Couch Surf is a platform that allows travelers to request to stay with a host at no cost. The idea here is that you bring something to them, whether that be a meal, or a story, or a skill. The host can reject you, but they can also welcome you in and invite you into their space and that can lead to some really amazing experiences. I have some of those. This is a compilation of some of my Couch Surfing experiences while traveling through Europe in 2019.

My First Couch Surf in Europe

Alright, so my three-month-long trip through Europe started in Italy, and then I went to Zürich in Switzerland where I got a hostel for two nights. I was on a tight budget and the cost of hostels in Switzerland was almost twice as much as the one I stayed at in Italy, so that’s when I found the CouchSurf host in Thalwil. It was a woman in her 30s who seemed to be in quite a hurry. Over messages she let me know that she might not have enough time to entertain me or to hang out with me, and that she wouldn’t be available until after 8pm, but that it was OK if I spent the night. That was good enough for me. 

I had stayed with Couch Surf hosts before, but it was the first time that I had ever requested to stay with a host in Europe. I didn’t know if the expectations were any different, or if there were expectations at all, so I was a little nervous. After spending the whole day in Zürich, I eventually took the train from the Old Town to the train station in Thalwil. It was Easter at the time and in Zürich I had seen grocery stores that were absolutely covered in chocolate. I was no longer in the city, but I found a convenience store where I bought a Lindt Chocolate Bunny for her as a token, to say thank you for letting me stay. Then I waited for the evening to come. 

Since I didn’t have an international cell phone plan, it made communication quite difficult. I remember it was dark and it was drizzling outside. When 8pm rolled around I started walking up the hill, in the general direction of her apartment complex, but I got lost. While looking for the address she had given me I found a Subway restaurant. I asked if I could use their Wi-Fi and then I was able to communicate with her. After following the map to wherever her apartment complex was, wandering around, and eventually knocking on the right door, she came out and welcomed me in. 

To my surprise, this girl that was so busy with work had started to prepare me dinner! She made me feel at home right away. Never mind the stereotype that Swiss people are cold and serious. She was fun! We made dinner together, and it was just pasta with homemade pesto, but it was delicious. We drank red wine together, and we talked about watches. She said she had a Tag Heuer that she inherited from her father, and she brought it out for me to try it on. That was the first time that I ever tried on any Swiss watch. It was a simple, but great night. I slept on her couch, and the next morning, she said “Hey, you know, just lock the door behind you.” She left for work and I got up and made my way to Liechtenstein.

Couch Surfing in Liechtenstein and Munich

When I was in Liechtenstein, I had nowhere to go. I got on Couch Surf and thankfully found Nikolaus to host me. This story is so good and so cool that it deserves its own post, and you can find that story here. 

After Liechtenstein I took the DB train to Munich, Germany. When I got to Munich, I stayed at a hostel right next to the Haupt Bahnhof, but then I ended up couch surfing with a girl from China. She was an architect and she had a whole 3 bedroom apartment all to herself. When I got to her place she immediately hugged me, and she was like, “Hey, are you hungry? Let’s start making dinner.” She told me that she was from China, and that she had gone to school in Germany. We made dinner together and she told me that she liked movies, and about other people that she had hosted through Couch Surf. We had a great time. Eventually, it got  late, and we went to bed. The next morning I left for Marktredwitz and started my 1st work away. 

My Hosts Raul and Irini

Between my first and second Workaway I spent one night and one day in Hanover. That is where I met Raul and Irini. This one night and one day turned out to be one of my favorite experiences, not just with Couch Surf, but of my entire three month trip!

I was riding in a Bla Bla Car, which is similar to an Uber share, and the driver was on his way to Hamburg to go visit his family. He picked me up for part of the 8 hour drive and agreed to drop me off at the outskirts of Hanover. By this point, I had already arranged with somebody that I was going to be count surfing with them. That somebody turned out to be Raul and Irini. I let them know that I would be arriving late, but because it had been a Bla Bla Car, I didn’t know how late. 

I remember getting to the Hanover Haupt Bahnhof and being surprised at how very busy it was. It was past 10 p.m. and it was a school night, yet everybody and their mother seemed to be out. I had to figure out the metro map, find their address, get a ticket, and by the time I made it to Irini and Raul’s place it was past midnight. 

When I finally got to their apartment Irini opened the door and gave me a hug. The small space was dark, with only enough light coming through the window to let me know where the couch was. She waited for me before they went to bed. In a whisper asked “Are you hungry? I can make you food?” I said “No, no, no, it’s okay. It’s perfectly fine. Thank you!” I learned to carry granola bars with me and protein bars with me and those had kept me alive, but I was so happy to see that they had left some chocolates for me on the couch where I slept. She asked if I needed anything else and then we all went to bed. 

I woke up the next morning to the sound of cooking in the kitchen, and bright sunlight coming through the windows lighting up the small apartment with white walls and honey colored wood floors. When I got up they were so happy to see me. Finally I met Raul. Hel was from Spain and Irini was from Greece. Somehow they ended up being a couple living in Hanover, Germany.  They asked “Do you like crepes?” “Of course!”, I said. And we all had crepes with Nutella and jams, and honey, with coffee. Delicious.

They both worked in the evening, so after we chatted and learned more about each other they asked “Have you been to Hanover?” I said “No. It’s my first time” They said “Great. Let’s go explore the city with you!”

Exploring Hanover

We left their apartment and walked around looking for some of those bikes you can rent with your phone. Along the way we found a box full of things outside someone’s door. They explained to me that often, in Germany, this is how people “donate” things, they just set them outside for other people to rummage through. If you find something you like, it’s yours. Cool! 

When we found the bikes we started riding past all the major downtown highlights, such as the Hanover 96 soccer stadium, the Aegidien Church, which is a church that got bombed during WWII and was left standing as a war memorial, and the Maschsee, which is a long, rectangular lake in the middle of the city that was used as a personal landing strip for some dictator named Adolf. Right now, though, it’s a very pretty lake surrounded by trees and lots of people on their way to work.  

We also rode past the Court House. We stopped and went inside. It’s a beautiful brown building resembling a cathedral with extensive ornamentation inside and out and a giant dome at its center. Inside they had a model of the city before the war, during the war, after the war, and how it currently looks. On the way home we rode past the University where we chatted with some students from Latin America. 

Teaching Them How to Shuffle Dance

When we got home they started getting ready for work and I started packing my stuff, they stopped me and they said “Hey, so what is shuffle dancing?” In my Couch Surfing profile I had described that I can teach people how to shuffle dance. It’s funny because in my time with Raul and Irini I learned that they were really good dancers. They even did a short demonstration, and they were indeed very good. Then they said “Okay, now it’s your turn.”  

I was wearing my heavy workboots because my Workaways required me to wear boots to do my work, and it was easier to travel with them on my feet since they didn’t fit in my backpack. So I started shuffle dancing, which includes a lot of jumping and shuffling on the floor of their apartment, and they were like “Wait, wait, stop, stop, stop, stop! The neighbors are gonna get upset!” So I ended up dancing for maybe about 30 seconds in front of them before they were like, “nah, never mind. We don’t need to see this. It’s fine. We believe you.”

I was only in Hanover for one night and one morning, but that ended up being one of my greatest experiences as far as couch surfing goes. Major props to the couch surfing community. People like Irini and Raul are out there, and I don’t know that I could have met them outside of Couch Surf. As they headed out to work I got on the train from Hanover to Osnabruk from where I left for my Workaway in Lemförde. 

Using the Hangout Feature in Berlin

After Lemförde, I went to Berlin. When I was in Berlin, I used the Hangout feature in the couch surfing app to meet Francis. When I met him I saw him wearing his camera slinging from his shoulder. I found out that he is a photographer from London. This guy is currently pulling major jobs with Google and doing some serious shoots, yet he was so down to earth. He had been to Berlin before so he was waiting for some friends to be free in the evening. In the meantime we went to the Pergamon museum and got to see the Ishtar Gate. It was an amazing for me to see this in real life. I had seen it in history books as a kid. It was said that event Daniel, Shadrak Misak and Abednego walked under that gate. I remember jumping with excitement. How cool! Thanks to Francis for coming with me to see it.  

In the evening, when Francis’ friends were free, we walked to a park to meet with them. The two girls, Grace, a blonde who was from the Carolina’s, and Madi, from London, a thin, goth girl, with a great sense of humor, who were also photographers. We sat by the river surrounded by people and trees enjoying the sunset. We made plans to make dinner so we left the park and walked to an Edeka store to pick up some stuff. We went to Grace’s apartment and made dinner, and I just watched Francis and the girls catch up. After this I exchanged contact info with all of them and I went back to my Workaway’s house. It was a great night.

What is Important About Couch Surf

Couch Surf is not a tool just to stay somewhere for free. You need to be engaged. When someone opens up their home to you, it is only appropriate and polite for you to be adding something to the experience of the person hosting you. You need to be the kind of person to bring something to the table. Before heading out on this trip I asked a friend to teach me how to make Maccaroons, just so I could have something to offer. Couch Surf is a community and the people in it are amazing. Don’t be afraid to jump in! Just make sure to be the kind of person you would want to host. 

• P. S. There are a few more stories that I didn’t include here because they require their own posts: Couch Surfing in Iceland, The coolest Thing that Ever Happened to Me, and My First Time going Couch Surfing.  
• P.P.S I was really really bad at taking pictures in 2019. Please forgive the lack of visual evidence that I actually met all those people. Plus, it was my first time doing these things, and I was a lot more awkward than I am now.

I hope this story is encouraging to you. If you know somebody that you think this might be encouraging to as well, go ahead and share it with them!