Be sure to read "My home" section before sending the request! I live in a van and this is where I could host You, could be a unique experience for some people, but then in some circumstances may not be a desired kind of accommodation.
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I love exploring and I'll take anything life has to offer. I only feel truly alive when I am lost in the middle of an unknown town, suffering from lack of sleep, with a train to catch within an hour. Or scrambling up some rocks on top of a mountain ridge, rushing despite the heavy backpack to reach the top by sunrise. Or approaching the tip of a crane's arm during a ninja rooftopping mission. Or spontaneously going on an all night party with strangers who offered me a ride when hitchhiking. Or... well, You get the idea :) - the level of dopamine and adrenaline gotta be high.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I love travelling in general, and the prospect of heading to a new destination always puts a smile on my face. The only proper way to truly discover the country one visits is to detach oneself from what he knows and to dive in between the locals entirely. This is the opportunity Couchsurfing provides and I hope to use it as much as possible.

On the other hand, in recent years hosting has been an even more important side of Couchsurfing for me. Inviting someone to my home is a perfect way to break up everyday routine and get a fresh wave of positive energy. Especially if that someone proves to be an open-minded travel lover like myself. Besides, I love cooking and baking - having guests is a perfect excuse to do more of that ;-)

At the moment I don't have any flat to host people because I'm on a vanlife trip. I'd be happy to host a person in my van but it's too unpredictable in terms of the location :D Hopefully when I will have a break from travelling and settle in one place for a while I'll be able to enjoy hosting some people again.

Interests

Hobbies come and go, but most of them follow a similar progression similar to the brightness curve of a type II supernova - an initial burst of huge intensity, then gradually going down to become just one ingredient of mixture of comparably important activities we enjoy doing from time to time. I will therefore try to address each ingredient of my mixture, following a chronological order of their respective initial outbursts:

1. Science:

From being good at math in school, through prizes in competitions, invitation to an astronomical camp, I ended up pursuing opportunities to attend various astronomical workshops and internships, eventually competing a Bachelor degree in the field. At some point I quit and went on to try other things, but I am currently giving it another go, pursuing a Master programme in planetary science.

2. Rock climbing:

I started climbing in last year of junior high school. Trained regularly for 4 years, later it became more of a leisure activity. In the recent years, through travelling with the van, I was able to climb outdoors more often, which reignited the passion, and I am currently pushing to become a better climber, having already broken the 7a barrier last year.

3. Juggling:

The fact that I learned juggling on a math workshop has surprisingly little to do with the mathematical order and innate nerdiness the activity actually entails. Anyways, over the initial fascination period of 2014-2016, I practiced every day, and if it was just for one hour it meant I had a busy day. Currently training is far more occasional. but I'm quite happy with the decently-sized range of tricks I can perform, while still trying to make some improvements and discover new ways to toss props around.

4. Slackline:

If I were to pick any of these list and refer to it as my strongest passion, it would definitely be slacklining. Before I learned it in 2016 in Warszawa, I didn't really see much of a point walking a line from one tree to another. Well, there's a few factors which made me change my mind, and as the first one I would like to point out the community. I've met so many amazing people through this activity, and I could just about always be sure in advance that we shared a similar mindset. But the real game-changer to start enjoying the line more, was to start walking it way up high, strapping on a harness and venturing to cross a canyon on a one inch thick bridge. Combine that with a drive to travel and put up lines between dazzling ravines all around the globe... and You'll understand why in years 2017-2018 there wasn't a single travel in my life that wouldn't involve at least one highline project, often with an international highline festival serving as the goal of the journey itself. To this day, slackline remains my major hobby and a default source of new friends.

5. Urban exploration:

I’ve always been attracted to enter ruins, empty houses and such. However, only in 2016 did I learn that the activity of exploring such places has it’s name and numerous followers. Since 2017 I’ve been treating urbex as a nice way to spend some time with friends – meeting up specifically to see this or that abandoned building.

6. Rooftopping:

Somewhat similar to urban exploration, but more extreme – the object of exploration is usually not an abandoned building but a construction site, and the goal is to reach the top of a skyscraper or a crane and admire the night ligths of the city. Did a lot of both when I was living in Warszawa. If You’d like to experience this and are cool with vertigo, I could still be keen on a night mission.

7. Mountain hiking:

Somewhat a hobby from childhood, for I grew up in Besid Śląski and hiked frequently, but I only started taking it for real in 2020, when I completed five 3 day treks in Polish and Slovakian mountains, with heavy backpack, sleeping in hammock, hiking off trail with a compass, etc. I have some aspirations for higher mountains, and in March 2021 I successfully summited a staggering 5230 m high Iztaccihuatl in Mexico. But mostly I’m just very happy with a few days of wandering some nice 1000-3000 peaks, preferably not in a big group but with just one close friend, or alone.

8. 3d animation:

Came across Blender tutorials shortly before the first corona-lockdown, and spent most of it becoming a pro with the software. I found an unexpectedly high level of fun in creating virtual worlds and characters. I did not manage to reach employment in that area, but I still use it for personal projects such as my Youtube videos occasionally.

9. Cooking:

I’ve always liked cooking, and since I started an independent life in 2015 I’ve been exploring more and more recipes… But I’m putting it so late on the list because the real flourish of my kitchen creativity was only achieved in 2020, with a combination of vegan diet and dumpster diving. Although I no longer follow a strict vegan diet, but it is still a default when shopping and cooking for myself. I also keep growing my repertoire of dishes, both with my own improvisations and with what I learn whilst travelling (in particular the trips to Mexico and Tunisia had been fascinating culinary inspirations).

10. Backcountry skiing:

I was always curious to try it, since it feels like a great way to do a hike in the winter. I got my own equipment in 2021 and had some amazing winter adventures in Greece, Poland, Norway, Germany, Austria and Italy. Unfortunately in Italy I lost a ski in a sketchy situation, still hoping to retrieve it this summer.

• cooking
• traveling
• juggling
• dumpster diving
• rock climbing
• astronomy
• mathematics
• science
• urban exploration
• slackline
• vegan cooking
• rooftopping
• mountain hiking
• 3d animation
• backcountry skiing
• rope access

Music, Movies, and Books

Just about any music does good to my heart (except maybe for some really mainstream disco polo), although I'm bad at recognizing titles and bands. I'm also a big fan of singing by the fire with friends, and I know lots of songs meant for such purpose (although most of them in Polish).

As for movies and books I'm not very picky either. My favorite are the ones which are very moving and stay in my mind long after reading/watching (yes, that means I prefer it if there's no happy ending), but I also like watching light movies, meant for laugh or relax only (such as action, comedy, ...). As for book genre I've tried a bit of everything: fantasy, sci-fi, horror, crime, adventure, ... can't really choose my favorite, best to alternate.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

At the age of 14 I ran away from home to climb Rysy, the highest mountain peak in Poland, alone, after a sleepless night. I succeeded.

Teach, Learn, Share

I can speak for hours about all sorts of aspects of juggling, ranging from practical to entirely theoretical. I'm more than eager for a slackline session, or introducing You to the sport if You'd never tried. I can also tell you loads of interesting facts about astronomy and mathematics. Besides, I have countless funny adventures from my life to share, check out the paragraph above for an example ;-)

Feeling hungry? We'll get that sorted, and if You don't believe that veggie food is the best, I'll do my best to change Your mind with many delicious proofs!

What I Can Share with Hosts

See above.

Countries I’ve Visited

Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Kosovo, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Macedonia, Mexico, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russian Federation, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, United States, Vatican City State

Countries I’ve Lived In

Germany, Italy, Poland, Portugal