Erstellt am: 6. 9. 2010 - 11:18 Uhr
Summer Tour 2010: Couchsurfing Across Europe
You may have already encountered the online Couchsurfing community before, but in case you haven't: Couchsurfing.org is an online service which matches travellers with prospective couches in nearly every place in the world. This includes Antartica, Iraq, and even one profile (!) in North Korea.
The service has been around since 2004, and presently has over a million members in over 230 different countries and territories. A sophisticated user reference system means that if somebody is really creepy, there are usually a lot of red flags, so by and large it's actually pretty safe.
Couchsurfing does not cost money but it does require some interpersonal skills, whether you are hosting or surfing. Prospective guests should be prepared to live in a variety of conditions, and willing to take the time to write personal letters to hosts if they actually want a couch.
Johnny Bliss, 2010
I have been active on Couchsurfing for quite some time, both as a host and as a couchsurfer. Still, what I set out to do in August was quite ambitious.
Stop #1: Cologne
Johnny Bliss, 2010
An ominous beginning to this particular journey, my attempts to find a couch in Cologne were nearly unfruitful. Although I was only going to be in the city for three days and nights, the more than twenty personalized couch requests I sent over a three week time span availed me nothing.
Fortunately, most cities have Emergency Couch groups set up for precisely situations like this one. In the past, I've written requests to such groups and until now had only very good luck.
In this case, things just got a tad bizarre.. although I DID receive three responses to my group post.
The first one was from an angry host who felt "publically blamed" that I had even written the emergency request, after having written him as well. This even though I did not name him or accuse anyone of... well, anything.
The second response was positive .. as in, yes you may surf.. but negative, as in .. BUT I HATE PEOPLE. Although this fellow was willing to host me, he also came across as blatantly homophobic (and I was in Cologne to cover the Gay Games!) plus he hated East Germans and many other people as well. Yes, I could surf. No, there was no freaking way.
Response # 3 was actually quite okay. It was from a very nice woman who simply lived in a very small apartment, and did not actually have a couch, but was nevertheless still willing to host me.
Ding! On the verge of being forced to admit defeat, instead I slept on a camp mattress on the floor of a cramped apartment. My host and I bonded over a shared interest in weird music. The experience was overall good, although I have certainly slept in more comfortable lodging.
Johnny Bliss, 2010
Stop #2: Helsinki
Johnny Bliss, 2010
On the face of it, my experience of Helsinki was (from a Couchsurfing POV) the opposite of Cologne. I wrote exactly three Couch requests, and received exactly three responses, two of which were positive. Even the one person who said no was so apologetic and friendly, it felt like a yes.
Yes, on the face of it, one would think Helsinki would be my easiest couchsurfing city ever... one would think.
Unfortunately (as I discovered upon arriving), my host for the first couple days had disappeared off the face of the earth. She was not picking up her phone and not answering her emails. After a couple of hours in a fashionable wireless cafe, it dawned on me that I needed a Plan B.
Fortunately Host # 2 was available and, despite some nearly insurmountable language difficulties, he was an amiable fellow with a couch. He also lived in the centre, which was quite convenient.
If I was a little put off by the apartment's tendency to heat up in the early morning to almost furnace-like temperatures, not to mention the cramped space and the mess, at least I admit the guy was trying and had a good sense of humour. When we did understand each other, we usually got along. And it was very nice of him to host me for four days rather than two.
Johnny Bliss, 2010
It was one of those situations you simply must accept if you're going to be a Couchsurfer. In a non-romantic sense, these are blind dates. You will not always be sleeping on a comfortable mattress, you will not always have your own private room, and you will not always click 100% with your hosts.
But then there are those times when you do. And that brings me to
Stop #3: Berlin
Johnny Bliss, 2010
In Berlin I stayed with a Canadian (!) electro-pop duo, two full-time musicians who perform under the name Trike. In the interests of full disclosure: I did know them already, but this was because they had contacted me via Couchsurfing last year when they were in Vienna.
So it still counts, right? A Couchsurfing contact is a Couchsurfing contact.
I hope it still counts, because for me the experience really illustrated the spirit of Couchsurfing at its best, and not only because I slept on a Queen-sized bed in a giant private room of my own.
We got along so well, I barely actually went out of the apartment to explore Berlin. Other than a quick jaunt to the Mauer Park flea market on Sunday, I spent most of the time with Stephen and Xania (my hosts) hanging out in the apartment, and being all Canadian with them and another friend.
Other than having some really deep conversations about love, family, and Canadian politics, during this time we recorded a song and filmed an elaborate music video together. It is very seldom that creative minds click so well, especially when you consider that I was only there for four days.
Find out more about these amazing .. um .. Couchsurfing hosts, here.
stephen paul taylor, 2010
"But wait," you are saying. "So your best CS experience was with people you already knew?! Yeah, whatever. Obviously Couchsurfing sucks!"
Um. No. I haven't told you about Stockholm yet, have I?
Stop #4: Stockholm
Johnny Bliss, 2010
Maybe it's a Scandinavian thing. When I searched out couches for Stockholm, literally the first two people I contacted (a couple) responded within hours, and were willing to host me, as well as the friend I was travelling with. It was like snap, crackle, pop! Instant couch.
You might ask me, wasn't I worried that this would be a repeat of Helsinki?
It would be a fair question, but after all, there are always hostels, and part of Couchsurfing is being willing to trust perfect strangers.
Couchsurfing is a nonprofit organization, which is run by volunteers. It is completely free to join (although there is the option to pay a small fee to become officially Verified) and you can find out more here.
And in this case it paid off. This vegetarian couple lived not so far outside of the centre, had a big flat with several places to sleep and even my own private room. They cooked us food, gave us access to the laundry room, and played Super Mario with us on their Nintendo Wii. We made obscene jokes together. It was great; we were free to do our own thing but hanging out with them was a pleasure, and I will probably stay in touch with them.
Emdot @ Flickr, 2005
Gambling is Fun!
After all, the best CS experiences are ones you desire to repeat, and in my experience, there are certainly enough of them. Sure, you'll probably end up sleeping on some floors and having some semi-awkward conversations too, but if it was all good, all the time, then it would also be boring..