Walter Heck

Walter Heck

Current Mission: "Show the rest of the world that conscious living is very rewarding by example!"

Personal Designations

Traveling at the moment Vouched for54

Community Designations

Contribution
Alaska Collective
Thailand
Khon Kaen
Lat: 16.44382, Lon: 102.83512
Show nearby Couches (100 K)

General Information

Walter Heck has been vouched for
VERIFIED MEMBER Identity Checked, Location Verified (3) more info
Couch availableTraveling at the moment
CouchSurf requests replied to100%
member sinceJuly 7th, 2006
profile views14537
age28
genderMale
membernameWALTERHECK
occupationNomadic traveler / entrepreneur
educationStill studying the school of life :)
grew up inOirsbeek, Limburg, The netherlands
ethnicityHomo Sapiens (we are all the same, right?)
Direct Profile URL

Languages

  • DutchExpert
  • EnglishExpert
  • GermanIntermediate
  • FrenchIntermediate
  • LimburgishExpert
  • Portuguese (Brazil)Beginner
  • SpanishBeginner

Groups I Belong To

SCUBA 2931:3001Metal 1601:1715
Why: Metaaaaaaaal
Przystanek Woodstock 85:122
Why: Woodstock, baby!
Hitchhikers 10233:11360
Active in 10 more groups.
Show them all

Couch Information


No couch currently available for surfing.

Couch picture

I am travelign once again, so I have no couch available. I'm already looking forward to the next place that i'll settle down in for a while though, and I'll definitely be hosting wherever it is ;)

Read these: http://www.couchsurfing.org/couchrequest_tips.html

Friends (240)

     + Add to my friends    

World map
Map of friends
TOEY83TOEY83
21, Female
Khon Kaen, Khon Kaen
Thailand
Friends since October 2009
"We met,we went out,we found out that we wanted to share things together and we continue to do so even sometimes we have to be physically away."
Friendship Type: Best Friend
Met in person   Surfed30+   Traveled8  
Eveline Nelissen Eveline Nelissen
28, Female
Sittard, Limburg
Netherlands
Friends since January 1995
"High school"
Friendship Type: Close Friend
I vouched for Walter Heck
Met in person   Hosted3   Surfed2  
DUKE DUKE
32, Male
Helsinki, Southern Finland
Finland
Friends since December 2006
"He let me and 15 other Csers crash at his place during a CS Rotterdam meeting"
Friendship Type: CouchSurfing Friend
I vouched for Walter Heck
Met in person  
Tiina Tiina
29, Female
Helsinki, Southern Finland
Finland
Friends since June 2006
"met by the canals of Utrecht and became roommates later"
Friendship Type: Good Friend
I vouched for Walter Heck
Met in person   Surfed3   Traveled2  
Miss Mandie Miss Mandie
31, Female
Mullumbimby, New South Wales
Australia
Friends since June 2008
"He became like a brother to me while on the road from Alaska to Canada after the Collective"
Friendship Type: Good Friend
I vouched for Walter Heck
Met in person   Traveled21  
INTELLOCK 5INTELLOCK 5
25, Male
Varna, Varna
Bulgaria
Friends since August 2006
"CS"
Friendship Type: Friend
Met in person   Surfed30+  
Casey Fenton Casey Fenton
31, Male
San Francisco, California
United States
Friends since March 2007
"I met Walter online and we decided to move in together right away!"
Friendship Type: Good Friend
Met in person   Surfed30+  
Diederik en Esther de Vries Diederik en Esther de Vries
32, Several people
Rotterdam, Zuid-Holland
Netherlands
Friends since January 2007
"Walter was my collegue, and introduced us into CS. Thanks a million ;)"
Friendship Type: Close Friend
Met in person   Hosted2  
Weston Hankins Weston Hankins
27, Male
Guadalajara, Jalisco
Mexico
Friends since June 2007
"I joined the CS Techies at Rotterdam and crashed at his place."
Friendship Type: Good Friend
Met in person   Hosted5  
Céline Gaudinat Céline Gaudinat
25, Female
Oslo, Oslo
Norway
Friends since December 2006
"Met in Warsaw then he happend to surf my couch ..."
Friendship Type: CouchSurfing Friend
I vouched for Walter Heck
Met in person   Hosted3  
230 more friends
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Walter Heck
Three days after cutting off my waist-long hair and I can smile again :)
View all 23 photos

Personal Description

People frequently refer to me as a viking, or a grizzly bear that is actually a teddy bear. I am fine with all of the above :)
I love traveling, hiking, life, human interaction, metal music (though not exclusively :) ) and lots of more stuff!

After having been a carnivore for all of my life, I decided in June of 2009 that I wanted to eat vegetarian. I still love meat, but I decided that I needed to act on my feeling that meat production is destroying our environment. I don't wanna get all political or fundamental on you, so watch this beautiful documentary and see for yourself: http://www.youtube.com/homeproject

In general, I just try to live as conscious as possible, loosely following the rules of karma: do good things and good things will happen to you. It works so far :)

In November 2008 I started my own company to fund my travels. I am now moving from place to place, enjoying the every day life of the places I stay in, while working (well, it's my hobby really, so calling it 'work' is too much ;) ) as much as is necessary to sustain my traveling lifestyle.

How I Participate in CS

I hosted over 100 people before I left to go traveling. Since September 2007 I have surfed a lot of places during my travels.
I used to be a nomadic ambassador, but decided to give up my flag because teh website doesn't offer me anything that I cannot do without the flag. I don't want just a status symbol on my profile that supposedly would make me better then not amb-cs'ers, after all we are all the same, right?
I have participated in two collectives and I volunteered for the tech team for over 2 years.
I hosted a tech-collective at my house in Rotterdam and I participated in the Alaska collective as a techteam member.
I visited BaseCamp and the Costa Rica collective not to work, but to visit my friends (they feel like family!) there.

CouchSurfing Experience

More than I had ever dreamed of, but never enough ;)
I seriously enjoy every experience. I try to stay with as many different people as I can: students, older people, families, gay couples, whatever you can think of!
I travel to see how people live in their every day lives, as that is what is so interesting to me. If you host me, please don't go out of your way for me; I enjoy going grocery shopping with you or cooking a meal (and eating it afterwards ;) )

Interests

Meditation, Conscious living, Outdooring, Hitchhiking, Hospitality, Programming, Heavy metal (don't be scared ;) ), Movies, Concerts, People and Life!

Philosophy

I live my life to get the most out of it as possible under the circumstances I'm in.
I don't very much like violence and frustrated people. Frustration is unproductive and makes people close to you frustrated as well.

Music, Movies, Books

Music: Dimmu Borgir, Metallica, almost any kind of metal music actually ;) Of course I also have some non-metal favs, but I am not gonna tell you about those ;)

But don't let the metal scare you away from getting to know me!

Movies: See my imdb vote history

Types of People I enjoy

All kinds, as long as they are not narrow-minded ;)

Teach, Learn, Share

Uhm, Uhm, Uhm?

Well, a little bit of teaching then:
After my first year of traveling, I wanted to stay on the road but money was running out. I realised that I needed to find a way to make money while traveling. I started my own company and with a bit of smart marketing it is making me enough money to sort of support myself.

One Amazing Thing I've Seen or Done

- Camping on the quiet side of Isle of Skye (Schotland) with no people around for 10 km. We ate mossels right from the water (of course we boiled them first ;) )
- Looking at the light show of the Eiffel Tower at night from the Montparnaisse tower in Paris
- Hitchhiking up to Northcape in September
- Hitchhiking in the snow in subzero temperatures in the dark in western rural slovakia
- Celebrating carnaval in Salvador, Brasil (the biggest carnaval celbnration in the world!)
- Celebrating NYE in Rio de Janeiro (also, the biggest NYE celebrations in the world)
- Flightseeing around Mt. McKinley, Alaska
- Hiking on Vancouver Island, Canada
- 10 day Vipassana meditation course in Thailand

Opinion on the CouchSurfing.org Project

I can honestly say that couchsurfing has changed my life. It might sound corny to say that of a website, but it is true :)
The feeling that comes with couchsurfing/hospitality in general can imho not be written down, it has to be experienced first hand, so stop reading my profile and meet me ;)

Locations Traveled

TRAVELED: Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland (Republic of), Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States
LIVED: Brazil, Netherlands, United States

References

 
     Leave a Reference >>    
Ian Dawson
From Ian Dawson
 Sydney, Australia
 Jan 21
Met in person Hosted 2 days  
Positive

I meet this guy in the city just to give him a place to leave his bag! After chatting with him and having a great time He ended up staying for a couple of nights. Easy to talk to with great stories, so if you get the chance give this guy a bed!!

See you when we travel, hopefully soon!!

TOEY83
From TOEY83
 Khon Kaen, Thailand
 Dec 26, 2009
Met in person Best Friend, Surfed 30 days Traveled 8 days 
Positive

I've been looking for what I should begin to write the reference for Walter and finally come up with this one. I know that probably most of the people on here wouldn't care about love-story. CS is a new melting pot. So I figured if I write it,should be at least one person take a look at it. First time I met him, his lovely smile and embrace really wanted me to stayed in those arms forever. I never thought that one day I would become a lucky one. I can assure that you would feel comfy to be around him and even enjoy simply conversation with him. He's witty,loveable, adorable and hugable. He is a very generous person who can easily give you his bed and blanket if you kindly asking for. I really do enjoy every moments with him and willing to keep and looking forward to many more to comes. Walter is the sun during the days and the brightest star at night. If you ever get chance to meet him don't let it slips away. He knows how to have a good time!

Adam Tyner
From Adam Tyner
 Taipei City, Taiwan
 Dec 21, 2009
Met in person Traveled 3 days 
Positive

Walter is a something of a couchsurfing legend, but don't be intimidated. He was extraordinarily helpful to me when I met up with him in Khon Kaen, Isan, Thailand, and I hope I can return the favor someday.

Nick Ravenscroft
From Nick Ravenscroft
 London, United Kingdom
 Nov 20, 2009
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend, Surfed 2 days  
Positive

It was a real priveledge to have my first proper couch surf with one of the real pioneers of this culture. Walter is a gem and I was sorry to leave him but I had to leave with another member of the community to head north, couch surfers rocking the world. But now i'm ready to couch surf the world, to hell with rocking it, couch surfing is better. Nice, thank you Walter I hope to offer you my couch one day.

INTERSTUDIES
From INTERSTUDIES
 Bangkok, Thailand
 Nov 4, 2009
Met in person Hosted 5 days  
Positive

Hoe gaat het, Walter:)! He's my first "MALE" guest as I DON'T host male actually. But lucky that my room's available and my common sense told me that he's a good guy so I hosted him :). It's really nice knowing him and sharing some experience in life, work, travelling etc.Ik wens u groot succes voor uw biz en uw leven-Wish BiG success for your biz & your life, Walter. And also wish your mom healthy! If next year, I go to Netherland, I will drop by and visit your mom for you (if you want). Whenever you come to Bkk, feel free to let me know. I welcome you to stay here. veel succes&tot ziens.>>nuch@Bkk PS.thanks so much for the massage! sorry, if there're some mistakes in Dutch as I'm just a beginner:).

Tim Bewer 
From Tim Bewer
 Khon Kaen, Thailand
 Oct 12, 2009
Met in person  
Positive

When Walter arrived in Khon Kaen we had a fun, chilled night out and soon after he created a Khon Kaen group and organized a Khon Kaen CS group and meeting. He's a Couchsurfing addict! I'm glad he'll be here long enough for me to get to known him well. It's going to be a fun three months.

Ahmed Jawad 
From Ahmed Jawad
 Sankt Augustin, Germany
 Aug 21, 2009
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend, Hosted 2 days  
Positive

Walter Was a very cool surfer to get along with. No Probs with any of my plans. Has good listening ears and also has very interesting stories to tell from his surfing experience. Would love to meet him again

Caroline Mühlenkamp 
From Caroline Mühlenkamp
 Enschede, Netherlands
 Aug 5, 2009
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend, Traveled 2 days 
Positive

We met on Woodstock festival and as the slogan says we celebrate a lot of love,peace and harmony with group massages.
Walter and his friends were great company in the CS camp and he is open for a good chat as well as just talking some dutchi blabla.Hope to meet you sometime again...this time you dont have to rub off the dirt of my back.I swear :)

Alice Bennett
From Alice Bennett
 Melbourne, Australia
 Aug 3, 2009
Met in person Friend, Traveled 3 days 
Positive

As Walter said, we met at a CouchSurfing camp at the Woodstock festival in Poland. This was one of the biggest meetings of CouchSurfers that I have been to, and I loved every second of it. Walter kindly let me share his tent, and to my relief did not snore! Remind me to email you a photo i took of you asleep outside your tent in the middle of the day with an empty beer beside you :P
PS. I didn't sweat that love heart - Carol was all wet from the hose and hugged me and that's what happened!

Marlena Scheller
From Marlena Scheller
 Gent, Belgium
 Aug 2, 2009
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend,  
Positive

Walter is a cool guy with a lot of funny stories from his rich CS life, great companion for a party and (cheap)beer drinking:)) it was fun to spend time with him! unfortunatelly he doesn't make a good massage;))

Amelia Borntrager 
From Amelia Borntrager
 Nosara, Costa Rica
 Jul 30, 2009
Met in person Friend,  
Positive

It is always nice when you get a chance to do someone a favor you have not even met yet....just based on what others have said about him. Walter is amazing...he is generous, funny, strange (in the best way), sleepy, super smart and someone I am very glad to have met! I am positive that our paths will cross again one day.

Wish I could have joined you at Paella this year...maybe next year. Come back to CR when you get a chance, my friend!

Jackson Fliss 
From Jackson Fliss
 Conway, United States
 Jul 26, 2009
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend, Surfed 1 days  
Positive

Walter is true nomad. He taught Andrew and I many things, like how to find a last minute couch, how to properly hitch hike and not to jaywalk. He is full of interesting conversation and he showed us the way of the sweet chili pepper doritos.

GEORGE70 
From GEORGE70
 Brussels, Belgium
 Jul 17, 2009
Met in person Friend, Traveled 2 days 
Positive

I met Walter at the Paella 2009 in Gossau and travelled together with him from Biel/Bienne to Lauzanne with visits of Fribourg and Gruyères in between. Relaxed level-headed guy, straight forward and considered in his thinking and behaving. I am glad I met you Walter. If ever you pass by Brussels, my guestroom is yours.

BIENNES 
From BIENNES
 Biel/Bienne, Switzerland
 Jul 16, 2009
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend, Hosted 1 days  
Positive

Walter arrive in Biel/Bienne after Gossau. He is a really traveller, a perfect guest with a lot of respect, big know how and so interesting. Good travel and see you maybe on a boat :)

Mariah Kirsch 
From Mariah Kirsch
 Atlanta, United States
 Jul 14, 2009
Met in person Friend,  
Positive

Genuine and interesting...I wish I had more time with him! Only a short 8 hour lay-over in Atlanta allowed me to drag him around to all my Sunday chores and a family dinner. Wonderful soul...

ALICE77 
From ALICE77
 Sunrise, United States
 Jul 13, 2009
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend,  
Positive

I learned a lot from Walter in the few hours we toured Ft Lauderdale. He is a very cool guy with a long list of awesome stories. I really like his hitch hiking stories, especially the one about riding in truck up a mountain side while surfing the net. His description of the mountain side was great! If you get the chance to meet him anywhere in the world,do it,you're sure to have a good time.

Meredith Hutcheson
From Meredith Hutcheson
 Istanbul, Turkey
 Jul 3, 2009
Met in person Friend, Hosted 7 days  
Positive

Walter was a didactic angel when he came along for a snorkeling trip in Costa Rica! I was terrified (fear of fish, silly, yes, real, yes) but really wanted to do it anyway, and Walter was the only reason I managed to snorkel and enjoy it. He was incredibly patient and took a lot of time to help me work through my fear, even though it was unreasonable. By the end of the day I was able to snorkel along happily and had a wonderful experience. This guy should be a teacher, he has such a wonderful ability to help people! I also enjoyed hearing about his interesting and ambitious plans for helping the world.

Michael Engler 
From Michael Engler
 Lakewood, United States
 Jun 14, 2009
Met in person Friend, Traveled 1 days 
Positive

Walter and I share a special bond as he is the one who helped me set up my account on CouchSurfer. I think that I will as he said, "remember this day for the rest of my life."

Fabrizio Pelamatti
From Fabrizio Pelamatti
 Pistoia, Italy
 May 25, 2009
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend, Surfed 2 days  
Positive

He's cool, friendly and interesting, hope to meet him again somewhere.

Wendy Strebe 
From Wendy Strebe
 Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica
 May 19, 2009
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend, Hosted 6 days  
Positive

Walter is a great person to have around. He is laid back, helpful, friendly, smiles a lot and knows a lot about computers! We are enjoying having him with us.

Bryan Jimenez
From Bryan Jimenez
 Santa Ana, Costa Rica
 May 14, 2009
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend, Hosted 1 days  
Positive

Walter is very fun guy, with all his road stories, very open to share his experiences, good mood, willing to help at home. It was very nice to host him.

CINNAMONFIRE
From CINNAMONFIRE
 Guadalajara, Spain
 May 7, 2009
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend, Surfed 1 days  
Positive

TOUGH GUY, WE DID IT, and without helicopter!
Free spirit, he dont use to sprain his ankle but if he do , he do WEEELLL , in the furder point of the trail...hahahah
and scream only twice or trice...and never, never said any swearword for 4 hours going back down the canyon, and also laugh with my dum jokes.
Nature, adventure and help others around the world are awesome gols in life, PASSIONNNNNN!!
Keep no-domesticated man

RAINBOWMANDY 
From RAINBOWMANDY
 Las Vegas, United States
 May 5, 2009
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend, Hosted 1 days  
Positive

I am really glad I hosted Walter, even though I don't normally host two sets of surfers at a time :)
We first met through another CSer and when he passed back through Vegas for a night he requested my couch. I took him on a hike and unfortunately there was an injury but he held strong and together as a group we all (another surfer, him, me and my boyfriend) all made it work out. Sorry that cut our time short. I'm sure our paths will cross again in Vegas, Costa Rica, or some other random area :)

Julie Snyder
From Julie Snyder
 Campbell, United States
 Apr 30, 2009
Met in person Hosted 5 days  
Positive

Walter was a pleasure to host. I didn't get much time to socialize with him, as both of our schedules were pretty crazy, but he was SUPER easy going, friendly and makes a MEAN pasta meal. I'm glad to see ya made it to SD. Good luck in all of your future endeavors, don't hesitate to come back and visit and DEFINITELY have a wonderful time in Costa Rica!!!

KUBE42 
From KUBE42
 Pittsburgh, United States
 Apr 20, 2009
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend, Traveled 3 days 
Positive

Met Walter through another CSer who had surfed my couch. We all hung out in Vegas for several days. The two of us managed to win big money and while I managed to turn $10 into $5, he went $10 to $10. He is really chill and up for it all including sharing shoes to meet bar dress codes!

Cécile Berne
From Cécile Berne
 Le Sappey-en-Chartreuse, France
 Apr 12, 2009
Met in person Friend, Hosted 2 days  
Positive

Through Walter I discovered what a REAL couchsurfer is: a person who definitely prefers the couch than a bed in a room! But in addition to a couchsurfer and a travel lover, I also see in Walter a very sensitive person and I appreciated to get to know him closer when he visited us in France. Good luck Walter!

Jessica and Aaron Futrell
From Jessica and Aaron Futrell
 Sacramento, United States
 Apr 12, 2009
Met in person Friend, Hosted 1 days Surfed 2 days Traveled 1 days 
Positive

Met Walter through a mutual friend in Las Vegas. We had good times, good chats and am happy to have met him. We hope to see him again sometime.

Merce Cabestany Borges 
From Merce Cabestany Borges
 Salou, Spain
 Apr 2, 2009
Met in person Friend, Hosted 3 days  
Positive

Walter is really nice. He came to L'Espluga, my parent's house, and we didn't have much time to talk. But later, he came to Salou and I knew him. He is really easygoing, with lot of subjects to talk. I didn't have much time for him, it was a pity, but I did enjoy our time together. And I loved the dinner he prepared, an incredible pasta with salmon and sauce. Delicious. I must say I also had a bit jealouse (but positive), he is a person who had traveled a lot, and he has plenty of stories! hehe So, meet him, you will enjoy it!! See you Walter! And thanks for the postcard! I've seen it maybe one week later after you left, and I enjoy it much more!! thanks!!

Luis Lopez_cobo
From Luis Lopez_cobo
 Canillo, Andorra
 Mar 30, 2009
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend, Hosted 1 days  
Positive

We talk a little, because we met us just late night, but it's enoguh to guess Walter is a interesting person.
I hope he has a great time in Valencia.

JMLECUMBERRI 
From JMLECUMBERRI
 Valencia, Spain
 Mar 29, 2009
Met in person Close Friend, Hosted 7 days  
Positive

Walter became a good friend of us after staying for a week in Valencia. He is a kind of guy that makes you believe in projects like couchsurfing. Always smart and talkative, spend a lot of funny momments with us, as well than teaching us to make a nice "Chili con carne". We will be happy if we can meet him again in the future. A big hug for you, "big bear".

Andrew Otto 
From Andrew Otto
 San Francisco, United States
 Mar 18, 2009
Met in person Good Friend,  
Positive

I think Walter has permanently altered my stereotype of longhairedgotee-ddeathmetalloving dutchmen. They're all as huggable as this guy, right?

Walter is a great companion for any adventure you can think up. Actually, he can probably think up of crazier ones than you can.

What an awesome guy!

XAVI i ANITA
From XAVI i ANITA
 Andorra la Vella, Andorra
 Mar 16, 2009
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend, Hosted 2 days  
Positive

Great boy! Nice to meet and a very good couhsurfer. I enjoyed talking about places I want to visit. Very independant and self-suficient host. Will host him again!!

VERONICA MAD 
From VERONICA MAD
 Chicago, United States
 Mar 15, 2009
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend, Surfed 2 days  
Positive

He is friendly, and helpful. I got to walk Valencia streets with him and Walter teach me a thing or two on how looking for directions in places you had not being at. I think Walter is a very sweet person and a loyal couch surfer.

Simone Weber
From Simone Weber
 Duisburg, Germany
 Mar 7, 2009
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend,  
Positive

walter is really an experienced traveller and couchsurfer and is very willing to share his experience. i think he's an encouraged person and a pleasuring company.

Alessandro C. 
From Alessandro C.
 Torino, Italy
 Mar 3, 2009
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend, Hosted 2 days  
Positive

Although sick and feverish Walter was pretty good company although he for some reason thinks he didn't. I showed him several malls that we are proud for in Turin (???) and I didn't let him miss the Museum of Cinema. See you around soon in Costa Rica!!! :-D

LUPO957 
From LUPO957
 Ozegna, Italy
 Mar 2, 2009
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend, Hosted 1 days  
Positive

Walter was my host, nice interesting guy, Nomadic Ambassador, very open and positive, sensible, we talked about some of our respective experiences.
He appreciated the Italian less known, small village but with a great history.
See you next time Walter my lear is already open

Helene Kempeneers
From Helene Kempeneers
 Reims, France
 Feb 19, 2009
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend, Hosted 1 days  
Positive

Walter is a nice guy. I found my tv-show soulmate, the only one who watches Kyle XY on purpose.
I had a great time talking with him even though he made me explain afterwards to my bunny that he wasn't a bear and that he didn't want to have him for Xmas dinner.

Thanks for my bed, by the way, it's still very comfy !

Laureline Arnaud
From Laureline Arnaud
 Dijon, France
 Feb 18, 2009
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend, Hosted 1 days  
Positive

FLOKI 
From FLOKI
 Brussels, Belgium
 Feb 10, 2009
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend, Hosted 2 days  
Positive

ha die walter ... a pitty i was too busy, i just feel i met a wonderful guy, i just know there are sooo many more stories of him i want to hear ... please come back ;) ... and if you do, i will shut down all the possible conferences, so we can spend some more time together ...

Pieter en Karolien
From Pieter en Karolien
 Brussels, Belgium
 Feb 9, 2009
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend, Hosted 2 days  
Positive

Hey, what can we say - Walter is a swell and easygoing guy, with tons of funky CS stories. Even the shy one of our two cats was completely at ease, which is pretty rare. We couldn't have wished for a better first-CS-experience.

Geoffroy d'Avout
From Geoffroy d'Avout
 Paris, France
 Feb 9, 2009
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend, Hosted 3 days Surfed 2 days  
Positive

One of my first (and most intense) CS experiences was the '06 Sinterklaas Invasion in Rotterdam - I didn't see much of the city, but when I woke up at 2 p.m in Walters flat, surrounded by 15 groaning couchsurfers, of whom many are friends today, I knew a large chapter of my life had just started.
Even though I was swamped with work (an unfortunate and very rare occurrence) I instantaneously jumped on the opportunity to host him when he sent a request in more than 2 years later...
As suspected, he was just as good a guest as he had been a host (and has very cool friends). But he made me even more restless to embark on the type of adventure he is experiencing now, as a nomadic entrepreneur. Walter, thank you for your kindness, modesty, humour, thank you also for experimenting and taking risks in your life, inspiring people on the way!
And see you around (that's the cool thing about walter, you just know you'll bump into him one of these days, you just have no idea where ;) )

Chris G
From Chris G
 Sydney, Australia
 Feb 5, 2009
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend, Hosted 1 days  
Positive

I think that guy has spent more time in foreign countries than his own (Netherlands). Great traveler, "no worries" man, just good organizer, and, as a guest, very polite, nice, clean and recommendable.

Camtastic    
From Camtastic
 San Francisco, United States
 Jan 19, 2009
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend, Traveled 30 days 
Positive

Is there anybody who doesn't love Walter? If there is let me know so I can punch them in the face :) Basically he's a brilliant, generous, hilarious, narcoleptic giant teddy bear viking.

Lucy Rojas 
From Lucy Rojas
 Oslo, Norway
 Dec 22, 2008
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend,  
Positive

I've met Walter twice, and both times have been very nice to spend some time with him and share some nice conversations, from psychology to hitchhiking. I think that Walter is a funny, interesting and very trust-inspiring guy that makes people around him feel happy and at ease ( it's not specially hard to smile around you :P). I warmly recommend Walter and hope to see him again soon, somewhere in Europe or the rest of the world :-).

JURGATJE 
From JURGATJE
 Klaipeda, Lithuania
 Dec 1, 2008
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend,  
Positive

I wonder if I ever see the "sweet" picture where two girls (on of them me) are eating chocolate during the Sinterklaas :) Thanks for sharing it with me! That was nice of you :)

Jessica Dullinger
From Jessica Dullinger
 Homer, United States
 Nov 17, 2008
Met in person Friend,  
Positive

Walter has a massive swelling in his chest due to his big heart. His a kind, gentle man with the strength of a grizzly. Walter could always bring a smile to my face. He's loaded with a great sense of humor. Our time together was delightful and amusing. Anticipating for the day to come when our paths cross again.

Liane Murray
From Liane Murray
 Dublin, Ireland (Republic of)
 Oct 29, 2008
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend, Hosted 3 days  
Positive

Walter was a fantastic guy to have around! He was easy to talk to, had really interesting stories and even though he's about the equivalent of two of me, he wasn't the least bit intimidating! I really appreciated your company Walter, and I hope you are happy being back home! We shall meet again one day!

TITUSH
From TITUSH
 Wroclaw, Poland
 Oct 22, 2008
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend, Hosted 2 days Surfed 2 days  
Positive

Walter is such a nice guy! It was fun to stay at his place in R'dam :). He took care of everything and devoted a lot of his time though he had to work. Later I had an apportunity to be his host and a part of his amazing trip!
Very, very positive spirit and an interesting person!

Tomasz Kaputa
From Tomasz Kaputa
 Wroclaw, Poland
 Oct 22, 2008
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend,  
Positive

I was really surprised to hear that Walter used to live in the same apartment I am subletting a room in! We had an interesting chat about his travelling experience in Brazil and we both admitted that there's nothing better than Dutch strong-as-f**ck Kannon beer :D Anyway, see you at my (ups... formerly your) place - we have a 5 litre tube to fill in with beer and then to empty it :D

Ben Hanna
From Ben Hanna
 Beyoglu, Turkey
 Oct 20, 2008
Met in person Good Friend, Traveled 30 days 
Positive

I lived with Walter in Alaska and we had an incredible time. We hitchhiked a few hundred miles and got to see the real Alaska (aka - crazy people). He was one of the people there who could make any situation hilarious. Hope to see Walter again soon on my travels!

GIUZE 
From GIUZE
 Penthalaz, Switzerland
 Oct 19, 2008
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend,  
Positive

He came for the fall meeting and it was really nice to meet him. Good luck for all your future travel and hope to see you sometimes!

rachel 
From rachel
 San Francisco, United States
 Oct 15, 2008
Met in person Friend, Traveled 30 days 
Positive

Besides being one of the most zen people ever to live at a CSCollective, Walter is also very Dutch (the Dutch are awesome): He's straightforward, practical, wise, and seriously: the guy walked around in a powder blue terry bathrobe all summer and made it work. He has an extremely patient personality - he's been known to put out a few fires (literally & metaphorically). Walter is someone that I missed very much as soon as I wasn't around him every day, and I hope that we see each other again, somewhere...

CALISTO68
From CALISTO68
 Mulhouse, France
 Oct 13, 2008
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend, Hosted 1 days Traveled 1 days 
Positive

I met Walter during a treasure hunt in Lausanne and then we spent a night in a refuge eating cheese fondue and drinking some swiss wine with a lot of crazy and nice couchsurfers ! After 2 days in Switzerland, I gave him a ride to my place in France where he stayed one night. I had a great time talking about every thing with him. He is a wonderful man trying to discover the world. I wish to see him again :-)) !!

T.J. Kelly
From T.J. Kelly
 Kamloops, Canada
 Oct 11, 2008
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend, Hosted 4 days  
Positive

Met Walter at the Alaska Collective, but definitely got to know him better when I hosted him for four days in Kamloops. Had a good time hanging out and really appreciated the cookies :) Hopefully we'll meet up again somewhere.

Lara Fawn
From Lara Fawn
 Delta Junction, United States
 Oct 4, 2008
Met in person Friend,  
Positive

I miss Walter. I looked over the profiles before I went to the collective, and he was the only person I thought I wouldn't like, but the instant I met him and saw his eyes I knew I was wrong. They tell the story in a sparkly second of a lovely soul who enjoys his time on this earth. Walter is kind, unassuming, funny, fun and somehow very comforting...maybe it's the blue bathrobe ;) I certainly will see you again..if i'm lucky "j

Patricia López 
From Patricia López
 Vancouver, Canada
 Oct 3, 2008
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend, Traveled 15 days 
Positive

Walter got the XXL body size so that he could fit in his XXL heart. He's one of the most considerate, chilled out and huggable people you'll ever meet. So, if his ever-changing plans happen to bring him nearby, you shouldn't miss the chance of hanging out with him. Plus: he's an awesome smoothie maker and, unlike me, he doesn't experiment putting tofu in them!!

YEAHLENA 
From YEAHLENA
 Berkeley, United States
 Oct 3, 2008
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend, Traveled 1 days 
Positive

He has a patient nature, is warm hearted, easy going, can dig along with nearly everything and super loveable! I'm sure will hang out again in the future :-)

vErtiCel 
From vErtiCel
 Sydney, Australia
 Oct 3, 2008
Met in person Friend, Traveled 2 days 
Positive

I met Walter initially in Alaska, but we got to know each other a little better on a series of boats - while whale-watching from Seward, then on the ferry to Vancouver Island and during a day sail on a sailboat off Sidney. I was really glad to have Walter's company on all these boats :-) He's committed to discovering people and places and has made me want to be a better couchsurfer!! See you in the Caribbean sea legs!?!

Kelly Patterson 
From Kelly Patterson
 Nosara, Costa Rica
 Oct 2, 2008
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend,  
Positive

Walter was by far my favorite person at the Alaska Collective. One the most Zen people I have ever met, and certainly the only Zen person I know into heavy metal!

Ken Flannery
From Ken Flannery
 Astoria, United States
 Sep 29, 2008
Met in person Friend, Traveled 20 days 
Positive

Walter is one of the greatest people you may meet, always doing the right thing and up for anything. We hitchhiked from alaska to vancouver having a great time, he's generous and free flowing, suggest a place for him to go and he'll likely be there. To know walter you have to meet him, so host him or travel with him and you'll be happy!

Miss Mandie 
From Miss Mandie
 Mullumbimby, Australia
 Sep 20, 2008
Met in person Good Friend, Traveled 21 days 
Positive

What more can I say about this delightful sweetheart that hasn’t already been said here? Walter is such a considerate guy! I had the pleasure of living with him at the Alaska Collective, then three weeks on the road on the great hitching adventure spanning 4000kms from Alaska to Canada. I can safely say I always felt in good hands with him whilst on the road – he was always looking out for me! Walter is the type of guy that just wants to make sure that you are looked after, comfortable, at ease and will do anything he can do make sure that happens. Walter, my dear friend, take good care of yourself as you set on your new adventures and I look forward to our paths crossing again!

Kimberleigh Smithbower Roseblade 
From Kimberleigh Smithbower Roseblade
 Vancouver, Canada
 Sep 12, 2008
Met in person Good Friend, Hosted 6 days  
Positive

Walter was an old friend before we even met. I feel like I've known him for ages and he fits right in with the energy of my house and the people in it! I would host him again in a heartbeat and would also love to go adventuring with him at some point or another! What an awesome guy! :o)

CYRILG
From CYRILG
 San Jose, Costa Rica
 Sep 3, 2008
Met in person Good Friend, Traveled 30 days 
Positive

Walter was one of the people i really got to know well at the collective. He's probably the most patient person i know, and you can always count on him.
The juxtaposition of couch and laptop will never be the same after Walter.

Sandra Benvie
From Sandra Benvie
 Prince George, Canada
 Sep 3, 2008
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend, Hosted 2 days  
Positive

Walter surfed my floor..lol..for 2 days with 3 other surfers..Walter you are a very kind, considerate man and i am happy to have been able to share my home with you. Thanks for always offering to help in the kitchen.

TACH-MY
From TACH-MY
 The Hague, Netherlands
 Aug 30, 2008
Met in person Acquaintance,  

Walter Heck was a great colleague! Too bad he isn't working anymore!

Nick Racz
From Nick Racz
 Scottsdale, United States
 Aug 28, 2008
Met in person Good Friend, Traveled 3 days 
Positive

Walter (aka Kenneth) is one of the most thoughtful and considerate people I have ever met. He is eager to lend a helping hand and eager to learn about different cultures. He is a very patient guy which makes him a fantastic travel companion. If you have the chance to meet Walter you should do it.
PS- He's a great driver :-)

LAURA GAMSE 
From LAURA GAMSE
 Cape Town, South Africa
 Aug 26, 2008
Met in person Friend, Traveled 30 days 
Positive

Walter, Walter, Walter, what will become of me without you? No more metalhead banging, no more vikings, no more lucid dreams...

Walter is exactly the type of smiling, sleeping, deep and caring giant that you want to have around always. Can't wait to meet up with him again someday.

Rafael Passos
From Rafael Passos
 Valemount, Canada
 Aug 18, 2008
Met in person Acquaintance,  
Positive

Hi Walter! He is a very friendly and interesting-open-minded-person. I could see that, with just a night out with some other couchsurfers. Actually, every couchsurfer from my homecity met him before and they had a lot of respect on Walter. He left his backpack in my car and I met him again some days later. Cheers Walter!

Douglas Deleu 
From Douglas Deleu
 Gent, Belgium
 Aug 12, 2008
Met in person Friend,  
Positive

Couchsurfer, codemonkey, always saying whats on his mind(oh so Dutch) and metalhead. Hell yeah, from the start I knew I would get along with Walter. See you sooner or later on a kick ass metal concert my hard rocking amigo!

PINKFISH 
From PINKFISH
 San Francisco, United States
 Aug 9, 2008
Met in person Friend,  
Positive

He is this super laid back, care taking, proud and easy going VIKING with a very warm and kind heart. You can rely on him at any time. Be sure to host him, otherwise you will miss out on this beautiful person.

Damon Burden
From Damon Burden
 Saint Augustine, United States
 Aug 9, 2008
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend, Traveled 7 days 
Positive

Me and Walter went on a Whale Watch that was out of this world. I stayed at the collective for a week with him and the rest of the cs collectivers

Raquel Drumond
From Raquel Drumond
 Vienna, Austria
 Aug 6, 2008
Met in person Friend,  
Positive

Walter is my favourite viking metal guy over the world! He is one of the most special and simple people you can ever meet.
Friendly, careful, sensitive (but also nuts and extreme headbanger - and I like that!! :D), he is a good friend I figured out in this crazy and strage town! Good luck and all the best!

Philippe Morin
From Philippe Morin
 Montreal, Canada
 Jul 31, 2008
Met in person Friend,  
Positive

Walter is a great guy with a laid back attitude that I truly appreciate. He has also a good sense of humor that you don't expect from a heavy metal fan like he is! Keep rolling Walter!

Charish Badzinski 
From Charish Badzinski
 La Crosse, United States
 Jul 26, 2008
Met in person Good Friend, Traveled 14 days 
Positive

If the afterlife is filled with angels like Walter, what are we waiting for? He's so beautifully laid back, you could sit in the back of a car with him for hours in a state of bliss and never notice the passing of time. Whenever I think of him, he brightens my day.

I consider myself lucky to have met Walter, and I hope our wandering paths cross again. You should definitely take advantage of any opportunity to get to know Walter.

Joel FERAUD 
From Joel FERAUD
 Le Sappey-en-Chartreuse, France
 Jul 22, 2008
Met in person Friend, Traveled 5 days 
Positive

I met Walter at the CS Collective 2008 in Homer, Alaska. We did not have much time to discuss, life was so busy there, but I have always felt comfortable with his presence. And I was always pleased by the way Walter appreciated what I cooked. Thanks Walter!

Eline Hennink 
From Eline Hennink
 Haarlem, Netherlands
 Jul 21, 2008
Met in person Friend,  
Positive

Walter is not only great because he's Dutch,He is sweet,funny,and very willing to help others!
I hope to see him again soon,where are u?

Francoise Montambeault
From Francoise Montambeault
 Montreal, Canada
 Jul 4, 2008
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend,  
Positive

I have met him a couple of times in Belo Horizonte, while he was organizing the Brazilian national meeting with my roomate and stayed over a couple of evenings... We had great conversations, and i wish i'll see you again sometime soon! Anytime if you drop by Montreal!

WENDYY 
From WENDYY
 Breda, Netherlands
 Jun 29, 2008
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend, Traveled 7 days 
Positive

meeting people like Walter make me proud to be dutch ;) had a great time, hope to meet up again!

Giuseppe Zema
From Giuseppe Zema
 Genova, Italy
 Jun 4, 2008
Met in person Friend,  
Positive

Walter is a incredible guy..very active in cs...one of few which to spend a lot of time to improve this amazing program...congratulation..
see you in europe my friend having a beer ;)

Shawn Bryan
From Shawn Bryan
 Olympia, United States
 Jun 4, 2008
Met in person Good Friend,  
Positive

If you want a to sit in a very hot hot-tub on a cliff overlooking crazy beautifull mountains and the ocean, this is the guy to do it with! Oh...and he speaks about 6 languadges...that's pretty damn impresive!

OH DONNA 
From OH DONNA
 Chico, United States
 Jun 2, 2008
Met in person Friend, Hosted 2 days  
Positive

When you have been waiting to meet someone for at least a year and then all of the sudden that person is 3 hours away and does everything in their power to get to your house.. this is a person you want to know for life! Walter is so much more than I ever expected, and I expected great, but I received better than excellent. Walter is kind, intelligent, funny, and warm (not to mention, tall). I feel so blessed to have met this amazing human. And there is more to come.. Looking forward.

MARELA 
From MARELA
 Belo Horizonte, Brazil
 Jun 1, 2008
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend,  
Positive

Walter lived in BH for a few months and was a very important CSer for our group, he made it alive again.. he set many meetings and organized with 3 other CSers the big and FRIST CS NATIONAL MEETING in Brazil. Its was a very good holiday for all of us.
Sorry i insisted with you about learning Portuguese ! :)
Hope to see you again.

Andrew Farley 
From Andrew Farley
 San Francisco, United States
 May 30, 2008
Met in person Friend, Hosted 1 days Surfed 1 days Traveled 1 days 
Positive

Walter, thanks for lettin' me help you along your way to the collective and great meeting you. Sorry I'm not making it up there right away, I hope to see you again though. We need to have round 2 of the Mac vs PC debate. :) Cheers!

Erica Adriana Coelho 
From Erica Adriana Coelho
 Belem, Brazil
 May 29, 2008
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend,  
Positive

I could talk to Walter while he gently walked to the car with me to get a CS t-shirt. Who said metals can't be sweet and gentleman? He is! Even was worried about leave me alone to get a taxi, after a great rock party!

Congratulations for the unforgettable meeting, guy. When you decide come to the forest, please, tell me.
:)
Kss.

Analice Souza 
From Analice Souza
 Belo Horizonte, Brazil
 May 29, 2008
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend,  
Positive

I alread miss you!

He was one of the first surfer that i met. And he is the kind of guy that we can spend all night long and part of the other day whit, just chillin.
You can't deny, you have both feet in Brasil (especially in Beagá) right now!
Mr Heck,you rock!

Lara Paes
From Lara Paes
 Sao Paulo, Brazil
 May 28, 2008
Met in person Good Friend,  
Positive

Walter is something in between of a half Brazilian, half European and mostly a nomadic soul; so that's what turns him in one of a kind person!
I met him during the Brazil National Meeting and I could spend some time with him drinking beer and laughing my head off about his witty jokes all the time and his silly words during his sleeping mode, lol
Somewhat I realized he has a big heart too, and that's why I wish him all the best. So, good luck on your journey and don't ever forget Brazil, ok? =)

Rodrigo Farina
From Rodrigo Farina
 Jundiai, Brazil
 May 28, 2008
Met in person Friend, Traveled 4 days 
Positive

Your words are so kind my friend Walter. I wish we could have had more time together. Anyways, it was undoubtedely enough to know what a great person you are. Congrats for your efforts on cs. You are a brilliant and very creative professional! Look forward to meeting you ! Warm regards my friend!

Danny Creer
From Danny Creer
 Dalton in Furness, United Kingdom
 May 26, 2008
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend,  
Positive

It is hard to write something about one of the stalwarts of CS itself that hasn't been said before, but Walter is a born traveller and a total free spirit. Nomadic ambassadorship was created for him!

Flávio Lacerda
From Flávio Lacerda
 Belo Horizonte, Brazil
 May 26, 2008
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend,  
Positive

Mr Heck is a very friendly guy, who is really into the CouchSurfing thing. Since he came to BH, he was always on touch with the CS issues here. It's good to know that guys like him are working to improve this network and make it better! I would host him at any circunstance!

Mel Mendes
From Mel Mendes
 Sacramento, United States
 May 25, 2008
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend,  
Positive

One of the few Metal lovers I've met traveling. Great personality. DIMMU BORGIR!!!!!

Eva Johnová
From Eva Johnová
 Olomouc, Czech Republic
 Mar 31, 2008
Met in person Good Friend, Hosted 2 days  
Positive

Walter is one of the most likeable person I have ever met.

Yoav Magen 
From Yoav Magen
 Tampere, Finland
 Mar 24, 2008
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend, Hosted 1 days Traveled 3 days 
Positive

walter was a guest of mine in tampere together with duke and a few days after we met again for cs cruise !!!
happy to get to know and wish him luck on his traveling around finland and the rest of the world !

Leonardo Castriota
From Leonardo Castriota
 Belo Horizonte, Brazil
 Mar 15, 2008
Met in person Good Friend, Hosted 15 days  
Positive

I hosted Walter for two weeks, and it was a great experience. Walter is a very open-minded and nice person, and very easy to get along.

MORALEIDA 
From MORALEIDA
 Belo Horizonte, Brazil
 Mar 14, 2008
Met in person Friend,  
Positive

Walter embodies the CS spirit! He got to BH and immediately started rocking the city with his charisma and drive for getting the most out of every meeting! He's a viking with a bunny heart. =) A guy with great ideas and an natural entrepreneur... Don't miss the chance to hang-out with him!

Eveline Nelissen 
From Eveline Nelissen
 Sittard, Netherlands
 Mar 9, 2008
Met in person Close Friend, Hosted 3 days Surfed 2 days  
Positive

Walter is one of my best friends! We used to skip classes together in high school :-)
He's one of the most open minded persons I know. He's very friendly and has a good sense of humour. I miss him now he's on his world trip, thanks to his weblog & MSN we still keep in touch!

Diego Soares Francisco
From Diego Soares Francisco
 Belo Horizonte, Brazil
 Feb 18, 2008
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend, Surfed 2 days  
Positive

I have met Walter twice. Both experiences were very interesting. He is a guy with a very good mood and he is a very outgoing person.
I enjoyed too much the meetings.

Sasha Ingber
From Sasha Ingber
 Westport, United States
 Feb 17, 2008
Met in person Friend,  
Positive

Oh Walter. Here is an interesting person. Walter is extremely intelligent; his observations, ideas and even emotions are enlightening. He's also refreshingly sweet and genuinely well meaning (except when he's wielding his camera). I hope he knows what's worth..

Felipe Boaventura
From Felipe Boaventura
 Belo Horizonte, Brazil
 Feb 5, 2008
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend, Hosted 5 days  
Positive

Walter was my first guest, and now he's one of my best friends, he's a good person to share your time, with a good point to show, always. He's one of the reasons that makes me fell so well and safe about Couch Surfing. We had (and gonna have much more) very funny experiences here, like the '1st Night of Evil' at Ervália witch was one of the most funny-weird-dangerous things that I ever done (hahahahaha!).

Jeremiah Cassar Scalia
From Jeremiah Cassar Scalia
 Philadelphia, United States
 Jan 15, 2008
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend,  
Positive

Walter is a super chill and all around nice guy, and a very important one for me in the CS world. He got me kickstarted in Belo Horizonte, introducing me to my very first host! He´s a weathered veteran of CS, has a great sense of humor and open mind...Meet this man! Especially if you are new to CS!

Olivia Gutierrez
From Olivia Gutierrez
 Cologne, Germany
 Jan 8, 2008
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend, Hosted 3 days  
Positive

Although we spent such a short time together, we still had the opportunity of chatting about many many things. Walter is a sweet person (but also hilariously sarcastic!) always ready to tell all about his adventures and impressions of the different cultures. A pleasant company whom I hope - correction - *will* see very soon!

Bebeto Le Garfs Azevedo 
From Bebeto Le Garfs Azevedo
 Sao Paulo, Brazil
 Jan 3, 2008
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend,  
Positive

A funny dude... He loves the beach (you can see him all covered by sand), has great sense of fashion (look at his green hat) and love the animals (or is it just his elephant?).
Great company for parties and new years! :)

Gisele Rio 
From Gisele Rio
 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
 Jan 2, 2008
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend,  
Positive

I met Walter at CS meetings in Rio and we also went to the beach together. This guy is very lucky, on our way back to Ipanema the bus broke!! He's funny, witty, talkative and worth meeting.

Maria Mello
From Maria Mello
 Sao Paulo, Brazil
 Dec 28, 2007
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend, Hosted 4 days  
Positive

Walter was nice, fun to have as a guest at Xmas time! It is such a "family" thing...but he's very adaptable, interested in meeting people, good guest :-) Come back anytime you need Walter!Hope you enjoy Rio

PIRAMID2 
From PIRAMID2
 Bakersfield, United States
 Dec 27, 2007
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend, Surfed 2 days Traveled 2 days 
Positive

Walter is truly an adjustable guy. Accepting every opportunity thrown at him. We were visiting Belo Horizonte, Brasil at the same time. Usually unplanned not knowing we were going to see each other again, We did many things together throughout the week. My host picked him up to show both of us the beautiful caves nearby. The next day, My new host then took me to a CS BH party where Walter had arrived with his host, too. Then he stayed on and off a few days at the Host's house where I was staying.

We also enjoyed going to a waterfall together, with one of my not yet CS friends, one day when all the hosts were busy. What a great time we had in the rain swimming in the natural pool with the waterfall above us. He helped me learn more about my new camera modes. We had fun taking pictures and then sharing them with each other.

His english is fabulous and he helped me with tips for CS as this was my first CS trip. Walter is very knowlegeable with CS hosting and guest experiences that he is very willing to share. A very fun, adventurous guy to hang out with. Walter sleeps while driving but wakes up very quickly. I am so grateful that we met in this very unlikely/unusual way because of all the generous CS BH hosts. Now I have a Dutch friend, too! Your welcome to visit my couch in California or Florida anytime. Have lots of fun on your tour around the world! :-)

Carolina Mello
From Carolina Mello
 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
 Dec 26, 2007
Met in person Friend,  
Positive

Walter spent Christmas with my family in São Paulo while he was hosted by my mom. I had a great time talking to him, even though we were all so busy. He´s very laid back and adjusts himself to every situation that presents itself. I just hope he wasn´t too bored with all of us speaking in Portuguese...

Juliana Rocha
From Juliana Rocha
 Belo Horizonte, Brazil
 Dec 26, 2007
Met in person Friend, Hosted 5 days  
Positive

Walter is very gentle, nice, symphatic and intelligent guy. It was very easy “living” with him for a few days in my home. I think that we had a nice time together. I promise to get you a better place to sleep next time, and not wake up you (drunk) in the middle of the night just to tell you how nice was my “Girls Night” (lol). Good luck finding a place in BH!!! I hope to spend a lot of great moments with you, in 2008, in my city!!!

ROSSI IN ROTTERDAM 
From ROSSI IN ROTTERDAM
 Rotterdam, Netherlands
 Dec 19, 2007
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend,  
Positive

Met Walter first in Dec 2006 at the Sinterklaas Party and he picked my present that ended up in funny pictures;) Can't count the times we met after at CS gathering. Walter is in one word GREAT. We see you back in 2008, right?

DUKE 
From DUKE
 Helsinki, Finland
 Dec 17, 2007
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend,  
Positive

Walter may loook like a scruffy metalhead, but inside he's a big scruffy teddy bear. We were roommates for several months and during that time I got to know him quite well and became good friends. It'll be hard to be a better roommate than this guy. I wish you well on your travels, big guy!

Luiz Brandão
From Luiz Brandão
 Salvador, Brazil
 Dec 16, 2007
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend, Hosted 4 days  
Positive

I hosted this huge guy with long hair for a few days in my little apartment here in Salvador. Great person to talk about everything, specially about places to travel...you can see that he travels a lot...he is someone that you can trust and spend time together.

Julo Hajnik
From Julo Hajnik
 Istanbul, Turkey
 Dec 8, 2007
Met in person Friend,  
Positive

walter is really nice person to talk to and get some nice stories.. and he is a great companion in beer drinking competition :D ok, we haven't tried this, but next time we meet, we should definitely try it ;P
good luck man with your travelling!!!

Tiina 
From Tiina
 Helsinki, Finland
 Dec 7, 2007
Met in person Good Friend, Surfed 3 days Traveled 2 days 
Positive

Walter is relaxed and easily adjusts to any situation or environment. He's very open to new people and places and if there's anything he can help you out with, he will. Without making a big deal out of it. If you get a change to host or meet up with Walter on his travels, don't hesitate to seize the opportunity. You won't regret it.

Katarina Kusnierikova
From Katarina Kusnierikova
 Zuberec, Slovakia
 Dec 7, 2007
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend, Hosted 3 days  
Positive

As soon as I saw Walter I felt I have known him for a long time. He´s really nice guy, my pupils liked him, too.Especially his long fair hair and his favourite music. He was showing his photos and telling about his journey round the world so interesting and in easy English, that they wish to see him again. Me, too. We talked about different things and found out same favourites. I am happy to hosted him.

PELUDA
From PELUDA
 Krakow, Poland
 Dec 5, 2007
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend, Hosted 2 days  
Positive

Yeah, I was a pleasure to host Walter.
Basically we spent together only few hours of our conscious life but we managed listen some drumming, have a bigos and a bit of really interesting conversation together@:)
All the best with your plans, Walter!@:)

Paul Wouters 
From Paul Wouters
 Rotterdam, Netherlands
 Dec 5, 2007
Met in person Good Friend, Traveled 8 days 
Positive

Walter shared my first couchsurfing experiences. We had a lot of fun whilst traveling together to Warsaw and Ireland.

He is currently couchsurfing the world and crashed my couch for a few days during the Sinterklaas 2007 pitstop.

Besides the facial hair nothing has changed much: still a great guy! :)

Jim 
From Jim
 San Francisco, United States
 Dec 5, 2007
Met in person Friend, Surfed 30 days  
Positive

Walter graciously offered CS his apartment for us to fill it with people to really dig into the site. He's incredibly generous with everything, be it his time, resources, or whatever and I look forward to seeing him again very soon.

Diederik en Esther de Vries 
From Diederik en Esther de Vries
 Rotterdam, Netherlands
 Dec 3, 2007
Met in person Close Friend, Hosted 2 days  
Positive

Diederik met Walter at work. Diederik started in January at his new employer, and had some drinks and laughs, and we talked about the CS-Project.

Although we know eachother not really good, the "click" is there. Thanks mate!

Mieszko Stanislawski
From Mieszko Stanislawski
 Krakow, Poland
 Dec 3, 2007
Met in person Friend, Hosted 2 days  
Positive

I was really lucky that I could host Walter! :) He is one of these BIG Dutchman wandering all over the world :) Good partner in discussion and in drinking beer ;) Good luck in Americas Walter!

Frank van Steenwijk
From Frank van Steenwijk
 Dublin, Ireland (Republic of)
 Dec 3, 2007
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend,  
Positive

The man with the green hat was the only one at the Sinterklaas meeting that you could find within a minute. He is a very interesting guy who lives for travelling and has the couchsurfing spirit all over him. Have fun in Brazil.

Krisztina Kolozsvári 
From Krisztina Kolozsvári
 Budapest, Hungary
 Dec 2, 2007
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend, Hosted 1 days  
Positive

Walter was my first couchsurfer, and I am sure I could not have wished for a better guest than him! Except that he could have stayed longer... He is the definition for easy-going and kind. I liked him having around, but unfortunately he could stay only one night in Budapest. He told me about his experiences and plans, and I wish him all the luck!
Ah, and he has amazing beautiful long hair.
Plus, he was the first person so far, who saw me speaking fluent Dutch ;)

MILENA B 
From MILENA B
 Presov, Slovakia
 Nov 26, 2007
Met in person Good Friend, Hosted 3 days  
Positive

Walter was our first CS high-profile team members visiting here, kind of CS-maker! It was great to have you here Walter. And thanks for organising our 1st (and successfull after all:) Presov CS meeting. Very easy to talk to, very openminded and calm, great stories, good fun, real traveller who enjoys all the local nonsense :) He even already knew our meals by their Slovak names! Wish I had more time off. Come back in summer to have even more fun!

Erin Mallon 
From Erin Mallon
 Basel, Switzerland
 Nov 26, 2007
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend, Hosted 3 days Surfed 1 days  
Positive

Well, aside from the fact that his upbeat, relaxed energy has saved me completely from my fear of losing the travelling bug, I would have liked meeting him just for the music on his ipod ;) He offered me a couch even while he was travelling, and I was so happy to host him for the next few days! He is the kind of person I love to show to my non-couchsurfing room mates to prove that CSers are just generally awesome people :D He seems comfortable in every situation, ready to help, tease, laugh, share, and go with the flow. But the music...yes, I am set on Wacken now! Good luck on your travels, they sound amazing :)

Robert Franko
From Robert Franko
 Dubai, United Arab Emirates
 Nov 23, 2007
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend,  
Positive

Thanks to Walter there was the first CS meeting in Presov. I really appreciate he decided to come to my home town and tried to empower CS community here. He is full of stories. Unfortunately he caught me in a busy period so I could not stay longer in the pub. Good luck on your travel!

Martina Hanakova 
From Martina Hanakova
 Ostrava, Czech Republic
 Nov 18, 2007
Met in person Friend, Hosted 2 days  
Positive

This amazing guy helps us with beginning organized CouchSurfing in Ostrava.

Vit Jedlicka
From Vit Jedlicka
 Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic
 Nov 15, 2007
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend, Hosted 2 days  
Positive

Crazy dude who decided to go for a year-long trip. :)
Likes to swim and sleep :)

Pavel Lipovsky 
From Pavel Lipovsky
 Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic
 Nov 13, 2007
Met in person Acquaintance,  
Positive

We spent some time in Hradec drinking beer together with his host. Walter is a really interesting guy to chat with. Good luck with hitch-hiking and less snow :-)

BARCODEX 
From BARCODEX
 Tallinn, Estonia
 Nov 5, 2007
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend, Hosted 2 days  
Positive

This gentle Dutch giant with great attitute to around-the-world trips completed his mission and suddenly fell asleep while checking his mails under our world map. I hope he saw only nice dreams under it :)

Serkan Ketenci 
From Serkan Ketenci
 Helsinki, Finland
 Nov 5, 2007
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend, Hosted 2 days Traveled 3 days 
Positive

We went to CS cruise and later I hosted him for two days. We had several drinks together (ok ok maybe hundreds :) ), he's a great guy and a real beer-lover :) I'm looking forward to meet him again...

Sampo Louke
From Sampo Louke
 Turku, Finland
 Nov 5, 2007
Met in person Acquaintance, Traveled 2 days 
Positive

We met on the CS-cruise Helsinki-Stockholm. Walter is a calm, kind and intelligent guy. Talking with him is interesting. (although I was a bit tired and quiet because all the drinking so I mainly listened).

FERNANDO BISCHOF
From FERNANDO BISCHOF
 Buenos Aires, Argentina
 Nov 4, 2007
Met in person Friend, Traveled 1 days 
Positive

MAN! thanks a lot x your HIGHLY valued info!

Michal Stefanowski 
From Michal Stefanowski
 Suwalki, Poland
 Oct 30, 2007
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend, Hosted 2 days  
Positive

He stayed at my house for 2 nights.Walter is a normal guy, which wants to travel and visit the World. He is no problematic person. See you in South Am.

Lauris Olups
From Lauris Olups
 Riga, Latvia
 Oct 21, 2007
Met in person Friend, Hosted 3 days  
Positive

Yo! Best of luck in your travels, mate, you were a really nice guest. Educated, humorous and friendly ;). Yay for for the big dude with a prank name! :D

Lena Zhurajeva 
From Lena Zhurajeva
 Tallinn, Estonia
 Oct 17, 2007
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend, Hosted 2 days  
Positive

Another lucky around-the-world traveller! Inspite of not really pleasant experience in front of our house he was brave enough to stay here longer... Nice guy, he even brought me flowers!

Daniel Davis 
From Daniel Davis
 Helsinki, Finland
 Oct 15, 2007
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend, Hosted 4 days  
Positive

I'll remember Walter as the Dutch guy who appears to be your typical friendly Finnish metalhead, relaxed and enjoying a beer, except he smiles too much and has an awful American accent. Easy to host, just supply him with a couch and some internet. I also got to see a good Dutch movie, I think that's a first, thanks. Good luck hitchhiking and deciding where to go next.

Philippe Trottier 
From Philippe Trottier
 Sodankyla, Finland
 Oct 10, 2007
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend, Hosted 1 days Traveled 1 days 
Positive

Good thing he called that evening, I would have missed few hours of a great fellow. He might be sleepy or a bit lost sometimes but I really liked not sleeping very long that night.

ELIZA1001
From ELIZA1001
 Vaasa, Finland
 Oct 10, 2007
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend, Hosted 1 days Surfed 1 days Traveled 2 days 
Positive

I promise you don't have to fix my computer ever again!!! THANKS SO MUCH for doing that!!! I don't know what to say...He's just Walter, our big dutch teddybear :D!!!

Stefano P
From Stefano P
 Helsinki, Finland
 Oct 8, 2007
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend, Traveled 3 days 
Positive

Great buddy! We enjoyed the Baltic Cruise together (and some drinks also...)

Jani Katajamäki
From Jani Katajamäki
 Vaasa, Finland
 Oct 8, 2007
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend,  
Positive

I met Walter on a CS-cruise to Stockholm. He ended up looking after everyone as we left, and he made sure everyone was at the right place and no-one stayed behind. In other words, he made everything very easy at start and he was probably the main cause for the trip being succesful.

After that, he showed how to party! :)

I'm hoping and looking forward to meeting him again sometime!

Alexandre Agassian 
From Alexandre Agassian
 Penang, Malaysia
 Oct 7, 2007
Met in person Friend, Traveled 1 days 
Positive

I met Walter at the CS meeting in Stockholm. He is a great guy, very into CS, he spend all his time to travel. He is a very trustfully guy, and i recommend him to all. you can really trust him. we all had great time with him.

MARTSU
From MARTSU
 Vaasa, Finland
 Oct 2, 2007
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend, Hosted 1 days  
Positive

Walter was my first surfer. I felt very comfortable with him. So I'm looking forward to hosting again! He is a very funny guy :)

Bruno van den Elshout
From Bruno van den Elshout
 The Hague, Netherlands
 Oct 1, 2007
Met in person  
Positive

Hey Sleepy Walter San, everything OK there? T was nice meeting you, good luck on the remainder of your travels!

Matt Pedersen 
From Matt Pedersen
 Whangarei, New Zealand
 Oct 1, 2007
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend,  
Positive

Walter is great guy an a huge mission across the world so if you meet him help him out however you can! Happy travels and you are always welcome in New Zealand!

Samuli Viitasalo
From Samuli Viitasalo
 Vaasa, Finland
 Oct 1, 2007
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend, Hosted 1 days  
Positive

We met at a local CS meeting and then at a few other CS related activities. Due to the full moon or other strange astronomical phenomena he almost didn't get to my place, but finally I hosted him for one night.

We had lots of fun at the meetings and he listened very gracefully to our singing "talents". Also I got to see the best Dutch movie ever. Hope to see you again when you return to Vaasa.

Matt Yeh
From Matt Yeh
 Shanghai, China
 Sep 29, 2007
Met in person Good Friend, Surfed 2 days  
Positive

Met Walter while CS in a small town called Tromso. Our CS hosts were good friends so we had a number of nights out drinking and having fun. Walter is a really great guy, a lot of fun. Hopefully we meet up again before i leave

Jean-Frédéric Gauvin
From Jean-Frédéric Gauvin
 Oslo, Norway
 Sep 25, 2007
Met in person Friend, Traveled 3 days 
Positive

Oslo, first time I met Walter, Bente's place second time. Tromsø third time. Too much is too much, So we decide to reach Northcap together, slept in Skaidi best hotel ever. I have to admit that walter is a fantastic lad and trustfully. There is not two guys like him on earth: deserve to be met.
We will see us soon...

Eric Hardesty 
From Eric Hardesty
 Tromso, Norway
 Sep 24, 2007
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend, Hosted 4 days  
Positive

My kind of man, met him in Tromsø city, then we went to my place where we had a party, then out. Because I had to leave I only met him thursday and in the morning of Friday. But I hope he still is at my place when i get back.

Good humor and likes his beer.

Jon Hunter Singelstad 
From Jon Hunter Singelstad
 Tromso, Norway
 Sep 23, 2007
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend, Hosted 1 days  
Positive

We meet at a party at Eric`s place. Took only a short time to find out that we had the same passion fore beer. Mmmm BEER!!
Walter also knows the secret of shouting up a bunch of CS... Making a mountain of meat and pasta. Hope to see u some time in the future. PS: tanks fore the CS-mail help :)

Jeff Eide
From Jeff Eide
 Duong Dong, Vietnam
 Sep 23, 2007
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend, Hosted 3 days  

I felt we got off to a bad start. First impressions are everything. Regardless, he is a nice guy and I hope to meet him under better conditions someday.

Brian McCloskey 
From Brian McCloskey
 Drogheda, Ireland (Republic of)
 Sep 18, 2007
Met in person Friend, Hosted 6 days  
Positive

Walter & his buddy paul surfed my couch on st patricks weekend. we really had a great time but i wish i had more time off work to spend with these guys, hope to see walter in Rotterdam or anywhere soon

HERR 駱特司 GLOBAL
From HERR 駱特司 GLOBAL
 Bergen, Norway
 Sep 17, 2007
Met in person  
Positive

Extremely dedicated to CS! Told me more about this project than I ever would have discovered otherwise. Good luck up on the long haul up north and to Finland.

Tull 
From Tull
 Vestby, Norway
 Sep 17, 2007
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend, Hosted 1 days  
Positive

Walter's reference to me is absolutely truthful. It describes exactly what happened, except that I don't know what I would have done if he had not been there. Walter is a really nice and interesting guy and I am very sorry that he had to see this.

ALLERWG
From ALLERWG
 Zurich, Switzerland
 Sep 17, 2007
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend, Hosted 3 days  
Positive

Veni, Vidi, Vici. Walter came to Bergen, 24 hours later the first CS-Meeting happend there. He is a very nice person and a true CS-ambassodor! Host you anytime again, Walter, and good luck on your journey!

Ross Barlow 
From Ross Barlow
 Oslo, Norway
 Sep 13, 2007
Met in person Good Friend, Hosted 2 days  
Positive

Meeting Walter was always going to be interesting ;) since I heard from his host that he's an ambassador ... he is a great ad for CS in his openness, inquisitivity, lust for life and ... beautiful mind, man!

Friedjof Wagner
From Friedjof Wagner
 Bremen, Germany
 Sep 13, 2007
Met in person Good Friend, Hosted 2 days  
Positive

Walter is really nice, asolut uncomplicate and very trustfull. I`m impressed of his world-travelling-plans.
Good Luck!

Céline Gaudinat 
From Céline Gaudinat
 Oslo, Norway
 Sep 13, 2007
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend, Hosted 3 days  
Positive

Walter is the sweetest geek I know (and this is a compliment!).
Highly smart, social, energy booster and funny, he's a real pleasure to have around ... I wish him all the best for his world tour and if he passes by your city, don't let the chance pass to host him.

Ricard Salevik 
From Ricard Salevik
 Oslo, Norway
 Sep 11, 2007
Met in person Friend, Hosted 3 days  
Positive

The man who made me understand why there is no home like 127.0.0.1 :D

Update: In Warzaw we were chatting about his world trip and I suggested him to pass by Oslo. So, 9 months later, he steps up on my door, and we had a great time together for some days. As a couchsurfer Walter is 100% reliable, relaxed, polite and a great cook :)

Casey Fenton 
From Casey Fenton
 San Francisco, United States
 Aug 25, 2007
Met in person Good Friend, Surfed 30 days  
Positive

Walter and I met online... then I decided that I simply must move in with him as soon as possible (CS Collective Rotterdam at his house). Now that we have lived together for about a month and a half, there's almost nothing that we don't know about each other. Walter has one of the biggest hearts I have ever seen. From the bottom of my heart I appreciate all of the thing he has done to help make CS successful, including opening up his home to a CS collective. Walter has put countless hours into CS and is someone who truly makes a difference and helps CS achieve its mission each and every day. Thank you so much Walter! You rock so much! :-)

ShAi 
From ShAi
 Pune, India
 Aug 21, 2007
Met in person Friend,  
Positive

Walter and I worked briefly a few months ago and it was wonderful meeting him in person...funny, silly and dedicated to couchsurfing, he is intelligent, friendly and a lot of fun...I do hope to see him again soon :D

Sophie Noordman
From Sophie Noordman
 The Hague, Netherlands
 Aug 11, 2007
Met in person Friend,  
Positive

When i met Walter i was really happy to see him, I was on my own looking for the CS meeting. He was very kind, and it felt like I had know him for a long time. Hope i will get to see him more before i leave.

-maija-
From -maija-
 Helsinki, Finland
 Aug 6, 2007
Met in person Friend,  
Positive

It's a pleasure to work together with Walter, for he has a heart of gold. Hope our paths will cross again. Veel succes met je wereldreis!

Bjoern-Erik Wenz
From Bjoern-Erik Wenz
 Munich, Germany
 Jul 25, 2007
Met in person Friend, Surfed 5 days  
Positive

Walter is a great host and fun to be around, helpful and very determined in what he's doing. No doubt he is the perfect "f§$%ingarounder and kickingyourass" person :-) (in a friendly way) making sure that everything runs smoothly. A great asset to any household/collective/community and an advocate to the CS spirit. Goodonya mate!

Weston Hankins 
From Weston Hankins
 Guadalajara, Mexico
 Jul 24, 2007
Met in person Good Friend, Hosted 5 days  
Positive

Walter is one of the sweetest guys I know! He initially gives out this big heavy metal dude impression, but hey, get to know him!!! He's unique, loving, caring, smart and a wonderful human being! Being hosted by him at the Rotterdam Collective was amazing... I planned to stay a week there, but I liked it so much it ended up being a month. Doesn't that say how amazing he is?

Roel de Kanter 
From Roel de Kanter
 Elst, Netherlands
 Jul 20, 2007
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend,  
Positive

When I drive out The Hague towards any destination I since a while "wish" for a Hitchhiker.

And there was Walter. Actually the first one! And a great time too. He was very enthusiastic about CS so I signed up the next day :)

Nice conversations and a good laugh; I can recommend riding along with Walter to everyone!

Sonja Musters
From Sonja Musters
 Antwerp, Belgium
 Jul 17, 2007
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend, Hosted 1 days Surfed 1 days  
Positive

I asked Walter to host me extremely last minute. I was already in his apartment with two of his guests when I asked if I could stay as well and he said yes.My opinion on Walter: totally relaxed dude,I love his accent, he has a genuine interest in other people and a special talent when it comes to missing the last train home ;-) Good luck & much fun on your travels!!! Always welcome in Belgium!!!
--> and you came!! Walter, I really enjoyed our time. We had a great 'different' nght out in ANtwerp, first with some bellydancing livemusic and later in the *blush* Karaokebar, hihi. Really looking forward for the footage :-)
Have a great time with the collective, hitchhiking and everything else and I'm sure we'll meet again!!

SPYRO 
From SPYRO
 Kaikoura, New Zealand
 Jul 9, 2007
Met in person Friend, Surfed 4 days  
Positive

We never at any time spoke about how cute kittens were and how garnier fructis is the greatest shampoo there is, no not at all, we spoke about death metal and heavy metal and manly stuff, and wanted to see Deicide but didn't, not because we forgot for the fact we were talking about shampoo, no not at all. Great host.

Chris Burley
From Chris Burley
 San Francisco, United States
 Jul 5, 2007
Met in person Friend, Surfed 30 days Traveled 2 days 
Positive

Walter's funny, gentle and lighthearted. He's known to take cat naps at random times which adds to the irony of your conversations(or mumblings) with him. He not only cooks but can manage to make a tasty Indonesian dish for 6. A great personality, a great person, I wish him the greatest adventures in the upcoming year of traveling. Host him!

Naz Gassiep 
From Naz Gassiep
 Wheelers Hill, Australia
 Jul 4, 2007
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend,  
Positive

Walter was an awesome person to stay with. He took the time to get to know me and I really felt comfortable and welcome at his place in Rotterdam. He's welcome to stay on my couch any time!

ONLYONE
From ONLYONE
 London, United Kingdom
 Jun 29, 2007
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend, Hosted 4 days Surfed 3 days  
Positive

Thanks for your hospitality, for making the weekend fun, for hanging out and getting drunk (well that was Tiina's fault). See you around before your travels or if you swing my way, give me shout.
Update: spend another awesome weekend in London with Walter & Tiina, see you in July.

Nicolas Sahlqvist
From Nicolas Sahlqvist
 Rotterdam, Netherlands
 Jun 23, 2007
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend, Surfed 1 days  
Positive

Walter is a interesting person whom is offering his home, knowledge to maintain the CS site mainly as a developer.

I stayed at his place after the CS tech meeting on the 22nd June 2k7 for a day and he managed to arrange a sleeping place although the place was full of other CS surfers! :)

Finn Mempel
From Finn Mempel
 Melbourne, Australia
 Jun 22, 2007
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend, Surfed 2 days  
Positive

He hosted me and a friend of mine in Rotterdam for 2 days. He gave us his bike, so that we could explore the city in the most common way ;).
He is a very friendly and open minded person. Good Luck on your round-trip!!

Olivier Van Puyvelde
From Olivier Van Puyvelde
 Can-Avid, Philippines
 Jun 10, 2007
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend,  
Positive

I met Walter on a CS meeting in R'dam. Although we only spent a short time together, I'm totally convinced that he is a person with a true passion for CS and meeting new people from all over the world. He seems like a great host and he puts so much effort into the Project. He was talking very passionately about his upcoming World Trip. Enjoy it and hope to meet you again in the near future, Walter!

Ian Tuomi 
From Ian Tuomi
 Espoo, Finland
 May 24, 2007
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend, Surfed 3 days  
Positive

What can I say about Walter? A calm, friendly, insightful guy with which you can have a meaningful conversation in no time. Did everything he could to make us feel comfortable. A great host and loads of fun to hang with. Thanks!

Pieter Ter Berg 
From Pieter Ter Berg
 The Hague, Netherlands
 May 17, 2007
Met in person Good Friend, Hosted 4 days Surfed 1 days  
Positive

He had me and my guest from HC over for dinner, really friendly guy and he makes nice pancakes ;) We aslo met at the The Hague Summer meeting 2006 and had a really good time. Also nice host ;)

Mariusz Ptak
From Mariusz Ptak
 Wroclaw, Poland
 May 16, 2007
Met in person  

We're unreservedly sorry for the inconvenienced we caused by not arriving. Seems like we weren't too experienced couchsurfers-literally that was our first couch trip. We are completely aware we should have let you know and called it off. Why we didn't?-possibly we're too immersed in travelling and stayed without internet, as well. It wouldn't happen again!
Once again sorry for bothering you Walter. take care!

Istvan Mizser
From Istvan Mizser
 Vac, Hungary
 May 11, 2007
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend, Surfed 2 days  
Positive

He is a really experienced and kind host, did everything to feel comfortable in his flat. He makes perfect pancakes. :-)

Thomas Goorden 
From Thomas Goorden
 Antwerp, Belgium
 May 11, 2007
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend, Surfed 2 days  
Positive

Walter is an easy-going and very dedicated Couchsurfer. His appartement was covered wall-to-wall with surfers, yet he always stayed in a happy mood. He's interesting to talk to and I'm very happy to be on the tech team with him.

Heydi
From Heydi
 Helsinki, Finland
 May 9, 2007
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend, Surfed 2 days  
Positive

Although hosted by him, I only saw Walter shortly in the appartement. And after the not seeing him much on Queen's Night either (somebody missed the last train... ;-) ), I was really glad we finally had the chance for a long talk on Monday! It was a pleasure talking to you Walter! And thanks for the good advice!

MACHOULIA 
From MACHOULIA
 Rueil-Malmaison, France
 May 3, 2007
Met in person Friend, Surfed 7 days  
Positive

An invasion anybody? somewhere? Walter will be around! He's such a friendly and welcoming guy, tons of fun and beauuuuuutiful hair!!! (i really envy you!)Rotterdam, Dublin, Rotterdam again... let's see what's next... Thanx for hosting me and being who you are, don't ever change! Good luck for your long travel and don't hesitate to come over Paris! Take care!

Arjang Omrani
From Arjang Omrani
 Cologne, Germany
 May 2, 2007
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend, Surfed 2 days  
Positive

Easy Going and cool walter,
I surfed his, tiina and Duke couch with other 18 CSers.
What a nice guy!
Thanx for hosting us and look forward to meet you more

STEFF 
From STEFF
 Toulouse, France
 May 2, 2007
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend, Hosted 2 days  
Positive

Walter's been kind enough to host 9 crazy French CSers (me inc.) plus tons of other fellows for Tiina's birthday and the Dutch Queensday celebrations. Thumbs up for such a hospitality, and I hope some other time it is less crowded and I can get to actually TALK to my host ;)

Flapic 
From Flapic
 Rome, Italy
 May 2, 2007
Met in person Friend, Surfed 5 days  
Positive

Walter has been one of my three hosts in Rotterdam for the 5 days I spent there, and it's been very nice to meet him and share nice chats especially on the last day when the whole crowd had left (yes, there was a real crowd in the house!). We'll stay in touch and talk soon!

SUPERYAMI
From SUPERYAMI
 Queenstown, New Zealand
 May 2, 2007
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend, Surfed 4 days  
Positive

Our Host for the Rotterdam couch invasion:
walter, i have been so lucky to find you in the first place and super happy you came to the meet to end with. from what i videotaped, it seems you had an amazing fun and i will be looking forward to host you or pay you a visit anytime our paths will cross again!!
once again, thanks for being that cool and easy going, you made that experience a life experience to retell!
It was super cool to see you twice in few short of time especially dublin and Beautiful netherlands for a great cs meet again in your presence... keep on walter !

Giancarlo Russo 
From Giancarlo Russo
 Cardiff, United Kingdom
 Apr 30, 2007
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend, Surfed 2 days  
Positive

Thanks a lot to Walter to have opened his place to a wild bunch! And oh yes, is cat is such a... Bitch! I'll see you next time, if coming to UK just give me a shout! Take care!

Greg Eva 
From Greg Eva
 Lyon, France
 Apr 20, 2007
Met in person Friend, Surfed 3 days Traveled 1 days 
Positive

I kept hearing about this metalhead Walter. Who was this mysterious man in black? Surfing with his roomies, I would soon find out!
In the beginning it didn't look like we'd have much chance to hang out. Then I just kept staying one more day, and through all of this had some great chances to chill with Walter, get to know him, share views on CS, ideas, drink some beers, and even throw a frisbee around on the beach at a CS meet (that was unexpected, but enjoyed!).
Was great to meet and get to know you Walter, and looking forward to when you come down to Lyon!

Marie-Laure Delaby 
From Marie-Laure Delaby
 Brussels, Belgium
 Apr 16, 2007
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend,  
Positive

I really enjoyed staying at Walter, Tiina and Duke's place. I had a lot of fun and Walter is a really sweet guy who can appreciate a real "Chouffe" without knowing what it means (lets go to the essential). I really hope to see him around (Belgium, Holland, the world...). Thanks for the midnight cs conference call (a shame i fall asleep) and the "precious" (sleeping bag). Grtzz to the cat too!

VATO_LOCO 
From VATO_LOCO
 Arnhem, Netherlands
 Apr 15, 2007
Met in person Friend,  
Positive

Spontanously met him at pieters. Offered him a dark czeck beer that was brought to me by one of my czeck guests. He drank it...and after 5 min fell asleep! lol! also, a guy with great motto's! Plans are made to be broken, after breaking 3 plans in one day! Priceless.

Kat and Jeroen Latet-Ferguson-Mahan
From Kat and Jeroen Latet-Ferguson-Mahan
 Portland, United States
 Apr 11, 2007
Met in person Acquaintance,  
Positive

Fabulous party!!!

Luke Hill
From Luke Hill
 Yuncheng, China
 Apr 10, 2007
Met in person Friend, Surfed 2 days  
Positive

Walter is literally one of the most chilled out hosts ever, so much that he felt no desire to wear trousers whilst in my company. He was very likeable and had me slaving away washing the kitchen floor 10 minute after I arrived. Sounds terrible doesn't it? Well he paid me to clean the floor so for me it rocked. He really was alot of fun and he made good food. Good luck travelling Walter!

Colin Primrose
From Colin Primrose
 Glasgow, United Kingdom
 Apr 4, 2007
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend, Surfed 3 days  
Positive

What an amazing time! Walt and his friends were very welcoming. I'd love to hang out with him again.

Neil Oswald
From Neil Oswald
 Aberdeen, United Kingdom
 Apr 3, 2007
Met in person Friend, Surfed 3 days  
Positive

Walter is a really cool guy, I hope he had a great birthday!!

Kellie Byram-Swier 
From Kellie Byram-Swier
 Phoenix, United States
 Mar 21, 2007
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend, Surfed 1 days  
Positive

I know my husband had a really good time chatting with Walter. We both knew that by his profile he seemed to be a good hearted person, but when we met him he is more than that. The description of Walter being a big teddy bear in a metal head body is quite accurate. We hope one day we can meet up with him again and continue our conversations. We were sad that we could only spend one day. Thanks again Walter for everything. -K+D

Marcela
From Marcela
 Champaign, United States
 Mar 16, 2007
Met in person  
Positive

Helped me find a couch at his place despite being several countries away. So nice of you!

Nanouk van der Elst 
From Nanouk van der Elst
 Rotterdam, Netherlands
 Mar 13, 2007
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend,  
Positive

Walter is such a funny guy. A big cuddley friendly giant so to speak...:)

Indre Giedraityte
From Indre Giedraityte
 Vilnius, Lithuania
 Mar 7, 2007
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend, Surfed 2 days  
Positive

Chats were interesting, pizza was delicious, the couch was comfortable :) I'm really glad I've met him.

Marco Estrada 
From Marco Estrada
 Mexico City, Mexico
 Mar 7, 2007
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend, Hosted 3 days  
Positive

Very nice guy, Thanks for everything, I really enjoy his company, not so long, but good enough. Very nice host.
By the way the movies I told you about are: WAKING LIFE and OPEN YOUR EYES (Abre los ojos)

MELDYMEL
From MELDYMEL
 Vancouver, Canada
 Feb 25, 2007
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend, Surfed 2 days  
Positive

Walter should also be an ambassador for Metal music. A really chill guy who understands my predilection for chocolate-sprinkle-sandwiches. Walter is the first Dutch local I've met and gave me interesting insights into the craziness of Dutch people. I.E. Living 7 meters below sea level as a normal day to day occurence.

Heli Rajasalo 
From Heli Rajasalo
 London, United Kingdom
 Feb 19, 2007
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend, Surfed 4 days  
Positive

A great guy with clearly a big heart, a cute fat cat, and very powerful taste in music. Enjoyed meeting you!

Rachel Hotchkiss 
From Rachel Hotchkiss
 Milledgeville, United States
 Feb 17, 2007
Met in person Friend, Surfed 1 days  
Positive

Walter is a super nice guy and devoted CouchSurfer who is really in his element with a glass of wine and his cat in his lap...so don't be intimidated by his metal t-shirts! He also has the amazing talent of being able to sleep through 3 loud Couchsurfers yakking a couple meters away from him. I hope he isn't too scared to come to Georgia (though I wouldn't blame him if he was ;)) and stay with me!

Nathan Burkhart
From Nathan Burkhart
 New Ulm, United States
 Feb 15, 2007
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend, Surfed 3 days  
Positive

I spent three awesome days with Walter in Rotterdam. He helped me figure out where to go, what to see, and to top it off he even threw in a killer Karneval kostume. Thanks!

CRAZYBEE
From CRAZYBEE
 Lausanne, Switzerland
 Jan 30, 2007
Met in person  
Positive

Walter is a nice guy! He was sick and had hosted four people! Thanks for that :)

Maikel Lourenssen 
From Maikel Lourenssen
 Oss, Netherlands
 Jan 15, 2007
Met in person Friend, Surfed 1 days  
Positive

Walter is a great guy to hangout with and as well a great guy who offered me a couch after an absurd dutch party.
We went out next day to see a few windmills with some nice people.

i know that we will meet again.

Julia Frackowska
From Julia Frackowska
 Poznan, Poland
 Jan 15, 2007
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend, Surfed 3 days Traveled 1 days 
Positive

i don't really gather yet the idea of how many days we "surfed" together (does it mean, "sleep", not together though;> and traveled.. yea, we can say we wandered around Warsaw a bit..;) so i put 3 (maciek from HC place).. well, my impression is very positive in the end, hehe. and if we are "CouchSurfing Friends"? we're not really that, but HC is about the same, so i hope it's okay.. whatever:)

very witty, positive guy, helpful, respectful, rather smooth and easy going (with an American movie-voice when speaking English;)

Drayton Hiers
From Drayton Hiers
 Singapore, Singapore
 Jan 15, 2007
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend, Surfed 1 days  
Positive

Was vodka at five in the morning such a good idea? Probably not, but it was a lot of fun. And visiting the windmills certainly was a good idea, as well as playing music until the sun had nearly come up, and hanging out on a lazy Sunday watching crazy, absurd movies. Walter is an excellent host, abso-freaking-lutely friendly and welcoming and brings together all sorts of wonderful people to have all sorts of wonderful experiences. Ge-wel-dig!

Martin Jaehnert 
From Martin Jaehnert
 Leipzig, Germany
 Jan 14, 2007
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend, Surfed 1 days  
Positive

Walter is a great host. He opened his house to all of us and is just the best when it comes to pointy humour. Thanks for the real nice weekend you made possible!

Ulf Kleinings 
From Ulf Kleinings
 Cologne, Germany
 Jan 11, 2007
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend, Traveled 4 days 
Positive

I WILL WRITE A "REAL" REFERENCE (MY STYLE...) AS SOON AS I'LL FIND THE TIME!
TO BE COMPLETED..."

Urbian Fitz-James 
From Urbian Fitz-James
 Rotterdam, Netherlands
 Jan 8, 2007
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend,  
Positive

Met Walter at several meetings. I was amazed by the amount pf csers at his place when i dropped a cs memeber. If a guy host that amount of people you have to be great..

Roy Abraham 
From Roy Abraham
 Toronto, Canada
 Jan 2, 2007
Met in person Acquaintance,  
Positive

Walter seems like a genuinely open guy, and I look forward to getting to know him better in the near future.

OPENMIC 
From OPENMIC
 Palermo, Italy
 Dec 9, 2006
Met in person Acquaintance,  
Positive

Walter was great to host a plethora of Parisians for the Sinterklaas meeting. In addition, he headed a tour of 2 dozen CSers. Thanks for the great time in Rotterdam!

*DYLAN* 
From *DYLAN*
 Clichy, France
 Dec 5, 2006
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend,  
Positive

Walter is the crazy guy who agreed to host a bunch of out of control parisians !! That's really brave of you ! Anyway, the little we talked was a great pleasure to me and you can surely count on me for the next invasion !!! P.S. : I love your umbrella ;D

Frédéric Brodeur 
From Frédéric Brodeur
 Paris, France
 Dec 5, 2006
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend, Surfed 2 days  
Positive

I just want to say you a very big thank for hosting all of us during this very cool sinterklass meeting! I had so good time during this weekend at Walter place but also had a lot of fun to have a pillow fight in the street... I think it's impossible to not appreciate this guy... thing are so simple with him! Walter, you are welcome everytime in Paris to do the party with all of us! And of course my couch is your couch!!!

Aldo Golja 
From Aldo Golja
 Rotterdam, Netherlands
 Dec 5, 2006
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend, Hosted 1 days  
Positive

My first hosting Walter was when he called at 0:28 telling me he missed the last subway to his house, asking for a couch... And as he tends to do, he slept like a baby ;) Not only has he always been a very polite guest, he's also been known to light up many a party! In 2008 we traveled through Alaska together. That was a great experience and I really enjoyed his cheerful, sometimes lightfooted sarcastic but always big-hearted company! After having known this long-haired friendly giant for such a long time, I can truely say that he is my friend.

Emma Scherer 
From Emma Scherer
 Paris, France
 Dec 4, 2006
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend, Surfed 2 days  
Positive

Walter is fantastic! He's really one of the nicest guys out there, unless you engage in pillow fighting down the streets of Rotterdam, then he can be pretty fierce! I had such a great time at his place, and was amazed he could handle about 12 of us Paris CSers, even sleeping through a singalong extravaganza... :) Thank you so much for being such an amazing host, and even though you most likely won't end up in Spokane... you're welcome any time! (PS sorry about the Bush impression... :) I scare myself sometimes with that one!)

BOL2RY 
From BOL2RY
 Paris, France
 Dec 3, 2006
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend, Surfed 2 days  
Positive

Walter, amazing Walter!
how could you accept to host 15 people from paris at the same time ?! Especialy us ! We spent a great time at your place all together and had a lot of fun at sinterklass party and even if your bathroom's door don't close, you're a perfect hoster !
Wanna found a cool (and huge) place to see rotterdam ? choose Walter !
thanks again dude

PEIRO 
From PEIRO
 Gossau, Switzerland
 Dec 3, 2006
Met in person Friend, Hosted 5 days  
Positive

There was a pre-party for the Sinterklaas meeting at his place. Great guy, very hospitable and nice. Thank you also for the sight-seeing tour through Rotterdam!

Update: Walter finally surfed my couch for some days and we had the chance to get to know each other much better. Walter is completely trustworthy, very involved with the Tech Team of CouchSurfing AND best of all, I could convince him that whisky is awesome :-)

All the best for your future travels and I hope to see you again at lots of other meetings!

Roni Salo
From Roni Salo
 Helsinki, Finland
 Dec 1, 2006
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend, Traveled 1 days 
Positive

I met Walter at Pieter's place, went for a great concert and had few beers and conversations and surfed at the same place. It was only a brief meeting, but somehow I think that we'll meet again. It's also admirable how he contributes to this CS project.

Henrike, Tubah And Guyga :-
From Henrike, Tubah And Guyga :-
 Amorgos, Greece
 Nov 20, 2006
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend, Hosted 3 days  
Positive

this guy is really prepared to host people,he has in his living-room a tourist info point...this maybe sound as a cliche, but you really can talk to him about everything (from superman episodes to world economy)...for sure you will have a great time whit him!!!! dank u!!!!!!

Las Chicas 
From Las Chicas
 Oakland, United States
 Nov 15, 2006
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend, Surfed 6 days  
Positive

Walter is very open-minded and loves to share stories with travellers... also a very good cook! :)

Loukia Slomanco 
From Loukia Slomanco
 Athens, Greece
 Oct 10, 2006
Only met online Surfed 1 days  
Positive

no one you like the same music my friend,so what?

Leo Thauerböck
From Leo Thauerböck
 Linz, Austria
 Sep 27, 2006
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend, Hosted 1 days  
Positive

Arrived late at night- but he had still a place to sleep and some chocolate (!!) for us!:)
Whatever, we had a great sleeping place and a really interesting talk about so much things..:)

At the same time Walter hosted a Bulgarian guy, for...hmm.. 2 weeks i think?!?!

The only bad thing was his cat.. quite agressive thing!!!:)

But all in all we really enjoyed our stay& we wish you, walter, all the best for your trip!

INTELLOCK 5
From INTELLOCK 5
 Varna, Bulgaria
 Sep 19, 2006
Met in person Friend, Surfed 30 days  
Positive

Walter did not only let me stay for SIX WEEKS in his place but also did many things to help me promote my pictures in Holland.He impressed me with his sophisticated insights on vaaaaaaarious subjects and his sense of humor is just great!
10X for the unique experience and support.Best of luck with everything:)

Alfredo Guzman
From Alfredo Guzman
 The Hague, Netherlands
 Aug 10, 2006
Met in person Friend,  
Positive

I would certainly let him stay in my couch if he ever needed to.

Gerryt Hooning
From Gerryt Hooning
 Rotterdam, Netherlands
 Jul 31, 2006
Met in person Acquaintance,  
Positive

Open minded guy, easy to talk with. I took a tour with him through Rotterdam in my car. Nice company. Haven't tasted his pancakes yet.

Hubert Iwanicki
From Hubert Iwanicki
 Warsaw, Poland
 Jul 23, 2006
Met in person CouchSurfing Friend, Hosted 1 days  
Positive

Really open-minded guy. Good cook as well;)We tried to cook smth from ingriendients he had in his flat (it was difficult but we sorted it out somehow:) You can treat him as a friend, good host and good to be hosted.

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