Mark B's Photo

Partially Verified

  • Payment verified
  • Phone not verified
  • Government ID not verified

Not Accepting Guests

  • Last login about 8 years ago

Join Couchsurfing to see Mark’s full profile.

Overview

  • 13 references 5 Confirmed & Positive
  • Fluent in English, German; learning French
  • 45, Male
  • Member since 2009
  • working in video postproduction
  • No education listed
  • No hometown listed
  • Profile 100% complete

About Me

CURRENT MISSION

Planning to spend a year in Canada in 2014...work&travel (the former more than the latter). UPDATE: I've returned home from my one-year trip and I guess my current mission now would be to get more involved in CS here in Munich.

ABOUT ME

I'm an open-minded and easy-going person who is always eager to get to know new people, new places, new cultures.
Travelling is a huge part of my life (though, like many people, I don't have as much time to do it as I want to) and whenever I go somewhere else I tend to seek the company of locals rather than only hang out with other travellers. Thats mostly because I really want to get to know the places I go to and not only stick to the locations mentioned in travel guidebooks. And for me the best way to do that clearly is to get to know local people and let them show me THEIR city/country, THEIR hotspots, THEIR secret places. :)

I'd consider myself an experienced backpacker (mostly Asia until now), though I've learnt that doesn't mean you always have to have the cheapest accomodation, the cheapest food and the cheapeast transportation. Even I'm already a bit older than the average backpackers out there (I'm 35)I still consider myself "young" when it comes to interests and ideas on how to spend my time when travelling. I'd like to see myself as a person who has already learnt to appreciate quiet evenings as well as still enjoying things like going out, having a drink and so on...

PHILOSOPHY

What's my philosophy? Wow...hmm...that's a difficult question since I don't wanna say something like "live and let live".

I guess for me its more important to have an open mind and heart and to be able to think outside the box. The world is big and there are many things to see, many people to get to know and I have met nice and kind people wherever I've been so far. That's the spirit, isn't it?
A life less ordinary...I guess that's what I'm trying to have. :)

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Unfortunately I haven't had any Couchsurfing experiences myself, yet, but I've gotten to know quite a few people who have...and their stories and experiences actually made me register here.
My trip to Canada in 2014 is going to be my biggest and longest journey I've ever had and Couchsurfing seems like the perfect way for me to get to know this huge country the way i want it.

So I hope you'll give me chance, even my experience in CSing is limited to none...yet. ;)

Interests

As I've mentioned earlier I have a huge variety of interests.
I've always loved cities and tend to stay there longer than most of the travellers I got to know in the past. I enjoy wandering around the streets, taking pictures whenever I see something interesting, look for nice, local places to get some food. Basically just soaking up the busy and crowded city atmosphere. Chances are good that I spontaneously stop at a museum, cinema, park, seaside promenade to have some culture, entertainment or just to sit down, relax and watch people. People are great and I love to take pics of them.
I enjoy hanging out with people for a drink at night as much as having the typical lazy couchpotatoing DVD evening. Clubs are ok, as well as private parties...or just a session at a friend's place, talking and having a beer. It always depends on my mood and on the people around me.

Whenever the city starts to get too much for me I love going outside, see some more rural areas. To have some fresh air, some quiet time. Or go hiking, spending some time away from all the downtown hassle. And well, Canada seems to be perfect for outdoor activities and I really hope to be able to spend plenty of time seeing nature, taking pictures there and just feel the vastness of untouched nature.

To sum it up, I can have a great time living in a city, enjoying everything the urban surroundings have to offer....as well as imagining myself doing something like a canoeing trip on a river or do some hiking. Actually I wanna do both...again and again. :)

  • culture
  • dining
  • beer
  • partying
  • drinking
  • clubbing
  • movies
  • traveling
  • outdoor activities
  • hiking
  • backpacking
  • canoeing
  • boxing

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

One of the most memorable journeys I've had was a trip to Mongolia...a place I would've never expected to see. Nothing has ever been so exotic, so different from what I had been used to.
But still one thing remains...people are people, no matter where you go. Almost everyone I met there was kind and gentle, invited me into their home, offered me drinks, prepared some food.

I guess we are one people, after all, aren't we? :)

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Cambodia, Canada, China, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Mexico, Mongolia, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Canada, Germany

Old School Badges

  • 1 Vouch

Join Couchsurfing to see Mark’s full profile.

My Groups