Couchsurfing.

Do you know what couchsurfing is?

Let me tell you about it. Couchsurfing is a website where people from all around the world sign up for so you can "lend" a couch to travelers. Or that uses "strangers" couches when away in a diffrent city. It's a great platform to meet new people, and locals on while traveling. If you don't have a couch that you can give to a stranger you can always just sign up for meeting for a drink/coffee.

I've had a couchsurfing account for several years now, and like it quite a lot. Mostly I've been hosting surfers on our living-room bed in Stockholm. From Finland to Canada, Australia to Germany and many nationalities has stayed at our place in Stockholm.

I have some surfing experience myself as well. I spent two weeks in Los Angels, USA, just surfing cool peoples couches. I've slept in the same bed as a girl in Germany after a folk-metal party. I've stayed at a floor in Gothenburg, Sweden during the book fair. I had falafel at a balcony in central Malmö, Sweden and biked around the town with an awesome girl. I've had a mattress in a common area in a shared apartment in Berlin and so on.

Sometimes when I tell my parents about couchsurfing they get really worried, but I've meet so many great people surfing and being surfed at.

Let's do some examples:

- I hosted four Germans (that came two and two and didn't know each other), right after coming home to Stockholm after my last long stay in Germany. What I didn't know was that there was a surprise Alice in wonderland party for me one of the days the surfers wore there and we just had an awesome time. Even before we had so much in common so it was just fun hosting them all. I still have contact with them.

- This guy who spent the three days he had in Stockholm playing old NES with us in the apartment and beating my room mate, which I think she still has not forgotten. Also playing lasertag with him and just having a blast.

- Three totally sweat Americans who all spoke "Denglish", a mix of english and german, and even if they just stayed for a day we spent the evening talking about so many things that still are so funny when I think about them.

- This really laid back girl in Gothenburg that was almost like a younger me. Talking about all the books we still want to read but haven't got around to yet. (She's now studying to be a librarian).

This list could go on but I think I've made my point.

Now that I'm in Berlin I really can't host. The apartment is kind of small and I (for the moment) just have a bed in my room. Also I have the smallest room.

The great thing about Berlin (one of many) is that there is a big couchsurfing community and Berlin is a very active couchsurfing city. There are meeting almost every day with couchsurfers doing things around town. There are at least 3 regular couchsurfing meetings a week(!) in different parts of town. If there is something you like to do, you could probably find many couchsurfer in Berlin that like the same thing.

I've stated to go to these meetings, and I've been to a few now. Earlier today was the last one I was to.

Travelers, students, bohemians and others gather at these meetings and have a good time together. You get to talk with a lot of people and get to know them.

Berlin might be a big city but there are some people that always are at the meetings that I've now gotten to know them a bit. And I like that.

Like the american who likes old films and I'm going to a movie night at his place tomorrow to watch a Humphrey Bogart (I love, love Bogart) film tomorrow to just mention one. I also know which ones to avoid at the meetings.

Most couchsurfers are really great and open, but some are just a bit creepy (you take the good, you take the bad) so it good to know which ones you don't have anything to say to.

One example of this is this guy who always talks about the Wallander film, the Swedish PI or crime solver, based on a Henning Makell's (Swedish author) character, and has watched all of them in Swedish and want Swedes to talk Swedish because he thinks it's sexy. I so avoid this guy now on.

Tonight at the meeting there where to many surfers in a to little bar for all of us. It was hard to talk to all because you couldn't get of your seat (if you where lucky to get one) to talk to everyone. Talk to everyone might be a bit to ambitious but it hard just talking to a few. And because I know some people it's easy to just hang out with them or start to and then get stuck at the place you're at. That can be nice but it doesn't feel so social when there's a room full of other people.

So Elsa and I decided to go an with took a Robyn with us. Robyn(yes, just like the Swedish singer and yes, she loves her) is awesome and we went to grab a snack together just talking about many random things. Planing to have a Robyn(the singer) party at Robyn's (the persons) place for example.

Just an awesome girl that we will see more from and that just the thing about couchsurfing. There are so many cool/nice/interesting/awesome guys and girls out there, in this city that I'm looking forward to meet.

I will write about couchsurfing many more times on this blog, I'm sure but now it's time for bed and see what Berlin has in store for tomorrow.