NB2: I'm sorry, but I get faaar too many request, so I just can't promise I'll be able to reply. My apologies in advance if that happens to you. I take for granted that you've filled out your profile and that you have a picture - a no to any of those questions will be the same as a "no reply"
So, about our place:
We have a spare room with a couch that could be your very own room. If coming with other surfers, you will be staying in the living room, but it's not necessary to share the sleeping surface.
Lucy and I live in a fairly big apartment situated in Torshov, in the east part of the city, easy to reach by tram(10 minutes from the city center)or by bus(10 min). Torshov is a place with atmosphere, small local stores, cafes and some restaurants. Close to Grünerløkka, where the bars and clubs are. Right outside our door you'll find the bus station and the Torhov park, which is a great place for BBQ's and short walks.
Depending on how you write your request and the time we have at our disposition, we might be able to host you. To increase our chances to have a nice experience together, take a look at my interests and make sure that I'm the kind of person you'd like to sit next to in a dinner party.
You will be sleeping in one of the 2 couches we have at our place or in the - not so - comfortable inflatable matress that we have. Please bring your sleeping bag.
By the way - remember that I'm a dedicated couchsurfer, not a hostel ;)
Johan Salevik 25, Male Oslo, Oslo Norway Friends since September 1986 "his my brother:)" Friendship Type: Best Friend 4
Lucy Rojas 29, Female Oslo, Oslo Norway Friends since April 2008 "Long story.... but we met in a ski trip and are now togehther :D!" Friendship Type: Best Friend I vouched for Ricard Salevik 30+30+15
Tale Gjøvik 29, Female Oslo, Oslo Norway Friends since June 2008 "He is my crazy, cool colleague" Friendship Type: Good Friend
MACHITA75 36, Female Oslo, Oslo Norway Friends since March 2007 "We've met at several CS parties in Oslo and also arranged lots of activities." Friendship Type: Close Friend I vouched for Ricard Salevik 10
Curly Mimi 30, Female Oslo, Oslo Norway Friends since March 2007 "We got in contact thanks to Steff from Toulouse" Friendship Type: Close Friend I vouched for Ricard Salevik 5
Anni Almila 35, Female Aberdeen, Aberdeen Scotland Friends since June 2008 "shared some true conversations and some true fun during CS nordic meeting" Friendship Type: Good Friend I vouched for Ricard Salevik
Sara Nofri 33, Female Hamburg, Hamburg Germany Friends since May 2008 "bloody good and loooong conversations..." Friendship Type: Good Friend I vouched for Ricard Salevik 4
I’m a swedish man, no i'm a boy, living in Oslo. Some people believes that I work full-time as an analyst in the telecom media business. Can't understand why - I'm just a life-enjoying flaneur, studying life.
A really good friend of mine says that my positive attributes are (too)curious, adventurous, problem solver, easy-going, intelligent, intellectual, passionate, romantic, responsible, reflective, resolute, openminded and that i never give up. But then again, she also says i'm stubborn, restless,(too)ironic, afraid of failure, nostalgic and that i am a dreamer. (you know...you may say i'm a dreamer, but i'm not the only one ;-) )
I've shared some of my best moments in my life with my couchsurfing experiences. I've met people that changed my view on life, people who have made me explore parts of myself I didn't know existed. I have created dreams and visions and I have given and received love. I have learnt what hospitality really is, and what humanity is all about. I have fallen in love through couchsurfing and with couchsurfing.
Recent CouchSurfing Experiences
54 Was hosted by Alessandro 53 Hosted Chris from Wales
52 Hosted Riccardo from Italy
51 Hosted Alessandro from Italy
50 Was hosted by Brie 49 Hosted Magnus from Sweden
48 Hosted Gustav from Sweden
47 Hosted Daniel from Sweden
46 Was hosted by Samsun 45 Was hosted by Alper 44 Was hosted by Vera andPaul 43 Was hosted by Marcin 42 Was hosted by Karen 41 Was hosted by Marcus 40 Hosted Arina from Ukraine
39 Hosted Peng from China
38 Was hosted by Martin and Elisabete in Helsinki
37 Hosted Antje & Chris from Germany
36 Hosted Matt from Toulouse
35 Was hosted by Alex in Florence
34 Was hosted by Flavio in his tent on the beach in Lido
33 Was hosted by Sandro in Rome
32 Was hosted by Tiziano in Padova again :)
31 Was hosted by Jeja in Belgrad
30 Was hosted by Ivana in Indija
29 Was hosted by Marina in Belgrad
28 Was hosted by Zoran in Ljubljana
27 Was hosted by Tiziano in Padova
26 Was hosted by Vince in Gossau
25 Was hosted by Håkan in Stockholm
24 Hosted Kieran from Australia
23 Hosted Antoine from France
22 Hosted Walter from Holland
21 Hosted Thomas from Germany
20 Hosted Greg and Anna from Belgium / France / Chrete
19 Hosted Zsuzsa from Hungary
18 Hosted Johan and Adriana from Sweden
17 Hosted Hwasoon from Korea
16 Was hosted by Ivana & Noni in Serbia
15 Was hosted by Marina in Serbia
14 Was hosted by David in Hungary
13 Hosted Martina from Italy and her boyfriend from Scweiz
12 Hosted Mike and Jack 11 Hosted Rebecca and her friend from US
10 Hosted Justin from Canada
9 Hosted Alvaro from Spain
8 Hosted Victor from Mexico
7 Hosted Pau from Barcelona
6 Hosted Tina with her friend from Germany
5 Hosted Jeff & Myriam from France
4 Hosted Adeline and her friend from Belgium
3 Hosted Megan from US
2 Hosted Lucile from France
1 Hosted Ryan from the US
Art, Aurelia borealis, autumn leaves, making an adventure out of everyday life, bicycling, cafés, campfires, candles, cats, chess, cloud watching a summer day, concerts, darkness, dreaming, falling in love with the unpredictable, forests at night, hiking in mountains, history, hugging people I know, hugging people I don't know, jumping on a train without knowing where it takes you, laughing when everyone seems to be serious, listening to fairytales, making love, mind traveling, music, miss a train with ten seconds, and wonder how it changed you destiny, playing the piano, poetry, reading, red wine, running naked outside when it rains, smiling to unknown people, a warm cup of tea, the sound and smell of the sea, thinking, thunderstorms, watching fallen stars, whisky, writing too much in profiles not knowing when to stop :)
Philosophy
Life is no 'brief candle' to me. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got hold of for the moment; and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations”George Bernard Shaw
I believe in asking questions. Language was invented to ask questions. Answers may be given by grunts and gestures, but questions must be spoken. Humanness came of age when man asked the first question. Social stagnation results not from a lack of answers but from the absence of the impulse to ask questions. Eric Hoffer.
Music, Movies, Books
Books
Hmmmm...i'm a big reader, i can't mention everything. Gunther Grass, Jose Saramago, Knut Hamsun is some of my favorites, but i read anything in between Shakespeare and Lonely planet ;). Marquez, Bukowski, Tolkien, Lagerqvist, Dostojevskij, Proust, J.K Rowling, Canetti, Pessoa, Zafon, Peter Englund, Bill Watson ;), Neruda, Szymborska and i'm addicted to all kind of travelling stories from early 20th century.
Music
Almost everything - classical (Rachmaninoff, Chopin, Lizst, Vivaldi, Beethoven, Rimsky-Korsakoff, Bach ), pop, world music (Buena Vista Social Club, all kind of folk music), U2, REM, Mike Oldfield, TomMcRae, Enigma, Swedish music (Lisa Ekdal, Björn Afzelius, Lars Winnerback, Stefan Sundstrom, Kent, Bo Kaspers Orkester, Cornelis), actually all kind of music except really heavy metal.
Here's what I was recently listening to:
Movies
Well - i'm a big fan of Stanley Kubrick. Everything with Johnny Depp, Lars von Trier, Ridley Scott, Hitchcock, A beautiful mind, 24, The English Patient, everything with Juliette Binoche. Into the wild is one of my latest favorites together with Slumdog Millionaire.
Types of People I enjoy
Everyone who has a passion for something. I love people who makes me laugh or cry, people who can tell a good story, people who cares. People with respect for others. Curious people, adventurous people, easy-going people, but as well very complicated personalities.
Teach, Learn, Share
Improve your memory. I'm pretty good at this, and could easily teach you how to remember 20 things in a row within an hour or two :) I could also teach some basic trick on the piano. If you have some questions about long-distance bicycling, I'll also be more than willing to help out.
I'm a supercurious personality, so whatever your passion, I'll try to learn from it :)
One Amazing Thing I've Seen or Done
I've been bicycling from Oslo to China - 10900 km. Participated in building up a school in Incukalns, Latvia in the early 90th, meeting poverty 45 minutes from home was a chock. Spent hundreds of hours with local heroes on local spots around the world, it's always amazing all the stories they tell you. Especially thanks to Hedge on Port Ellen (Scotland) and Jim at Key West. Got partly lost in the woods without any communication or time for six days. Played poker in EPT with the world champions.
Opinion on the CouchSurfing.org Project
After following CS for six years by now, I see a baby trying to climb out of the cradle. We need to teach the baby how to walk and how to talk, and it's not always an easy task. However, it is a beautiful baby, and I'll do whatever I can to help.
Except from that, I just LOVE the concept, the site, the design, and not to forget the people in here :)
This summary is not a replacement for reading references; it's a quick summary to help you get started. At a glance, you can see how many references a member has, and how many of them are positive, neutral, and negative.
In the second line, you'll see how many references came from people who hosted this member, surfed with them, and traveled with them. These numbers won't always add up to the total: some references are not categorized, and some may be categorized as more than one thing.
When viewing this summary, don't jump to conclusions! Things that are negative for one person may be positive for another, and vice versa. It's important to read references carefully and evaluate what that information means to you.
From Yee Shan NG Dublin, Ireland (Republic of) Apr 16
Positive
RICARD and LUCY are really excellent couchsurfing host. From the first beginning I received Ricard's acceptance of couchsurf and saw Lucy's smile in getting me in, I felt completely welcomed. We chatted on the house, decided what dishes we would make, went shopping in stores, cooked dinner in teamwork, enjoyed meal with laugh and had people issue with friend's friend, … Oh, this was so wonderful. It was pity that I just stayed for less than half a day but it was also lovely that I could meet them. I wish to come back to see you two with my bf. :)
Met this guy in the middle of the Asian continent. Traveling from Europe to China by bike.
Epic adventure!
From Christian Kober Chamonix-Mont-Blanc, France Jun 10, 2010
Positive
I surfed with Ricard and Lucy after meeting them at the Oslo group night out and they invited me to their barbeque party too. It was so nice to meet them and their friends and play some traditional Scandinavian games too :)
A very friendly couple, they have had a lot of great experiences so it was very interesting to talk and get to know them.
Ricard invited me to Oslos monthly couchsurfing meeting. As a couchsurfing newbie he made me feel very welcome and gave me loads of great CS tips! I would recommend anybody to couchsurf with Ricard!
Great! It's the first word in my mind while remembering my couchsurfing experience with Ricard and Lucy. Travelling it's always a beautiful thing but spending time with such nice people, being introduced to a new city, to a different culture by them it's something unique that's possible only in CS world. I've been lucky, really a lot. I'm not sure they're the typical Norwegian couple but my idea of Oslo it'll be forever bound to their kindness, to the feeling to be like at home, nothing could have been more valuable in my trip.
Thanks, I hope to see you again, actually I'm sure! :)
P.s. no chance to show other people my moonwalk, I did it just for... a beer! :D
We met Ricard as he organized a CS Event "Let's Meet up for a Drink or Two or Three !" in Oslo.
He gave to us some touristic advices: Christmas Market in Norsk Folke Museum and an snow hike in Nordmarka Forest. We did it.
I stayed with Ricard and his partner Lucy when I and some friends visited Oslo to celebrate the New Year 2009/10. He's a very experienced host and a great guy, very easygoing and fun to talk with.
From Breizh geek Cherbourg-Octeville, France Nov 11, 2009
Positive
When you send a request you can think Ricard is just a fan of the famous alcohol like Pastis 51 or Ouzo in greece but this couchsurfer is much much more.
I learned a lot about him in a really short time when we were talking about his amazing bike trip as far as China! Very interesting couchsurfer.
Richard is a genuinely friendly, affable chap who is one of the first Global Ambassadors I've ever met. Being such, he serves as a good example in the way he seems to simply open himself without biases to any experience. I think his current journey is just simply impressive and inspiring. Hope to meet you again, one day!
81 
Oslo
CS Parties in OSLO
Norway
Brainstorm - the original one.... 
4 
30+ 
30+ 
54 Was hosted by 
53 Hosted 
