If you missed part 1 of this little love story of mine, you might like to get the low down first by clicking here.

Once I booked my ticket there was no turning back! The other models I was living with in Manila couldn’t believe I was flying to a country I’d never been to before to meet a man for the very first time! “I know, I can’t believe I’m doing it either…but it just feels right” was my answer. They were all excited for me!

I had 3 weeks to wait, which felt like forever! But before I booked my flight to Berlin, I had already planned a 7 day trip to the beautiful Filipino island, Borocay. Absolute paradise! I also had one more shoot to do for Avon, and then I’d be off 🙂

And The Adventure Begins!

The week leading up to my departure, I was so giddy with excitement and nervous energy that I lost nearly 2 kilos…something I was quite thankful for after my 7 day drinking and eating debauchery in Borocay!

Driving to the airport knowing that I was about to board a plane bound for Europe – my first ever time there – to meet this gorgeous German I was practically in love with, was quite possibly the most mind-blowing, heart-pounding inducing thing I had ever done!!!

I flew Lufthansa which was a very pleasant experience, except for the fact I didn’t get one iota of sleep in as I was just too damn nervous!

My Arrival

“Holy shit” is all I remember thinking the moment I stepped off the plane! The moment Mathias and I had been waiting for, was almost here…we were finally going to meet each other! Thanks to my British passport, it didn’t take long for me to make it through to the arrivals gate. I was prepared to walk through and see him straight away, but the flight arrived a little early so he wasn’t there yet…which was a bit of a relief as it gave me time to head to the bathroom and compose myself.

As I sat on one of the benches patiently waiting, I received a text from Mat saying he was just about to walk in. “OH MY GOD!!!” My heart started pounding a million miles an hour! A couple of minutes later which seemed like eternity, this tall, handsome, broad-shouldered, gorgeous man approached me with open arms. I was so nervous I think I pretty much threw myself at him! Hahaha!

Seeing him and touching him for the first time in the flesh was waaay better than what my wild imagination could envision. He was absolutely gorgeous and the conversation, although we were both clearly nervous, flowed naturally.

We went straight to the hotel, to drop off my bags, and then after a quick costume change headed out to see some sites! As it was summer in Europe the streets were alive with so many people out and about enjoying the sunshine and festivities. I was already in love with this city! The culture and architecture were so rich with history, like nothing I had ever seen before. My first impression of the Berliners was uber friendly and cool. They all seemed to speak excellent English too.

Although it had been almost 24hrs since I had slept, I decided to go straight through without having a nap so I could fall asleep at night time. Our first evening together was really fun! Mat took me out for a beautiful dinner followed by some drinks at a bar in a trendy area called Schoneberg. The conversation always flowed and he was incredibly funny! I love a man that can make me laugh.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Weeks That Followed

I ended up staying in Berlin for 2 months in total! We both had fallen madly in love with each other, and I just couldn’t bare to leave him so I kept extending my trip!

After 2 nights at the hotel, we went back to where Mat was living which was close to the airport and quite far away from the nightlife and restaurant/bars. We decided to look into short term accommodation and very quickly found the most stunning apartment in Schoneberg sharing with a lesbian couple and one guy. They were all so friendly!

 

 

 

Meeting The Family!

The first weekend I was there, Mat and I drove about 2 hours out of Berlin to stay with his parents in his home town of Berga in Saxonia Anhalt. So beautiful and quaint. I was rather nervous about meeting them all as only his sister spoke English! Oh dear…I knew I’d be glued to my English-German dictionary the entire time.

When we arrived, his sweet mother was putting the washing out on the line. She was so lovely and we bonded straight away! We would often sit upstairs on their balcony drinking yummy French red wine and giggling over our failed attempts of speaking each others’ native language.

We stayed with his fam for 3 days, and did another 3 trips whilst I was in Germany. Mat would occasionally leave me with his family whilst he went and played sport which annoyed me a bit as although I found his family to be such genuine, lovely people, it was quite stressful not being able to speak each others language! I noticed that I began to lose more weight even though I was indulging in the German cuisine of breads, meats and cheeses, because not being able to always communicate properly plus jumping in head first into a relationship PLUS living together was a little over-whelming at times! But for the most part, it was a very memorable, special experience.

Below are some pics of Mat’s half brother, Max. Such a cutie!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mat and I swimming at the nearby lake…

 

I can’t remember the name of the town this pic was taken in, but the restaurant we ate at had the most unbelievable venison!

 

Living in Berlin and experiencing the culture which was so diverse, was an unreal time of my life. I absolutely LOVED Berlin! Mat and I hit the town on a regular basis, to nightlife hot spots such as Berghain, Tresor and Solar. The clubs in Berlin are insane!!! There was certainly quite a bit of partying going on whilst I was there. My only regret is that we didn’t do any weekend trips to any other European cities!

Another balmy night out in Berlin…

 

Saying Goodbye…

At the end of 8 weeks it was time to head back to Manila. There was no more extending the trip as I had to be back to shoot for Avon again. I remember being at the airport vividly, and feeling quite embarrassed as I couldn’t stop crying!  It was a very emotional time, and we were both very sad to say goodbye as we weren’t sure at this stage when we’d see each other again.

Boarding the plane this time was a very different experience, and I wished so deeply that I was boarding the plane to begin this romance again! Sitting on the plane on my own was heart-wrenching as I had fallen very much in love with Mathias. Not knowing when I’d see him again was a horrible, lonely feeling.

As soon as I arrived in Manila I couldn’t get on skype fast enough to see him and hear his voice again. He was feeling the same way and we both had a good chat about where to next.

Australia Bound…

Mat and I did the long distance thing for 3 months, then Mat moved out to Melbourne to be with me and to try and get work in Oz as a pilot. We couldn’t wait to see each other again!

It was initially fantastic when he got to Melbourne, but it quite quickly started to become very stressful as Mat couldn’t seem to find work as a pilot – mainly due to his flight hours being so low. This coupled with the fact he was greatly in debt to his parents for his pilot training, put tremendous pressure on him and our relationship.

Our relationship only survived another 6 months. 4 of those months were in Australia and 2 were long distance again until we decided to call it quits in April 2006. Mat had gotten a job with Air Berlin and I auditioned and was accepted into the Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute in New York, so it was a mutual and natural ending. Besides the issue of Mat not being able to find work, there were also a few other reasons why it wasn’t working – mostly to do with cultural differences and certain expectations I had put on Mat and our relationship. He was my first boyfriend since the big break up, and I unfortunately I had put the last boyfriend on such a high pedestal that it made it very difficult for the next bloke to live up to! Even though I was in love with Mat, I was still mourning the loss of my previous relationship. At the end of the day, if was meant to be it would have worked. But we just weren’t right for one another in the end.

Still to this day however, Mat and I have continued to remain good friends, and I see him most times when he makes his annual trip to Australia in February/March. He’s a great guy and I’m really happy we were able to keep our friendship.

This photo below was taken of us in 2009 in Melbourne. Hopefully I’ll have a more recent pic of us to add to the archives soon 🙂

 

What about you? Have you met someone online or had a blind date that worked out? Would love to hear your story. Feel free to comment below, and if you enjoyed this post, why not share the love 🙂

Liz xx