Our Journey Through Life Together
Our Story
We first met in 2018, shortly after Manuel graduated in Aviation from ZHAW, during his graduation festivities in Winterthur. After a brief but memorable conversation, we went our separate ways, but stayed connected through Instagram.
After graduating, Manuel moved to Stans, while Kristina began her studies at ZHAW that autumn. It wasn’t until the winter of 2020, when Kristina was spending a year abroad in Nice, that Manuel reached out to her again. It quickly became clear that as soon as Kristina returned to Switzerland, we wanted to meet.
Then the world came to a standstill. COVID changed everyone’s plans, and ours was no exception. Kristina had to return from Nice earlier than expected, while Manuel had moved back to Lottstetten (GER) for work. Suddenly, the border between us felt more significant than ever, making travel and visits almost impossible. It took nearly another year before we finally had our first real date in January 2021, right in the middle of the third lockdown: a walk on the Goldenberg in Winterthur.
As Kristina completed her studies, our relationship continued to grow. In August 2021, after she submitted her bachelor’s thesis and once all the restrictions had finally been lifted, we went on our first trip together to Mallorca—and returned as an official couple.
Since then, we’ve been lucky enough to explore 20 countries together, navigate a five-month long-distance relationship while Kristina travelled through Latin America, share countless adventures, and grow stronger with every experience. Along the way, we became part of each other’s circles of friends, and all the little moments we shared gradually turned into a home we now share together in Winterthur—the very city where we first met and where our first date took place.
On April 1, 2026, during our vacation in South America, we got engaged in Brazil. Manuel proposed at the beautiful Praia Pitinga, just before we took off on a paragliding flight along the coastline. With the sun setting over the ocean and a full moon rising above us, it was a truly unforgettable moment that we will treasure forever.
Now, we can’t wait to celebrate the next chapter of our story with the people we love most.
