I arrived in Barcelona and immediately made the uphill trek to capture the amazing views from Park Güell only to find out tickets were sold out. I stood outside the entrance — sweaty and slightly annoyed — and I booked a ticket on my phone for two days later. I wasn’t alone and unbeknownst to me a young couple from Holland made the same trek to the same entrance on the same day only to be turned away. They also got tickets for two days later.
Kevin Kristiaan, 31, and Jodit Mekonen, 29, matched on a dating app in the summer of 2022 and hit it off during their first date at a bar in Rotterdam.
“We talked about our values and what we wanted from life and we were very honest and straight forward about it,” Mekonen recalled.
A year later, the couple found themselves in beautiful Barcelona and Kristiaan was discreetly carrying an engagement ring in his pocket while figuring out where to pop the big question.
It was Mekonen’s fourth trip to Barcelona — her favorite city — and she mentioned to her partner how much she enjoyed Park Güell.
“It’s just the beauty of it,” Mekonen said. “Every time I went there it was perfect weather and you can see the whole city. It has a calming effect.”
The park has stunning views, a sprawling garden and striking architecture by Antoni Gaudi. Kristiaan finally settled on Park Güell to propose but he grew nervous when they could not get tickets.
“I was getting kind of stressed because I wanted to make it happen and I didn’t see another place that would be nice enough to ask her,” he remembers. “I was walking with the ring in my pocket for three days and in every picture I was hiding the big box.”
The couple returned to the park two days later. This time, they had tickets. And so did I.
I was standing in the Plaza de la Naturaleza scanning the unique architecture and taking pictures for myself and for fellow tourists. A lot of people see me with my camera and ask me take a picture of them. I always happily agree. In fact, sometimes I see people struggling to take a selfie and offer to take the photo before they ask.
I was just about to take a picture when I looked to my left and saw Kristiaan down on one knee. This is where the three of us would meet.
“Oh, this is actually happening,” I thought to myself while grabbing my phone out of my pocket and turning it to video mode as quickly as possible. I wasn’t about to leave this beautiful couple without some great content!
I started recording. Mekonen looked shocked. Her left hand covered her mouth. I moved closer to get a better angle of her face just in time for her to say, “Yes!”
I’ve written in previous posts about my love for life, my love for love, my love for airport reunions — the list goes on. Now, I had a front row view to a proposal. C’mon!! I was so damn excited I couldn’t even keep quiet. I recorded for 15 seconds before I shouted “congratulations!” Kristiaan still hadn’t placed the ring on Mekonen’s finger. It all happened so fast but I remember getting chills — a special feeling came over me in real time witnessing such a monumental moment.
“I was just utterly surprised because he’s actually not very well in hiding things,” Mekonen said. “How did I miss this?”
I sent them the video and we parted ways; however, as luck would have it, I spotted them about 30 minutes later inside a gelato shop just outside the park exit.
I walked in and exclaimed, “They just got engaged!” I thought the man behind the counter would offer them a free treat. The employee spoke Spanish and didn’t understand my seemingly random and crazy excitement. The three of us laughed and I added their ice cream to my tab. We took a picture together and exchanged numbers. We also decided it was fate that we both got turned away from the park, returned at the same time and ended up in the same area during the proposal. How special!
“We sent your video to all of our family. You are part of our engagement now,” Mekonen said.
I asked them both what they love most about each other!
Kristiaan said: “The steadiness and how she looks at life and also the trust I have in her. Our core values are the same. We are both romantic. We share that spark for love.”
Mekonen said she realized after the death of her father three years ago how much her parents complimented each other. She was looking for someone to complete her — and that someone, she said, turned out to be Kristiaan.
“It’s the perfect fit. He completes me in the things that I need to be completed and I think I offer him the same thing. We are very complimentary of each other,” she said.
“He’s not thinking of how the world thinks of him or how the world thinks things should be. What only matters is what we want in life. I know he 100% loves me.”
The happy couple is expecting their first child in early 2024 and they plan to marry in the summer of 2025.
The Coffee Break 
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