Hello there!🌞
I‘m Ilka. I live in the beautiful city Freiburg in Southern Germany in between the blackforest and the french Vogesen. I‘m a nurse and I study psychology. I enjoy moving my body in endless different ways, like practicing gymnastics, running, climbing, hiking, dancing, swimming and the list continues. Another passion of mine is water - icebathing in winter and enjoying the Atlantic waves in summer. Last but not least, i‘m very interested in local and global politics and find it very important to become active and fight for a world, in which no person has to experience discrimination due to their skin colour, their origin, their self identity or sexual orientation.
What most likely unites most people on this page is the passion for traveling, which i share deeply as well. I believe that traveling is a very important way of reducing prejudices, building friendships across borders and developing an understanding for other cultures. I‘m a big supporter of trying to travel more climate friendly and avoid using airplanes. I only recently realised how beautiful and diverse my own home continent is and am very excited to discover more places on it in my small campervan in the future.
I was very lucky to have made amazing experiences using Couchsurfing and now would like to give back a little bit and have the tiny spark of the travel spirit even when i‘m home.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

Because i experienced the beautiful, kind and welcoming gestures of others while traveling at a very young age and would like to give back. Until today i have built a long friendship with people i met on Couchsurfing over 7 years ago.
I believe that Couchsurfing is enriching in so many different ways. For the ones hosting, to have a little bit of travel spirit at home, share your own culture, get an insight into another culture and enable people to discover wonderful hidden places without worrying about how to afford it. Its a place to build friendships across the world and therefore lower the impact of prejudices and racism, which unfortunately is still so present in our world. For the ones traveling its such a great way to dive into a culture, get to know family structures, building connections and making experiences you‘ll never forget. Its a cultural exchange, which everyone benefits from so greatly.
Since my experiences were very positive overall, i would like to enable others to have the same.

As i started solo traveling as a young girl i am very aware of the challenges facing other female travelers. I would like to encourage requests specially by female travelers and am always willing to help out in case of emergeny. I have had one bad experience in the past, where this platform was used by older male hosts with a very inappropriate intention and have heard several stories by other travelers. Unfortunately most hosts are male and most travelers are female. That‘s one reason i also decided to start hosting, in order to provide a safe place for female travelers and use the platform Couchsurfing in the way it should be used.

Interests

Gymnastics, Icebathing, Swimming, Running, Estatic Dance, Traveling, Camping, Political Activism, Feminism, Languages, Coffee, Theatre, Cooking, Board Games, Psychology, Psychotherapy, Nursing, Childcare, Traveling, Nature, Waves, Snow, Skiing, Music, Festivals, Cultural Exchange, Friendship.

• politics
• traveling
• surfing
• skiing
• gymnastics
• feminism
• vegetarian cooking
• vegan cooking
• food lover
• estatic dance
• icebathing

Music, Movies, and Books

I honestly sadly havent read in a long time, apart from papers for university and news. Its kind of sad and i‘m gonna try and change that in the future.
For music i can say that my taste is pretty diverse. I enjoy German Folk Pop by bands like Provinz, Jeremias, Il Civetto and AnnenMayKantereit. I discovered my passion for electronic music in the recent years and mostly choose Techno Clubs when going out.
My all time favorite movie is called Weit. Its about a German couple traveling the world by foot. If you havent seen it, i can only recommend it by heart, no matter what you first language is. But be careful-its gonna give you Fernweh (unfortunately dont know an appropriate translation for this word).

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Its honestly so hard to pin it down to one single experience. I feel so so lucky to have made many many wonderful experiences in the past and am just gonna chose the first one, which pops up in my mind.

Ever since i was a child, i have been fascinated by the landscape of Patagonia. My uncle, who is a photographer traveled the region a couple times and told me stories about the most impressive landscapes, which are simply impossible to describe in words.
After finishing my bachelor degree in Psychology I decided to pack my backpack and travel South America. While hiking the Huemul Trek, i passed the Paso del Viento and witnessed the impressive view of the Southern Patagonian Icefield. A moment i will never forget.

Teach, Learn, Share

Teaching German, English, French and very basic Spanish. Cooking and baking together. Make you a nice cappuccino. Discovering Freiburg and its beautiful surroundings together. Show you the best (ice)bathing spots around and places to bring out your dancing energy!🌞

What I Can Share with Hosts

I‘m living with my partner, very close to the city centre in Freiburg and also pretty close to the beautiful Seepark. We have a guest matress, a couch and always enjoy sharing meals together, being outdoors and explore the mountains around. Our place is easily reached by public transport and bicycle.

Countries I’ve Visited

Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bolivia, Chile, Denmark, Ecuador, England, France, Germany, Iceland, India, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Peru, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Australia, Germany