I'm a somewhat geeky guy who's into computers and tinkering with technology, candy, running, mountains, and, of course, traveling (not necessarily in that order ;-)

As I got invited for meals several times while surfing, I'd like to state in advance that I'm an ovo-lacto vegetarian to avoid any disappointment. I merely just don't like the taste of meat and seafood, so I don't mind if minor parts of the meal are of animal origin (e.g. the broth of a soup).

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

Getting in touch with local people, learning about their cultural similarities and differences tends to be a much more rewarding experience than visiting a crowded tourist attraction. Also at home I often feel like living in a social bubble of similar background and values, and couchsurfing proved to be a great tool to break out of this bubble. I made some of my fondest travel memories with couchsurfing, and I hope for more to come! :-)

Interests

I recently finished my studies of computer science, which is more a passion than a job for me. I also like to tinker around with all kinds of electronics – ranging from Tesla coils to microcontrollers – and always get excited when I can build something new out of recycled parts. Now I get payed to play around with all those things, which is quite neat ;-)

On the other side, there is a life besides technology and therefore I enjoy various kinds of sports (and board games!). Right now this is mostly running (ran my first half marathon last fall), but besides that I'm into anything related to mountains: Hiking, rock climbing, skiing and ski mountaineering…

• running
• board games
• hiking
• mountaineering
• skiing
• rock climbing
• computer science
• science

Music, Movies, and Books

Music:
Hard to say, anything can be interesting: Classic rock (The Doors, The Who, The Rolling Stones, …), metal – or strange stuff like 8-bit electronic music (Pornophonique). Also minimal electro like Kraftwerk and Welle: Erdball. But honestly, I do not listen to music as often as most other people do.

Movies:
I tend to prefer arthouse movies over hollywood blockbusters, although these are more fun to watch with friends. My all-time favorite director is Stanley Kubrick, especially his masterpiece "2001: A Space Odyssey". I like the twisted plots of Korean movies and the weirdness of Japanese ones.

Books:
High fantasy (e.g. The Lord of the Rings) and (hard) science fiction (e.g. Roadside Picnic, The Martian, Seveneves, The Three-Body Problem, anything from Philip K. Dick…), but mostly non-fiction. Topics vary a lot here; some more recent books would be: Off the Map, Red Plenty, Design for Hackers and the Aquariums of Pyongyang.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I'll make three out of it:

- Watching night rocket launches in the Kazakh desert near Baikonur
- Crossed the Kulma pass from Tajikistan to China as German citizen number 4
- Kind of hitchhiked from Thailand into Myanmar over a narrow, single-lane mountain pass with the most reckless driver I've ever driven with (we arrived four hours early though ;-)

Teach, Learn, Share

Besides sharing stories and tips about the countries I've visited, I can probably fix your computer if you want to (did it before while Couchsurfing ;-)

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cambodia, China, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Macedonia, Malaysia, Malta, Montenegro, Myanmar, Poland, Russian Federation, Serbia, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Thailand, Ukraine, United States, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

Germany, South Korea