Don’t worry, there won’t be any hidden code in my profile, Couchsurfing is not a job application ;-)

ABOUT ME

I’m a guy who travels by train and knows something about it. Eurail/Interrail is my job, so I’d be happy to give tips. Love to travel around in especially Central/Eastern Europe, Balkans and former Soviet states, I know a lot about this small continent. I used to live in Malaysia for 6 months and explored a lot in this region as well. The second nice thing is Photography which I do whenever there is spare time. The reason I am hosting on Couchsurfing is to feel like I am travelling even though I am in my own house.

I live together with my girlfriend Britt, she is from Germany and has a lot of amazing travel and couchsurfing experiences as well.

Instagram: @hvondelen

In every country I visit, I would like to:
- Travel by train at least once
- Hike a mountain, preferably the highest point
- Be able to say “cheers” in the local language
- Find the best coffee place

PHILOSOPHY

"Experience something before you judge"

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

Utrecht is a beautiful place with a lot to do day and night. I can show people around in this lively city. I'd like to travel, so if someone wants to see another city, such as Amersfoort, Den Haag or Haarlem, we just take the train. Yes, everything is close in this country!

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I have a lot of hostel experiences, slept on some foreign couches in Greece and Turkey. But I am more active in hosting. When I don’t travel myself, I’d like to get the traveling vibe into my own house by hosting people.

Interests

• culture
• photography
• traveling
• bouldering
• hiking
• backpacking
• sports
• geography
• languages
• tourism
• hitchhiking
• mountains
• football
• trekking
• couchsurfing
• cities
• climbing
• trains
• balkans

Music, Movies, and Books

Movies: Into the Wild, Intouchables, V for Vendetta, The Shawshank Redemption, Lord of the Rings
Series: Dark, Dexter, The Black List, HIMYM, Homeland, La casa de papel, Black Mirror, Chernobyl, Hannibal, Narcos, Californication
Music: Pink Floyd, Dire Straits/Mark Knopfler, Pearl Jam/Eddie Vedder, CCR, Tom Waits, Neil Young, The Smiths, Elbow.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

1. In 2009 I took off for my first ever Interrail journey across Europe for one month. It taught me that I can meet the most wonderful people and see amazing things whenever I want. Inspired by this event, I have been on similar journeys by train across Europe for about 15 times now.

2. My exchange period in Kuala Lumpur in 2017 (Malaysia) is the best thing I have done in my life so far. The ability to explore rich a culture so far away where I had never been to, was my best time so far.

3. Took the train from Amsterdam to Moscow in 2018, via Istanbul, Tbilisi, Baku and Rostov. One amazing journey across the most beautiful countries while I met the most amazing people on my way.

4. In February 2020 I travelled the Transsiberia railway all the way to the end: Vladivostok. It took my father, my brother and me 4 weeks from the Netherlands to the far east by train. On the 12.000km journey we met many amazing people through Couchsurfing in several cities.

Teach, Learn, Share

I can teach people some Dutch phrases, show you the absolute best beers in the World and take you to the climbing gym where I go bouldering at least once a week. I used to work in a train-specialised travel agency, so I can show some tricks and cheats how to get the best tickets to anywhere ;) I have a small vinyl collection, so we could enjoy some amazing music while talking about life.

Countries I’ve Visited

Albania, Andorra, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, England, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Kosovo, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macao, Macedonia, Malaysia, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Myanmar, Netherlands, Norway, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russian Federation, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Vatican City State, Viet Nam, Wales

Countries I’ve Lived In

Malaysia, Netherlands