As your host, I like you to feel at home in my house and in my city. Maybe we spend some time together during your stay, but maybe we're both too busy doing our own things.

And vice versa: as your guest, I like to feel welcome in your town and at your place. I also appreciate that you may be very busy or just having your own things to do, therefore I want you to know that I'm also independent and don't need to be entertained. But it's always welcome sharing stories, a dinner, a beer or a glass of wine!

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I like to share my home with others. I own a beautiful house in an energetic and creative city in the Netherlands, so why should I keep it only for myself? I bought it 2001. At that time people declared me insane, since the house was in a terrible state. But in the course of the years I managed to restore it and build it up, piece bij piece, with a lot of patience and dedication. And not to forget: with the help of my family and friends. It's still not completely finished; I consider it a lifelong hobby project. But most of all it made me realise that this wouldn't have been possible without the help of many friends. So sharing my house is also an act of thankfulness :)

All kinds of travellers are welcome. Whether you're visiting Tilburg to attend a festival or concert, follow a course at Tilburg University or Fontys, or just hang out and see the city. I think it's refreshing to share my daily surroundings and see my world with the eyes of my someone who has not been here before. Changing perspective keeps me awake and curious.

When I host and when I travel, I like to feel free and unbound, but at the same time I enjoy the feeling to be at home with different people: to connect, share world views and simply have a good time together!

Interests

I like to discover and share wide varieties of music, literature, cinema, theatre and other performing arts. I also love to discover and share various tastes of food, wine and special beers. I like to share thought, both serious and silly ideas. Not only to enlarge my horizon, but mostly to have a lot of fun. therefore let's not forget to party and visit events and festivals! And above all: I try not to take myself too seriously :)

• arts
• literature
• performing arts
• concerts
• festivals
• dancing
• dining
• cooking
• wine
• partying
• traveling
• music
• sports
• theatre
• local beer

Music, Movies, and Books

Music: I have a wide taste of music and musical genres. What I like to listen to depends of my mood at the moment.
Favourite movies: Roy Andersson's movies. Arthouse movies.

Two breathtaking novels which I have read recently and which I could fully recommend to anyone who's interested in reflecting on the history and present situation of Europe:
- Nino Haratischwili, 'Das achte Leben. Für Brilka'.
- Ilja Leonard Pheijffer, 'Grand hotel Europa' (this book appeared in dec. 2018 in Dutch; I assume that translations into other languages will soon be available).

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

As I told above, building my own house is definitely one of the amazing things that I'm doing. Couchsurfing (both as a host or as a guest) is another amazing thing to do. I'm sure you can relate to that!
For the rest, I think that most amazing things are in fact quite simple: like smiling to the people in the street and receiving their smile in return :)

Teach, Learn, Share

Yes please :)

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Spain, Suriname, Switzerland, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

Italy, Netherlands