A couple who fell in love after meeting in Germany kept the spark alive during two years of separation amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Rylee Dozezal and her partner Megan enjoyed a whirlwind romance when they met in Leipzig on a language course in the summer of 2019.
The first words they exchanged were German icebreakers, which was enough to defrost tensions and let the two young women know that they had a shared favourite food in common - pizza.
"It was really easy to talk to each other, even in German," Rylee, 22, told The Mirror.
"We had classes together, otherwise we would go and hang out after class. We had a few trips around Germany, to Potsdam and Dresden. It was really lovely."
As the course was coming to a close the pair admitted how much they liked one another and pledged to stay back in touch once back home, Rylee in the US and Megan in London.
Every day they spoke to via text or on the phone, and spent hours a week video calling.
"It was a serious long distance relationship," Rylee said.
As committed as they may have been, neither of them realised quite how long they would end up being separated for.
"The next summer, in 2020, she was supposed to come to the US to visit, to do a road trip together, but then Covid happened," Rylee continued. "We kept trying to make plans, but it kept being pushed back."
Travel bans implemented across the world, including by the US and UK, made travel all but impossible between many countries.
The pair were stuck on either side of the Atlantic, desperately wanting to meet again, but kept apart but strict laws and a raging global pandemic.
As the summer of 2021 approached - almost two years after Megan and Rylee had first met - some countries had begun to lift travel bans for the vaccinated.
While direct journeys between the US and UK would be banned for some time longer, Megan realised they could both travel to green-listed Iceland.
"She came up with the crazy idea of meeting in Iceland for two weeks," Rylee said. "She had to go there for a week before to quarantine. Because I was able to get both of my vaccines, I didn't have to quarantine."
Although the two women had only met in person two years before, neither of them thought twice about heading out to the Nordic island.
"We were both very dedicated at this point and in a serious relationship, we were video calling every night for at least an hour," Rylee said.
"She had just gotten out of quarantine, so I had to take a bus to the hotel. She ran outside of the hotel to the bus stop. It was really lovely."
"We were both very excited but also a bit nervous to see if we had the connection. The first 15 minutes were a little awkward as we worked out how to be in person together, but it was okay after that."
After two idyllic weeks soaking up the beautiful vistas of Iceland together, Rylee decided to move to London after a brief course in Berlin.
Now, two and a half years after they first met, the pair are living together and studying in London.
When it comes to advice for people looking to make it work long distance, Rylee's words of wisdom are straight forward.
"You have to be really committed to each other and not afraid of the commitment," she said.
Rylee and Megan's love story has already garnered attention, after they entered a competition by holiday firm eShores to find the best holiday romance stories.
The competition came as research from the brand found that over half of Brits have engaged in a steamy holiday romance.
You can find out more at eshores.co.uk.
