Anetta Rakhman'ko (Russia) and Mikkel Sommerfeld (Denmark)
"We met at a concert of the band The Maccabees in Berlin in 2009," Anetta says. "I was doing an internship in Germany at the time and was hastily writing my thesis for my university in St. Petersburg, and at night I decided to escape from all problems. He came from Denmark for the concert, just for one evening.
We started writing to each other, and two weeks later I spent my last money on a ticket to Copenhagen, without even thinking that he was studying in another city. And I sent him (as if by accident) a message saying that if he had time for a cup of tea, I would be glad. I myself was traveling without money, without any acquaintances, and without any prospect of finding accommodation.
I almost overslept the flight because I had been dreaming and preening all night," Anetta recalls. "He met me, took me to some acquaintance who left him the apartment for the weekend. At first it was awkward. In principle, I already understood that I was head over heels in love! We walked all day through summer Copenhagen, and I realized more and more how different he was from other Danes, bearded and blond. And when we kissed for the first time – it took off! Seeing me off on the plane, he said that if he had a choice, never to see me again or to marry me and have children with me, he would marry without hesitation. I was scared...
Then there were parties, hitchhiking together to Paris. Soon my visa expired, and we began meeting once a month in 'salvation' countries of the world where I, a Russian, did not need a visa. To one of these meetings, Mikkel arrived in a T-shirt with the Russian words 'Be my wife' written on it.
This could not go on for long, and we decided. I enrolled at a university in Berlin, left my friends, job, and beloved city. He left his design school in Denmark. We found an apartment on the canal and brought our things: one suitcase and one backpack. The first months we slept on the floor. We had two spoons and one small pot. But it was summer. And terribly romantic!
Soon my father planned to fly from Siberia to Berlin to visit us, and then Mikkel asked me more insistently about marriage. We dreamed of children. Marriage was not a goal. But somehow it all came together, we submitted an application in Copenhagen. We had two months to prepare. Meanwhile, I was doing an internship at the Bundestag and had no time for anything. I accidentally bought a dress on eBay, we found a GDR-made suit for him at a second-hand store. We invited the closest people, found a wonderful punk cook.
It was not without adventures. My passport was at the British embassy at that time with a visa application, and it was delayed for four months. I traveled to the wedding as an illegal on a bus, begging the drivers to take me. To this day, it is the happiest day of my life!
After the honeymoon, we constantly had to part again. But since March of this year, we have been living permanently in Berlin and are expecting a very long-awaited addition. Where we will end up next, I don't know. Mikkel is diligently learning Russian and dreams of living in Russia, and I am 'gnawing' at Danish to understand what my husband is saying to my huge belly."
Fanny Dietel (Germany) and Mikhail Akkent (Russia)
"We are studying psychology at Humboldt University," Mikhail says. "Until the second year we didn't pay attention to each other, but one day we ended up together in the library. When we left, Fanny Dietel called me by name and offered to get coffee. Why she decided to do that, she still cannot explain. There are moments when it is not we who decide what to do, but something from the outside.
Instead of the planned fifteen minutes, we sat over coffee for two hours. And now we have been together for three years," Mikhail continues. "She didn't know I was Russian, although now that plays a significant role, because Fanny's parents studied in Tver for five years to become doctors, and when she was little, sometimes the family switched to Russian.
I was born in the ancient town of Belozersk, in the Vologda region. Only at the age of nine did I learn that my mother is German. She, of course, speaks Russian perfectly, and the family history was rarely discussed in conversations. Our ancestors moved to Russia together with Catherine II. The most amazing thing is that when we emigrated to Germany in 1998, we were settled in the same town of Zerbst, from which Catherine left at the age of 16 to marry the future Emperor Peter III. I found this out later, while discovering my family history. So we have international families, and I, for example, feel that I carry both cultures within me.
We moved to Germany when I was 10 years old. Of course, at first I felt out of place. An adult can adapt to the situation, it is harder for a child to feel 'foreign'. It was a good incentive to learn the language perfectly. When I speak German today, people rarely guess where I am from. I retained my native language thanks to my mother's will. It was not difficult, since we only spoke Russian in the family."
Violetta RYABKO.
Deutsche Welle