COUCH SURFING FRIEND - 3

From my previous entries, I featured about Couch Surfing friends whom I just met during my backpacking trip and CS gathering. Being a part of this backpacking community is a good chance to meet people from other countries with the same interest in budget traveling so as gaining ideas of the do's and dont's on traveling.
For my 2 months stay in Poland, I met some of the CS members whom I just asked several questions about their trips and one of them was Aniko from Hungary. I enjoyed talking to this brave lady, who just love to travel alone.

1. How did you discover your love for travelling?

I was really obsessed with Finland and its culture, so I really wanted to move there and see. When I was there I wanted to compare with other Scandinavian countries, so then I could see where can I position Finland in it. Then I wanted to compare Scandinavia with other countries to see why it is soo succesful and calm place, then... :-)

2. Best travel experience that you’ve ever had?
I love them all and I cannot choose. Why? Because all of them was my idea, my plan, I organized it and I saved the money for the expenditures. For me it means a lot as before it was impossible for me to afford to go anywhere, even in my home country sometimes.

3. What's the farthest place you have ever traveled?
Probably Norway and Portugal.

4. Name the top 5 places both local & abroad that you like?
I like Scandinavia as it is, St Petersburg also must be in the top five. France also a must. Portugal and Switzerland, probably.

5. If there's one tourist place in your country that you could recommend to a lone traveler where'd it be and why?
In Hungary: Széchenyi Spa and Budapest itself.
In Finland: Helsinki, and the forests are amazing (traditional sauna is a must!!!)
Switzerland: I think here anytwhere you go it is amazing, like a postcard. Really! As a dream!
France: Lyon, Marseille, Nice, Paris

6. Bad experience that you’ve had on your trip?
None yet and I am very hapy about it! Although I have to add that I try to prepare very well for every travel to avoid any problems. But of course luck is a big factor always!

7. Things you learned on travelling?
Life is amazing. I think this fact should already make people happy and satisfied. When I go and see and experience I am happy and balanced with my life and my surroundings, because I can see how coloful and perfect our planet is. I have to add that I don't believe in perfect-perfect as perfect-perfect is unnatural! I think something is perfect with the beauty of the defaults involved, like our little planet. :-)

8. Where’s your favourite place in this planet and why?
I think Europe is really cool. I have to add that I haven't been out of Europe yet, so I am not objective, but my explanation is:
Europe is one of the smallest continent, but the most colorful with languages cultures and historical buildings.

Imagine this in any other continent:
I lived in Lausanne , Switzerland. There the religion is protestant, language is french and people are swiss citizens. If I went 70km west: I was already in France, where the language is french, but the religion is christian!!!.
If I went like 300km north I was already in Germany, where people speak german and they are catholic!
If I went like 100km east I was in still switzerland, but all the people were speaking German (german canton) and the religion is catholic.
If I went south like 200km I was already in Italy and there people are very strickly catholic and they speak italian, etc...
And the top of it: all these people:italian, german, french, swiss german you could see in their faces as they were also different in appearance and not to mention the buildings and the landscape!!!
I think now you undesrtand why I think that Europe is the best!
You travel a little and you see soo different culture that you cannot imagine and all these cultures, nations, countries live peacefully together (most of the time... :-))

9. How long will you backpack?
I don't know yet. I hope for a long time!!! :-)