CURRENT MISSION

Trying to do all the stuff that I put on my always expandin bucketlist! [Edit 2015: The bucketlist still stands and grows, and although I have been able to tick quite a few things off since 2011, due to family-reasons ;) I necessarily have other priorities as well :) ]

ABOUT ME

Well, I am a very complex person, with far too many interests to pursue in this short lifetime.
That being said, there is only one way to do as many of them as possible: just doing them!
And while doing so, I always try to stay open for meeting and engaging other people: a good friend of mine once said she found me to approach people as children do - openminded, without any prejudice. While I personally think this might be a little too optimistic, I do believe its one of the biggest and best compliments I ever have received. Hope you agree with her!

Since I started out with CS, my life entered a huge rollercoaster, and it actually is quite amazing.

I started doing CS because I had to train and get fit for Duchenne Heroes (700km MTB-event lasting 7 days, for which you need to raise a minimum of e.2500,- for combatting Duchenne-disease) and for that I wanted to train in the Ardennes. I decided to bike to the Ardennes, with a few CS-stops along the way. (And to get accepted for that I decided to open up my house for CS-visitors).
The training went well, as did Duchenne Heroes later on.
At the end of Duchenne Heroes I met a really nice woman; we started dating, fell in love and within 2 months she was pregnant. After a bit of searching, we found a house where we were able to start our new family-life, and a year later we had a very small wedding.

I am happy to tell you that, after the birth of our little Simone in 2012, we had a second daughter named Anna, born in 2015.

So, the decision to do something for somebody else while having fun (Duchenne Heroes), helped along by CS, actually turned out to be the best thing that has happened to me! :)

PHILOSOPHY

1) If its new to me, Im interested!
2) When in doubt, go for it!
3) Regularly update my bucketlist, and doing as many of it as I can
4) When doing something, do it well, or not at all!

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Have had and done quite a few CS experiences in 2011, and they were all very positive! Because of personal reasons, I cannot host at the moment, but this will be possible again ASAP!

[Edit 2015: Because I want to do a few long-distance bike-rides again, I decided to become active on CS again. At the moment, it is not possible to open up our house for sleepovers just yet: we have 1 small kid and 1 baby running around, my wife is really busy at work and with her studies, and I have my work and my sports. However, if our smallest one is able to move in the room with her sister, we are planning on opening up our couch again :) ].

Interests

Cycling, mountainbiking, snowboarding, running, swimming, hiking, fitness, triathlon/IronMan.
Cooking, (airplane) photography, drawing/painting, gaming, (dance)music.
History, politics, military affairs.
Family, friends, meeting people.

• arts
• photography
• dancing
• cooking
• fitness
• triathlon
• running
• walking
• politics
• socializing
• painting
• drawing
• music
• cycling
• hiking
• snowboarding
• sports
• swimming
• history
• beaches

Music, Movies, and Books

Books: de Handelsreiziger van de Nederlandsche Cocaine Fabriek (the Travelling agent from the Dutch Cocaine Company), the Right Stuff, the Happy Bottom Riding Club, What is the What?, Zeitoun, the Kite Runner, Seven Pillars of Wisdom, Learning to eat Soup with a Knife, the Art of War, About War.

Music and movies: far too many to mention them all! :) There's so much I like, for mentioning 1 I'll forget to mention at least 3 more!

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Sequoia National Park (USA), Red Sea coral reefs (Egypt), the most beautiful sunrise ever (Overbeek, the Netherlands), San Francisco (USA), most beautiful sunset ever (from the attic of my mom's place in Vinkeveen), lambs being born (De Weere), walking on the back of a Humpback Whale (California, thanks Paul!), watching a Su-27 streak down from 18.000ft to just 15ft and going through the soundbarrier while doing that! (Texel), seeing the last battleship on its last trip (California), making a trail in perfect fresh white powder (Val Thorens), plowing through soft sand and surf with streaking wind and sand blowing in your face in freezing conditions in winter on an empty Dutch beach and the return trip with that same wind in your back and riding on the hard sand doing over 50km/hr, making love every time I do it!

Becoming a father and a husband.

Becoming a father again! :)

Teach, Learn, Share

Well, if you're looking for somebody who can teach you how to cycle, cycle hard, mountainbike, or simply explain how to survive on a bike in Amsterdam, I guess Im your man (and we dont even have to leave this city for that!). I usually bring my girls along for that in their Chariots for that too.
I also LOVE to talk about history, politics and all military affairs (plz cut me off when you get bored with it - its what everybody does at some point).
What I like to learn: more language skills, everything concerning art, drawing and painting, all IT/computer-skills, and I have an appetite for anything I do not yet know!

Countries I’ve Visited

Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Cuba, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Mexico, Monaco, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, United States, Vatican City State

Countries I’ve Lived In

Netherlands