I am writing a book. The more I think through the plot and the more I try to figure out how the characters react, think and feel, the more I realize that every single word I write is a reflection of my past. Why am I even writing this? Because my past is colorful, filled with fulfilled dreams and lost hopes and it simultaneously hurts and feels good to re-experience it. I can tell you more - when we meet.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

Marija (my girlfriend) and I quit our job in February 2018 and are now traveling around the world - starting in Europe, passing through North and South America and then flying over to Oceania, Asia and then - back home. Why? Because we love meeting new laughing and sneezing people, because we love to listen to and share stories, and because we love waking up in beds and couches to the smell of different seasons, spices and ages. That's it.

Interests

• writing
• photography
• running
• languages
• indie music

Music, Movies, and Books

I worked for twoandhalf years in the music industry and am fed up with mainstream stuff - so I like indie music. I have a cup with Tom Yorke wearing a t-shirt with my face on it:). I like also indie movies, especially slow ones (Stalker, The American, Ghost Dog). I love sci-fi and magical realism books like Hyperion, Hard to Be a God and One Hundred Years of Solitude.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

“Aiguille Petite Verte is a mountain in the Mont Blanc Massif.“ This is what the all-knowing oracle - Wikipedia - will offer as an answer, if a curious explorer looks up the creamy French words. Four years ago, before I climbed it, I didn’t care what it was and where it lied. I only cared that it is 4000-meters-high, that it is dangerous, that it will push me to the edge – and hopefully not over it.
But let me start at the beginning.
France. Chamonix. Early 2010’s. We’re prepping for the insane climb. Oriol - my all time favorite Catalan – showing me how to make a double bowline knot. My eyes – wide open, small clouds of fear floating in them. A bottle of Vin de Savoie and a random combo of baguettes, a camembert and a saucisson later, we’re screwing around. Tears in our eyes from laughing. Tourists staring - we are sitting in the middle of the commercial street. The village, absurdly posh. Oriol shouts to me, „You do realize that you are already thirty?“ I look at my clock, realize indeed that is is already past midnight on 29th August, and shout back, „Who cares!“ It’s quite ok to just not care about anything.
The next day – I care a lot. About about the double bowline, on which my life depends and which I knotted personally today. Can I entrust my life to myself? Tough question. No time to think. The climb – a mess. Ahead - obscured by clouds glaciers and cliffs and crags and rocks and ice. At the very end – for the first time ever – my heart just stops. I slip and catch the edge of the last cliff with the tips of my cold, freezing fingers. Will the knot hold? The survivalism in me triumphs – I make up there. No clouds. Sun. Cold. Oriol laughing. I – laughing. Then crying, just a little. Then - I shout on the top of the world from the top of my lungs, “You only know when you are alive, when you feel the fear in your heart!”
Going back - a Kinderspiel. Foggy though, feels like the breath of Gollum on the skin. Five-six hours of walking, a wooden cabin materializes. We enter. Jaw drops from astonishment, I stare, she’s mesmerizing. Chit-chat as fast as a Ping-Pong between her and Oriol. Damn, don’t speak French. Leave.
Hundred meters down the mountain I stop. Turn back. Look at the cabin. Turn my head to my buddy, look deep in his eyes, look for a sign.
“Oriol, I have to go back, otherwise I will regret this for the rest of my life.” He nods, smiling. “Go back and talk to her, you stupid!” It’s quite ok to care a lot about something.
By the way – Oriol had lied, Aiguille Petite Verte is not 4000-meters-high. But who cares?

Teach, Learn, Share

I live to learn - people, traditions and recipes.

What I Can Share with Hosts

Languages, culture, legends, friendship.

Countries I’ve Visited

Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, China, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Bulgaria, Germany, Spain, United States