Travelling for free?

I've spent the last weekend walkig throuh the charming streets and exploring the beauty of Vienna. It was not only the first time that I've been in this city but also the first time when I used the Couchsurfing to find my travel accomodation.

If you haven't heard about Couchsurfing, it's the website where you can find your travel accomodation almost for free. People offer you sleeping in their place ("at their couch") and they don't expect paying any money from you. The only amount of money that you have to pay is 60$ for joining to the community of couchsurfers. It's not much regarding the fact that you pay it only once and then you can use it with no strings attached.

The first thing that you have to do is to make your profile in the way that other couchsurfers could get to know you a little bit before accepting your request. It's very important because the goal of Couchsurfing is not only finding accomodation but also meeting new people. Hosts don't expect money but they want to meet new cultures. So you can "pay" them by bringing something traditional from Poland, by cooking one of our delicious meals or simply by just having a conversation where you share your traditions and experiences.

I had an amazing opportunity to meet a guy from Germany who spends each year in different country and works as a photographer and gym trainer. He was so nice that he offered me and my friend his own bed while he was sleeping on the couch in the living room. As he has been in Vienna since almost a year, he gave us directions what to see in the first place, where to eat (and not spend huge amount of money!) and where to drink. He even took us to one of great pubs nearby.

The only thing that was bothering us a little was the fact that he was waking up at 5am and then he was working on the computer in the room where we were sleeping. We felt a little bit awkwardly waking up when he was working next to us.

But anyway, it was such a nice experience and I'm so happy to have a chance to met him and to try this new interesting way of travelling. If you love seeing new places and meeting new people, you should definitely try it!