1. How it started
In the late 90s I got a two-year research position in a German university, in a small town (not Heidelberg, not GΓΆttingen, but similar). I did not have a girlfriend at that time, and even if I had, it is unlikely I would have bring her along, because initially my living conditions were really modest. I lived in a dormitory, alone in my room, but the bathroom and the kitchen were common for all the residents in the long lobby.
Soon after my arrival I went with the colleagues to a pub. Almost everyone was with a partner, but I was alone.
A guy from our team came with a really beautiful red haired girl, quite young. Her name was Petra, and she was sitting next to me. The guy preferred to chat with his colleagues about politics, and she seemed to be bored. I was not interested in politics either. We started talking. I then studied German intensively, and made progress. To practice, I read Hesse. It turned out that she also loved Hesse. So we spent the entire evening discussing "Glasperlenspiel" and "Narziss und Goldmund".
Some days later, I met her on the street: it was indeed a small town. She said that the guy was not her "Freund" at all (although, as I found out afterwards, they did have a couple of "friendly" hook-ups), he just did not want to come alone, and asked her to join him. It was summer, Saturday evening, we went for a walk, entered a pub, and then another one, at some moment started holding hands. In short, well after midnight, I found myself at her place. Her parents were already asleep, she quietly led me into her room...