Discovery Through Experience

Since I have started travelling, many of you have been asking about where I stay while travelling. “Do you stay in hotels? Doesn’t that get expensive?” My initial response was “Where do you think I’m staying.. HOSTELS!” Well.. the fact of the matter is that although I know how I’m travelling, I sometimes forget that not everyone has the knowledge or experience that I do.

Hostels are a cheap way to get a place to stay, sacrificing privacy and luxury for a cheap bunk bed. There are two other main advantages.. first is that many hostels provide refridgeration units (aka fridges), as well as cooking facilities and equipment. They’re generally not equipped for baking however.. so if you plan on doing any baking while on the road, I would suggest bringing your own Easy-Bake Oven. I know mine has come in handy MANY times! The other advantage for someone travelling on their own is the opportunity to meet other people. This generally happens in the dorm room, or down at the bar.. however can happen in the kitchen, or even in the shower (I’ve yet to meet anyone in the shower). The good thing about meeting people like this is that you have one immediate bond, James Bond. I mean.. TRAVELLING (although you do run into some serious randoms in some hostels).

Lets pretend a hostel costs about €15, or £15, and a hotel costs between €50-100, or £50-100. You can imagine how the bills add up! Here’s the big question however.. what’s cheaper than cheap?

FREE! Yes yes.. that’s right.. free. The trick with free accomodations is that you need to know someone to stay with. In England, I got to know some people along the way and this made for some cheap stays, as well as a great opportunity to get to know these people much better.

Over the past months, I have been introduced to a web site, a system, a community, a way of life, that has changed the way that I travel, and more importantly.. AM! It is called CouchSurfing. In it’s most basic form, CouchSurfing is about connecting travellers with locals so that the traveller doesn’t need to pay for accomodations. This makes travelling the world more accessible to those who couldn’t afford the high cost of staying in hotels or hostels.

The ‘free’ aspect is definitely nice, but is ONLY THE TIP OF THE ICEBURG as far as what CouchSurfing is all about and what it provides. Some people like to travel and stay in five star hotels, go out to the expensive tourist trap restaurants, and get a picture of themselves in front of the sights of the city. This ISN’T how I travel. For me, it’s the hidden gems that a place has to offer that matter the most. CouchSurfing gives you an opportunity to meet and get to know someone (or multiple people) who live, work, and perhaps grew up in the area (one CouchSurfer I have seen even offers to take you to work with him!). This means that they can take you on a guided tour of the city as a local sees it, take you to the out of the way bars, the cheap and amazing restaurants, as well as introducing you to their friends. This cultural exchange is what CouchSurfing is all about. It gives you the opportunity to meet and bond with amazing people from all over the world, and as it’s web-based, you can get to know people long before going to meet up with, or stay with them.

Most people live their lives in fear, and of course concerns about this system are common. The system isn’t perfect, as there could be some sleezy guy out there offering his spare bed as an opportunity to lure young unsuspecting women into his lair. For this reason, there are a number of security measures in place, and the system is based on connections, and references. This way, surfers (people that are travelling) can find people that they feel comfortable staying with, and hosts (people having people stay at their home) can feel comfortable letting strangers into their home. Remember that the world isn’t a safe place, and all you can do is be aware of your surroundings and take precautions where you need to. A stranger is just someone you have yet to meet!

The CouchSurfing site has many documents, videos, et cetera explaining how it works, but I would recommend watching this short advertisement, as it is only a couple minutes and does a pretty good job of explaining how CouchSurfing got started a few years ago. Since then, the site has grown to nearly 140,000 users worldwide, and has connected 44,000 people!

CouchSurfing Infomercial - AVI [high bandwidth] [low bandwidth] MOV [high bandwidth] [low bandwidth]

CouchSurfing FAQ - My CouchSurfing Profile

I started to get involved in the CouchSurfing community while I was home, and since I have met many interesting people from all over the world.. some online.. and now some in “real life”, as it is called. The recent post about using the Internet as a means of connecting people was a prelude to this post, but I wanted to get some experiences behind me before writing about CouchSurfing.

Recently while staying with friends in Brussels, I was invited to Germany to visit with a couple CouchSurfers whom I have gotten to know through some groups (like a forum, or message board). As I have been excited about meeting new people from all over the place, I took this opportunity, despite needing to get moving on with my winter plans in the Alps. I started in Cologne to meet up with a German girl who has grown up in Cologne. Our conversations online started about interactions with people, and we both quickly realized that there was much to talk about and wanted to pursue this in person, as opposed to the limited medium of e-mail.

Before leaving Brussels, I had met up with a CouchSurfer from Brussels (born and raised), as well as an Iranian-Australian lad from Melbourne who was surfing with her. A late night sipping tea and talking about all sorts of random topics (a predominant one being language) meant that I was late to leave, and hence late to arrive in Cologne. Text messaging would connect Xoni and I. Because of my tardiness, she sent me updated directions to a jam session she was playing at, as well as leaving a chalk trail to follow upon exiting the subway. When I arrived at the venue, I grabbed a beer and met with a brother and sister from York who were surfing with her at the same time.

Over the next couple days, the four of us went in our own directions during the day, but then met up in the evening to enjoy a home-cooked meal and a few bottles of red wine. Interestingly, these other surfers that were there are from England, and hence we had an immediate connection through my summer months spent in England. We spent the night drinking wine, talking about all sorts of things, and eventually making Oragami and eating Kinder chocolate. Xoni had also taken me around town in the early evening to the Cologne cathedral, and some Christmas markets that had recently opened for the holidays. Walking around and looking at all the trinkets for sale, as well as smelling the foods, and drinks was great as she was telling me about things as we went.

The English eventually moved on, and a day or so later so did I. Saying goodbye is always a downside to meeting new and interesting people while travelling, especially when you really get to know someone and become close over a few short days. Short and intense friendships, quite incomparable to the friends and aquaintances that we have all known for longer periods of time.

On a late night walk around her neighbourhood, and some time spent playing in a nearby playground, Xoni and I had shared stories of injuries sustained in our youth. I recounted one of slicing my eyelid open at a very young age, and having been pinned to the operating room table by a group of nurses while the doctor stitched it closed. All the while, my mother, in a very concerned and shaken state, listened to my screams from the waiting area. The screams of terror and pain eventually stopped, and I skipped out of the room toward her with a big smile on my face showing her the sucker that I had been given.. completely forgetting about the incident that had just transpired.

When it was time for me to leave, Xoni presented me with an organized itinery for my journey cross-country to Leipzig including train times, platforms, and everything I would need to know to get me to my final destination without having to research and struggle with German along the way. Before getting on the train to Munster, she hands me a red envelope, instructing me not to open it until I had left. I board the train, and find a place to sit. She stands on the platform, and I pull out the envelope and open it, pulling out a red handmade card with a first-aid white cross on the front. I open the card to find a sucker taped inside with a message stating “For use in case of emergency”. I smile, and we laugh through the window as the train pulls away. Four short days, and something as small as a sucker and a short message has touched my heart in a way that I could not have imagined. Tears come to my eyes as I am reminded of all the loving and amazing people out there and I am greatfull to have the opportunity to meet them.

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 30th, 2006 at 7:59 pm and is filed under Germany, Cologne. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.