CURRENT MISSION

To the horizon.

ABOUT ME

I have just finished my PhD studies focused on protection of cultural heritage during armed conflict and it seems like I will work at Charles University in Prague from January 2024. Meanwhile I would like to travel around a bit and visit some places I have been thinking about for long time.
I spent one year in bank like corporate lawyer and I realized quite quickly that this is not my cup of tea so I am glad to do something I like again. Coming back to traveling I still feel curiosity and excitement that I felt first time when I crossed Bosphorus or just hitchhiked from my old hometown to east when I was much younger. There is still so many places to visit and explore. So I do not want to kill my enthusiasm by sitting in office when life offers more. I prefer to visit less touristy places where I can still feel more like explorer and traveller rather than tourist. Also such places are great opportunity to spend time with locals and see how they really live. And I like walking too so in case I have enough time I prefer to use my feet to move from place to place.
I love visiting new places, meeting new people. I am interested in history and architecture and keen on hiking in mountains.
Regions I like the most are Middle East and Central Asia but in the same time I am open minded for everything new.

PHILOSOPHY

I love travelling because I feel free and independent. I respect different cultures and opinions, I am open minded for a new ideas.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I would like to provide a place for a travellers where they can stay in Ostrava. It is nice to meet people from foreign countries and listen to their opinions and ideas. And of course it is the easiest way how to understand different culture.
When I travel to foreign country I always want to stay with local people to understand spirit of this place, see local habits, try local food...

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Not a lot but all are great! Hospitality, new ideas, exploring new places, meeting new people, that is CS for me. Probably the best way how to understand different culture. Thanks to CS I can see life in country where I travel from inside and participate in it.

Interests

I love mountains and hiking - for me there is nothing more beautiful than a daybreak seen from a mountain range. I am feeling absolutely free in mountains - there are not any problems or doubts - just pure freedom.
Long distance running - what about more than 100 km? Too much? Not for me, just another very intense experience.
Tea - I like the taste and process of preparing however I am trying to learn something about different kinds of tea now.
Minority groups - almost every country has some. It is exciting to see how people of different ethnic origin or religion are living in country where they are not majority.
I really love history - it is a key which helps us to understand a present events.
And not the least I love architecture and sights, that is one of the reasons why I travel. It is nice when I read some information in books and than I can personally visit mentioned place and see everything with one's own eyes.

• culture
• books
• architecture
• education
• dining
• cooking
• running
• traveling
• socializing
• hiking
• teaching
• history
• law
• study abroad
• hitchhiking
• parks
• mountains

Music, Movies, and Books

My favourite writers are Umberto Eco, Michail Bulgakov, Karel Capek, J.R.R. Tolkien, Orhan Pamuk...
Movies: House M.D., Blackadder

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

My first visit of Istanbul - it was really deep impression to see this melting pot between Europe and Asia. From this time I wanted to go to visit Central Turkey and Middle East.
Hitchhiking through mountains on border between Iran and Iraq in Kordestan province, visiting splendid Kurdish villages and spending time with local extremely hospitable people.
Sunrise seen from top of Nemrut Dagi mountain in Eastern Turkey, it was great show to see changes of colours on ancient statues and temples.
Spending night in amazing deserted monastery Haghpat in Northern Armenia.
End of Ramadan in Urfa city, incredibly friendly and hectic mood, crowded parks and great time with local people.
Relax atmosphere in Turkish tea houses - I could spend there a long time by watching people and sipping tea.
Wandering under pyramids in Dahshur and Saqqara, hectic days in Cairo, exploring ancient temples in delta of Nile and hitchhiking through Western desert.
Hiking under millenia old cedar trees in Lebanon and visiting monasteries in Kadisha valley.
Hitchhiking through Norway from Russian border to Stavanger and breaking stereotypes about "cold" Norwegians.
Exploring forgotten north of Burma during monsoon season.
Hiking in remoted valleys of eastern Tajikistan, crossing Pamir highway and being guest in Kyrgyz yurt.
Travelling through Russia from Baikal lake back to Europe, thousands miles of hitchhiking, many different ethnic groups and omnipresent hospitality. Especially Tuva republic was place unlike the rest of Russia.
Long hike across Zanskar ridge in Ladakh region in India. Tibetan monasteries, yaks and incredible landscape.
Hitchhiking over empty and wild Mongolia and visiting festival of Kazakh eagle hunters in Altai mountains, very west of the country.

Teach, Learn, Share

I think that I know quite a lot about European history and it is always very good for me to speak with people interested in this point. Since I am lawyer we can discuss some legal issues in case you are crazy enough to like it.
If you can cook you are welcome, I am not a very good cook but I would like to learn something from you.

What I Can Share with Hosts

Tea, food, stories and smile.

Countries I’ve Visited

Albania, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, India, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Myanmar, Netherlands, Norway, Palestine, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russian Federation, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Uzbekistan, Vatican City State

Countries I’ve Lived In

Czech Republic, Italy, Norway, South Africa