A whole new way to travel

Couchsurfing is the future, folks. Get on board.

My first couchsurfing experience was in Hungary, where I stayed with two fantastic women: Judit, in Pecs, and Irina, in Zalaegerszeg. They are best friends, and taught me the meaning of hospitality.

When I arrived in Pecs on the train, Judit was at work but arranged for another couchsurfer, Plazzi, to pick me up at the station. He made me crepes.

When I arrived at Judit’s house, that has a stunning view of the whole city, she had prepared for me traditional Hungarian food, and invited me to a jazz concert. The next day she showed me around her town – stunning, but in the midst of a major facelift because it will be Europe’s Cultural Capital in 2010 and has been infused with EU money.

Then Judit drove me to a small village famous for its vineyards so we could do a wine tasting. She took me to a sculpture park filled with bizzare works made from the marble of the surrounding hills. She made another Hungarian feast, and invited Plazzi and his friend, and we drank more wine and I soaked up the conversation, and thought about how damn lucky I was.

In Zalaegerszeg, Irina greeted me with equal enthusiasm. She taught me more about Hungarian food, about literature, about the language. She drove me to a castle, and to Lake Balaton (the largest in Europe). She suggested itineraries for my stay there, looked up train and bus times, made me breakfast and did my laundry.  We ate and drank beer and laughed and laughed and laughed.

When I signed up for couchsurfing I didn’t quite get what it was all about – I thought it’d be a good way to save some money and get a bit of local insight to the places I visited. What I’m learning is that this system can be a way of life, it can create community, and it adds a whole new dimension to travel. I love to stay in hostels and meet other travelers, but staying with local people so enhances the experience and deepens your understanding of a place, that it’s hard to want to travel any other way.

Planning

I’m planning.

Though it makes me sad to know that in about two months I’ll no longer live in Edinburgh, I’m getting excited about The Next Thing. The plans are starting to come together.  I’ll work until mid-September, at which point I’ll pack up and head to London for a few days (and possibly Bristol and/or Guildford), and then to Munich. That’s right kids, I’m going to Oktoberfest, and Andrea’s going to meet me there. We’re hoping to find accomodation that doesn’t include sleeping in Julia’s car, but it’s not outside the realm of possibility.

Then! After three or four days of drinking GIANT BEER, I’ll head to Vienna, and then from Austria to Prague, and from there the plan is to not really have a plan, but to wander around Eastern Europe until I’m low on cash, and then cross my fingers and hope to find another job back in the UK.

I don’t know exactly how much money I’ll have at the end of the summer, but I’m saving like mad. To help stretch my money further as I travel, I’m planning to do some Couchsurfing. I think it’ll be a great way not only to save cash, but to get to know the places I visit better – it’s always great to have a local tour guide.  I’ll offer knitting lessons or proofreading services to anyone willing to take me in (I have a limited list of skills, it seems).

This prospect will probably make my family nervous, but rest assured guys, I’ll be safe about this. And Jeff, relax, you’ve seen Taken way too many times.

August is about to hit and with it a population explosion in Edinburgh. August = festival season, which means the Royal Mile fills with slow-moving tourists and flyer-distributing-performers and sword-swallowers and machete-jugglers and other forms of general chaos. We’re going to work our asses off, and party far too hard.

(PS – Yes, in the picture is a copy of Hemingway’s Death in the Afternoon, his epic tome on bullfighting, because yes, I am planning to attend the Running of the Bulls festival in Pamplona, Spain, next year. That’s not until next July, but I have a habit of getting ahead of myself).