“And if travel is like love, it is, in the end, mostly because it’s a heightened state of awareness, in which we are mindful, receptive, in dimmed by familiarity and ready to be transformed. That is why the best trips, like the best love affairs, never really end.”
― Pico Iyer

I'm a cheerful, curious and unconventional traveller who enjoys cycling, cooking and writing parody. I lived in various places these last years and look forward to keep meeting people from around the world.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I love to exchange stories (and recipes :) and discuss art, architecture, science, philosophy, movies, world affairs, history - you name it. I found a lovely apartment that came readily equipped with everything except overnight guests. I'd love to show people some of the hidden treasures of Berlin that I discovered since I moved here.

Note, though, that I usually can't accept people for more than a couple of days at a time - so please don't ask for a week or more, you'd only be disappointed.

Interests

I like tons of stuff, but most of all I enjoy discovering new interests and trying different experiences. I have yet to skydive and to water-ski, those are on my bucket list (which grows daily!).

• writing
• movies
• rock music
• scuba diving
• basketball
• languages
• psychology
• social science
• travelling
• sci-fi
• china
• bicycle
• computers
• ted
• improv theatre

Music, Movies, and Books

MUSIC

- singer-songwriters outside the mainstream (Harry Chapin, Stacey Kent, Jackie Leven, Sixto Rodriguez)
- rock ballads (Melissa Etheridge, Meat Loaf, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Gerry Rafferty)
- punk/hard rock (Billy Talent, Fratellis, Guns 'N Roses, Chickenfoot)
- crossover (RHCP, Fiva, Gogol Bordello, Reel Big Fish).

MOVIES

- dark humor comedy (The Little Death, What We Do in the Shadows, Waking Ned Devine)
- mind-fuck sci-fi (13th Floor, 6th Day, Dark City, Mr. Nobody, Eternal Sunshine, Circle, Primer, Soylent Green, BBC's Black Mirror)
- closed-box movies (https://taylorholmes.com/category/cinema/closed-box)
- movies with twist ending (Usual Suspects, Fight Club, Sixth Sense, BBC's Inside No. 9)

BOOKS

- satire and parody (Catch-22, Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy)
- sci-fi (H.G. Wells, Philip K. Dick, Andreas Eschbach, Daniel Suarez)
- historical novels

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I dived with Great Whites off the coast of South Africa, I built an igloo to spend New Year's Eve in, and I totally ignored the prompt to name One Amazing Thing. So that's three.

What I Can Share with Hosts

I'd love to share some funny stories, good spirits (pun intended) and IT support ;)

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belgium, Croatia, France, Greece, Israel, Italy, Lesotho, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

China, Germany, South Africa