Grindelwald was. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-kB-mUxOq8

I enjoyed staying in a boat hotel in the harbor of Amsterdam, similar to this one. http://www.booking.com/hotel/nl/amicitia.en-gb.html?aid=356980;label=gog235jc-city_boats-XX-nl-amsterdam-unspec-de-com-L%3Aen-O%3AosSx-B%3Afirefox-N%3AXX-S%3Abo-U%3Asalo;sid=24c5f0b1fc796ec10e6321522c600bdb;all_sr_blocks=40664101_88532628_0_1_0;checkin=2016-10-05;checkout=2016-10-06;dest_id=-2140479;dest_type=city;dist=0;group_adults=2;highlighted_blocks=40664101_88532628_0_1_0;nflt=ht_id%3D215;room1=A%2CA;sb_price_type=total;srfid=e7782ac9a83b252f614c7f818b5efe69f4d0811eX2;type=total;ucfs=1&

Dublin's 2013 St. Patrick's Day Peoples Parade (which is the precursor to the larger parade) was a fantastic time. Met people from all over the world wearing green. I'm still friends with a Japanese woman who I marched alongside there.

The Swarovski Museum in the Tirolean mountains of Austria was an interesting palce. The old city of Innsbrook nearby is a beautiful place, too. https://kristallwelten.swarovski.com/Content.Node/wattens/index.de.html

Tried to learn to ski during a drought in Ishgl , Austria, in November, 2011 during the opening of the mountain. Not much luck, although one of my kids took to it so well that she was escorted by the instructor all the way to the top slope on her 2nd day of instruction! http://www.ischgl.com/en/active/ski-winter

Munich and the Dachau Concentration Camp were amazing bits of history. Fun in one, very somber in the other. https://www.tripadvisor.com/Tourism-g187309-Munich_Upper_Bavaria_Bavaria-Vacations.html https://www.kz-gedenkstaette-dachau.de/index-e.html

The most untouched city is Brugge, Belgium. The old town has not changed in hundreds of years. It was forgotten and left authentic. The Venice of the North. https://www.tripadvisor.com/Tourism-g188671-Bruges_West_Flanders_Province-Vacations.html

Ah, Venice! An amazing place. So much intrigue and mystery. https://www.tripadvisor.com/Tourism-g187870-Venice_Veneto-Vacations.html

Paris, so special. The people (at least those affected directly by WWII) are the warmest people in Europe! They love Americans, as does much of that generation in Europe!

Monet's Gardens, where I had the honor of going to sketch is beautiful. One day is not enough, since it's always changing due to the seasons. http://giverny.org/gardens/fcm/visitgb.htm

Etretat on the Normandy coast is another place that Monet loved to visit and paint. I sketched here, too. http://en.normandie-tourisme.fr/discover/normandy-must-sees/the-10-top-normandy-must-sees/etretat-207-2.html

These are some of the highlights of my life here in Germany, to date.

What I Can Share with Hosts

I have a smoke- free home, which I share with my 18 year old feline master, Pepper. I'm a decent cook and would enjoy hosting the right person or people. You will have your own bedroom but have to share the bathroom with me and Pepper.

I can drive you to places you'd like to visit or offer you help in finding ways to travel on to destinations w/out me.

I also have access to a variety of organized trips to destinations all over Europe, if you are interested in having a travel partner while you are here.

Bring your sense of adventure and some gas money and money for trips. We'll discover a lot of fun stuff together.

France is 40 minutes from my house! I can pick you up in Frankfurt, too!

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belgium, England, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, Switzerland, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Germany, United States