Hi, I'm a very friendly traveller who is lucky enough to be able to work and socialise with people from all backgrounds and nationalities. I like to take this open spirit with me when I travel, and am always open to new experiences and adventures.

I live in Nottingham, UK and am currently working towards my PhD in Human Geography. I enjoy many outdoor and active pursuits, notably cycling, running, hiking, climbing and yoga.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I am travelling to a university conference in Lund, Sweden in June and will be bringing my bike along so that I can cycle all the way home to Nottingham, England.

I will be in Lund from 14th - 17th June and then I have a ferry back from The Hague on 3rd July, which should hopefully give me plenty of time to meander back through Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands.

I have absolutely nowhere I need to be on that route so am looking for help and inspiration to make my journey a success. I would like to see Hamburg and Groningen (the cyclist's mecca), but apart from that I am very much open to suggestion.

On a personal level, I like to think that I am a very easy going, happy, and friendly traveler, who is open to any and all experiences that I may be lucky enough to have come my way. At home I will do anything outdoors based: all forms of cycling, trail running, open water swimming, climbing, hiking, and yoga. But I'm equally happy in a nice pub/bar/cafe having a good conversation.

I'm afraid that my language skills are embarrassingly poor, with only school level French and a recent failed attempt at German, but I'm lucky enough to work with people from all over Europe and beyond as I study for my PhD in Geography (economic sustainability) so am looking forward to having the roles reversed. Speaking of which, I will be presenting my work on the 'sharing economy' at the conference in Lund and can happily bore you with all the details if you wish, but am also quite happy not talking shop.

If you want to know more then feel free to stalk me on social media first (though I'm not a particularly heavy user):

Twitter: https://twitter.com/pip_cycle
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/phil.northall

Or you can look at my academic website at http://northall.wixsite.com/home

Thanks

Interests

• yoga
• running
• music
• cycling
• hiking
• friends
• adventure
• fun
• film
• climbing
• comedy
• challenges
• experiences

Music, Movies, and Books

Bjork, Bjork, and Bjork!! Having said that, I really do have a wide ranging taste in music and have always been a big fan of The Get Up Kids, Underworld, and Death From Above 1979. I'll also happily dance to cheesy 80s music, or techno, and rock out The Foundations on karaoke.

My favourite film is 'Synecdoche, New York', and I also enjoy all the other Director's who have spun out from a working relationship with Bjork, like Gondry, Jones, and Von Trier. I also love Wes Anderson films.

Most of the books that I read are non-fiction and related to my research on sustainability and economics. But I am a big fan of the philosophy of Jittu Krishnamurti and his 'Total Freedom', and am trying to battle my way through the French existentialism of Camus and Sartre…though I feel I am losing that battle!

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Walked 100km in one go for charity (I've actually done it twice now)

What I Can Share with Hosts

A childlike enthusiasm for pretty much anything. I'm sure it drives my regular friends crazy, but in short doses I hope it can be uplifting and endearing...If not that, wine. I can always bring wine!!

Countries I’ve Lived In

Canada, England