Kisses in Austria

January 14, 2004
Five years ago Dan and I began our journey together. Well, okay, some could claim that it began on January 4 when we both met at the airport to fly to Europe for a month long course on business and engineering. (no, I wasn't a business or engineering major- I just wanted to travel around Europe :) )
We sat in the same row on the airplane. However, we never talked during the 8 or so hours we were on the plane. We're both a bit shy and well, I just figured I would see enough of him during the trip. Although, his friend he was sitting next to still claims he told him that he thought I was cute on the plane.
We ended up hanging in the same group on the trip and when you are spending every day with each other you get to know that person fairly quickly. Like his best man said in his toast at our wedding, "Love blossomed once we landed in Europe. It was subtle as most things with Dan are, but it was there." We started talking , kept hanging out, and sitting on the forever long bus rides together. And while 10 days doesn't seem like to long, it seemed like I had to wait forever for our first kiss.
We never had a "first date" so we decided that we would celebrate our "anniversary" on January 14. For 4 and a half years, I looked forward to the 14th of every month to add on one more month to our relationship. Now I have to remember to look for the 19th!
I will say that our first kiss was perfect! I remember thinking- "Can this get better? I'm in Austria with an amazing guy who just kissed me on a tire swing." Yes, our first kiss was outside in the freezing cold on a tire swing in Austria. It was perfect. And it did get better, since our relationship kept growing from there.

Our first pictures together!