Hey there!

Thanks for checking out my profile :) My name is Karl, I'm 24 y/o and living in Aachen, Germany, where I attend the university (engineering). I hope that one day, I'll be able to have a positive impact on the world and leave my mark. I'm grateful for all I have and want to be able to show this beautiful world to my kids one day.

By the way: I love to travel! I've worked as a flight attendant for three years and visited over 60 countries ever since. What I like most about visiting foreign places is meeting new people and exchanging ideas about how the world works. And the nature of course. And the food! Oh man, I'm just in love with the world.

Besides, I really like sports. Having a healthy body is worth so much more than all the money in the world. I like working out or playing basketball, football, or any other team sports. And back in my home town, I regularly visit the football matches of Borussia Dortmund.

Right now, I live in Valencia, Spain, where I'm doing my exchange semester.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I started Couchsurfing because I wanted to travel a lot but couldn't afford it. I didn't really thought about it and it turned out to be a black swan for me. I visited so many countries and went to so many great places that are not listed in any travel guide. I'm so proud and thankful for being part of this community.

Interests

I want to make the world a better place and I want to enjoy life. Fortunately, this goes hand in hand. Generally speaking, I'm more interested in ideas than in people.

• arts
• traveling
• sports
• soccer
• engineering
• food
• friends
• fun
• making friends
• aerospace

Music, Movies, and Books

Music:
I listen to music to feel good but my fav songs usually only last for two weeks until there is something new. My favorite artist is probably Drake.

Films:
I never had my own TV, but there are the classics like James Bond, Inception and Catch me if you can. I could watch them over and over again.

Books:
I love to read, because you can dive into a completely different world that is described by the author but visualized by your own imagination.
The most inspiring book I read this year was "Cradle to cradle" by William McDonough and Michael Braungart on how to rethink our products and the way we utilize resources.
The best storytelling is "The history of bees" by Maja Lunde, part of a four-book-series where she writes about the effects of climate change.
The book I (and many smart people) cite the most often is "Factfulness" by Hans Rosling, on how to understand the world, but written in such a beautiful manner.
The most important to read is "Speed and scale" by John Doerr, who provides an action plan on flighting global warming.
And occasionally, I read psycho-thrillers by Sebastian Fitzek to relax.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

There's a lot, but here are some highlights:

I've hiked to Machu Picchu and walked along the Great Wall.
I did safaris in Africa and swam around an island in the Caribbean Sea.
I did a balloon tour in Mexico and flew on a seaplane in Canada.
I celebrated Christmas in Japan and did a trip to the atomic power plant in Chernobyl.

Teach, Learn, Share

I love good food and like to cook. Sushi, pasta, tapas, shawarma, chicken tikka masala, steak, fish, schnitzel, salat - I'm in. Let's have lunch together!

I'm good at math, but that's usually not the type of skill people want to learn. Such a shame.

Communication is key, but I suck at learning languages. Therefore, everywhere I go I try to learn at least how to say "hello" and "thank you" in the local language. And of course, I'll teach you some German if you like to.

What I Can Share with Hosts

What was the best decision you made within the last 6 month? And why? Let's share a conversation, I'm curious :)

Countries I’ve Visited

Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Canada, China, Colombia, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Egypt, England, Equatorial Guinea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Lebanon, Lithuania, Mexico, Morocco, Netherlands, Nigeria, Norway, Panama, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Scotland, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Tunisia, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States, Vatican City State

Countries I’ve Lived In

Germany, Spain