Travelers are kind known as carefree and prepared to do anything in the vain attempt that in doing so they can commit to memory and cherish their extreme adventures for a lifetime.

Being care free is kinda what bought us to Couch Surfing. Whoa, the the heck are we on about?

What is Couch Surfing?

For those of you who have no idea what we are talking about here’s a quick run down on what Couch Surfing is and what it isn’t

Couch Surfing was designed for hosts to open their homes to fellow travelers for free and provide nothing but a place to sleep, be it a hammock, couch, spare bed. It’s interesting who is doing this these days.

Most people in the travel world have probably heard about Couchsurfing, but in case you have no idea what we are on about, the basic idea of Couchsurfing is to get in contact with people when you travel, and even when you’re at home.

  • You can decide to “Couchsurf” – where you stay at someone’s home while you travel.
  • You can choose to host a Couchsurfer at your home.
  • You can also choose to meet fellow Couchsurfers, either when you’re traveling or when you’re at home, at CS meetups and events.

Couchsurfing wasn’t something we just did on a whim – that’s not our style. It took a bit of light research (a.k.a Elena checking out the website and learning what to do and what to look for when Couchsurfing) in order for us to take the dive right into the whole scene.

Before continuing we want to say that it’s important to make the distinction that Couchsurfing isn’t just about scoring a free place to stay. Couchsurfing is about a cultural exchange between people. It’s really about meeting others, learning something, and getting a local experience. Even before our first Couchsurfing experience this was something we became aware of and began to understand early on in our “research” phase.

As a couple it’s me (Wayne ) who is the more outgoing one, where as Elena is a little more reserved until she really gets to know someone.  So meeting with strangers it’s generally me who is the “Icebreaker” and Elena in our relationship is the “Deal-Maker”.

So after registering  and becoming verified we , I should say Elena signed us up to the website in late 2011 as a way to meet people form different countries and being an open and honest couple we saw no real downside. Friends we discussed the concept with thought we were a bit nuts (although they wouldn’t tell us).  But as time passed and we met more and more travelers it became apparent the we were building a network of contacts globally and that these new friends would play a part in our next journey overseas in 2012.

In our first year we have established great friends from Germany, Taiwan, Canada, France, USA, Belgium, Switzerland and Russia (there probably more) and in July 2012 we had the opportunity to catch up and meet up with our friends in their counties and have the chance to be hosted by someone we just made contact with via the Couch Surfing site in Hiedelburg.

While this is a great way to meet people it’s not the only way to travel, but it does give you an open door to new contacts and friends around the globe.

There have been stories of young girls and unwanted advances, but in the Couch Surfing community the word gets out and around quickly and this type of behavior is the extreme exception not a general problem. Single ladies should try to secure places to stay with couples or team up with another lady and travel together. We have hosted in our own home couples, singles and traveling companions. Sometimes we have had a couple staying and still taken in yet another single person (the advantage of a huge home) We have had nothing but positive experiences and made some great friends – love all guys n girls 🙂

We know we will continue to us this great medium to meet like minded travelers.

Meet more of our great friends, or join Couch Surfing yourself.

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Justin – Taiwan

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Kevin & Mags – France

Karen & Rene - Lauchhammer - Germany
Karen & Rene – Lauchhammer – Germany

Lot & Jenny
Lot (Belgium) & Jenny (USA)

Aurelie - France
Aurelie – France

Amaelle - France
Amaelle – France