CURRENT MISSION

Travel around America in 8 weeks using the train

ABOUT ME

I'm Florian and live with my girlfriend Eva-Maria Wagner. Currently we have the rare opportunity to go on vacation for two month, since my girlfriend got a job starting in August and I finished my studies and have no job yet. So Eva took the plunge and quit her day job she had, so we could travel the world.

We decided to spent all those 8 weeks in the US, since it is one of the biggest and most important states in the world. We are looking forward to see world-famous cities like New York, San Francisco or New Orleans, which we know from just so many movies and books. Other than that, we want to visit some National Parks, to see what all the fuss is about. :P

In the beginning I might be a little shy and need some time to warm up. But I'm a great listener and can talk on end if the topic is right. I'm a very reasonable person and like to apply logic to solve problems and decisions. Also, I'm a laid-back person and rarely get worked up about something. Most often I stay calm and take a minute to think things through, if necessary.

Eva might seem to be shy, but really, it's just because her English is a little worse than mine and she is afraid to miss a word at times. She is full of life, emotions and cheerful most of the time.

We prefer a calm evening at home or at a good restaurant above a wild party, which lasts the night. So we aren't night owls and will be back no later than 11pm. Also, we don't drink alcohol or coffee and we don't smoke. We just don't like taste. :)

We are both open-minded and like to hear interesting stories, learn about new opinions, cultures and religions. I would say I'm pretty good at putting myself in someone else's position to comprehend their chain of thoughts and why they believe what they believe. But convincing me to think the same is something wholly different. ;) I'm open to change my mind, but it takes some good arguments.

I'm sure you can have a great time with us, if you enjoy cozy evenings, interesting conversations, good food and a walk in the evening.

PHILOSOPHY

Believe in yourself and enjoy life. If you are looking for the answer to life, the universe and everything: it's 42.

Some quotes I like a lot:

There are two questions a man must ask himself. The first is 'Where am I going?' and the second is 'Who will go with me?' If you ever get these questions in the wrong order, you are in trouble.

Whatever you do in life will be insignificant, but it's very important that you do it, because nobody else will do.

Our brains have just one scale and we resize our experience to fit it.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I like to listen to other people's stories. Currently I am looking for hosts for me and my girlfriend, which can give us some tips and tell intriguing stories about themselves and the city we are in.

If you are a guest at our place, you can expect nice evenings with talk, self-made food and a board game, if you are into it. When going outside, we prefer to go to the parks or visit the lake, i.e. we are no experts regarding history or museums etc.

Interests

I love bicycling and prefer my bike above any other means of transportation (including my feet). Every time I'm on my own and if my mind has nothing to do, I listen to german podcasts, which make me laugh or teach me something new about space.

In the evening I often meet friends to talk or to play a game (boardgames like Starcraft or pen & paper roleplay games like Dungeons and Dragons). My girlfriend and I often visit our parents and siblings, who live nearby.

I like to read textbooks as well as fiction. If we are on our own, we like to watch some TV series – we usually buy the full season to avoid ads or cliffhangers. Of course I like to play video games as well. If some guests visit our place, I love to cook for them and try something new regularly.

My girlfriend, Eva-Maria Wagner, loves to make things in her free time, e.g. knitting scarfs, crochet a cap, building jewelry using modelling dough and making wooden tablets. She painted a lot in the past, but concentrated more on coloring greeting cards and doodling interesting patterns during the last years.

• books
• coloring
• dining
• cooking
• coffee
• partying
• drinking
• boating
• movies
• video games
• tv
• traveling
• crochet
• knitting
• podcasts
• cycling
• fishing
• history
• logic
• religion
• parks
• rivers

Music, Movies, and Books

I like to listen to a lot of game soundtracks, mostly calm ones which can be heard while working or concentrating on something. Other than that it depends heavily on my mood, whether I listen to Avril Lavigne, Billy Talent, Coldplay, Cultus Ferox, Green Day, Laura Jansen, Lenka, Schandmaul, ...

Regarding movies I like those with a twist or deep emotions, e.g. Away from Her, The last Song, My Blueberry Nights (emotions) OR Next, Mulholland Drive, eXistenZ (twist). I also like movies with a great story, like Memoirs of a Geisha, Good Will Hunting, Deja Vu. Our most beloved TV Series are O.C. California, Chuck, The Big Bang Theory, Desperate Housewives and Sex and the City.

I mostly read books to learn something new about Computer Science or Project Management, e.g. Rework, Getting Things Done or The Pragmatic Programmer. Other than that we read almost all books of Terry Pratchett and I'm a huge fan of The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. I also like Harry Potter, Inkheart, Eragon and Dead Poets Society.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I went down the Yukon River by boat several years ago. That was quite an experience! The landscape was beautiful and we could see the remains of the Klondike Gold Rush everywhere: broken ships and small abandoned villages. Dawson still looks like a village of the 19th century.

There were three things that I impressed me the most. First, we saw a lot of king salmons, which are real monsters and can break a fishing rod with ease. In the night they made slurpy noises, when touching the water surface.

Second, the White River. This river flows into the Yukon River and gets it name, because the water has a white, opaque color. This is due to the fact, that the White River flows through volcano ash that is more than 1'200 years old. So basically the Yukon gets polluted by white volcano ash. That looked very impressive, especially at the point where both rivers met.

Third and last, there was a forest fire several hundred miles away from our trip. We could see the smoke cloud of the fire two days in advance, before it swallowed us. The smoke was pretty thick and the sunlight was much weaker. You couldn't see very far as well. We weren't in danger, but it was very impressive how the smoke impedes your vision. As if your vision blunted.

Countries I’ve Visited

Canada, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Spain, Sweden

Countries I’ve Lived In

Germany, United Kingdom

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