Why have a Dog when you can bark yourself?

With CouchSurfing to feature heavily in his round the World travels, how will Ben find hosting two guests from Germany?

After my first experience of CouchSurfing went really well back at the beginning of December I was only too happy to welcome a couple of Germans who wanted to stay whilst visiting Birmingham this weekend...

...So after a few drinks with friends from Uni, I went to meet Melanie and her friend Martin down at The Wellington where joined by another CouchSurfing host from Birmingham, Melanie and Martin were enjoying the real ale that this pub is particularly well known for.

If I can have these such great experiences without actually having to leave Birmingham, it makes me really very excited when thinking about what may lay ahead in the months and years ahead

We hit it off instantly - despite only having received a few emails from Melanie in the run up to us meeting, I sat down at the table feeling like I was with old friends and don't think I have ever before felt so immediately at ease in other peoples' company.

Melanie, who  currently is training in osteopathy, just may have been one of the most genuine and friendly human beings I have ever had the fortune to come across. They were so friendly in fact that together they found more out about my flatmate Kaz in the space of 20 minutes than I have since he moved in over a year ago... though I think this says more about me than it does them. Martin on the other hand was a legend in his own right, who currently residing in the UK for an Internship, once cycled 250km in a single day and in 2006 clocked up a total of 14,500km. Though when you heard him paint a picture of the rather breathtaking landscapes he was cycling through you can sort of see how you might be able to cover this sort of distance. Not sure he'd have made it that far had he lived in Birmingham.

They found more out about my flatmate in 20 minutes than I have since he moved in over a year ago... though I think this says more about me than it does them

It must be said though that Martin had a very dry and at times, wicked sense of humour - I found him to be very funny.

We had a great night out on Friday and met back up at Saturday lunchtime where after a tour of the city centre and canal network we ended up in Birmingham's Museum and Art Gallery before eventually going out to my favourite - Jimmy Spices - for a really nice meal.

So after what is now two very positive experiences of CouchSurfing I am hoping I can squeeze in a third and perhaps maybe a forth, before moving out in what is now just a matter of weeks.

You know all of this just leaves me thinking... If I can have such great experiences like I have done with the both the Austrians and the Germans without actually having to leave home, it makes me very excited to think about what lies ahead when I do finally hit the road!

Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery