Description

Navigator can connect not only places, but people too. The living proof of that is MapFactor developer Lukas who met his true love through the MapFactor Google+ page. Her name is Nina, she lives near Hannover, Germany and she is a programmer too! This is their story.

Describe your first virtual contact. Where and how did it happen?

Nina: I am not 100% sure about the dates. I only know for sure that in October 2014 I was sick in bed for days, bored like hell, so I decided to write something into the MapFactor chat on Google Plus. I usually wrote into the forum. The answers on Google Plus were obviously written by someone else than on the forum, so I was curious what would happen if I placed my bug reports into the chat instead. My chat entry was quickly and nicely answered by Lukas. This was our first contact.

Did you discuss only technical subjects or did you soon move to personal topics?

Nina: For about 3 months our chat was about Navigator only, interrupted only by a short introduction of us both, name and age.

Who suggested your first meeting? How long had you been writing each other before that?

Nina: I think it was me who pushed the meeting forward. I am used to establishing chat contacts and meeting them - without any intention for more! Though in our case it was different: Over a few months, if not weeks, we established a very close, but distant friendship, and I wanted to see my friend at least once. Between the beginning of our private chats and our first real meeting passed about 6 months.

How was your first date and which one of you was more nervous?

Nina: We were both totally upset: I drove over 600 km by car (using Navigator, BTW) into a country I have never been visiting before, to see a man I never met in reality before. While I was busy driving and looking around, Lukáš was at home waiting for me with no further distraction. He must have been much more nervous than me. But this was supposed to be the first meeting of friends, not a date actually.

Do you believe in love at first sight?

Nina: It never happened to me, but I believe it is possible.

It must be difficult for you to overcome the distance between you. How do you manage it and how often do you see each other?

Nina: I tell you, this can be horror, especially when you are freshly in love. In the first months of our relationship, we saw each other only a few days per month, using our last holidays. We never knew for sure when our next meeting would be because it was difficult to agree and organize, and every goodbye was hard. The maximum was 6 weeks without meeting each other, and it nearly killed me. Since recently, MapFactor generously granted Lukas home office in Germany. That way, we see each other statistically every second day. Since that, I am much more relaxed about our relationship.

Nina, what surprised you most in the Czech Republic? I mean in a good or bad way.

Nina: I came here in summer. I loved how much party was around me, the people were so open and spontaneous for meetings or tours. In Germany we cannot meet so often in pubs, it would be too expensive. People don’t agree so easily on anything. When I returned home, I really missed all that.
The only thing I didn’t like was the smoking everywhere.

Lukas, what surprised you most in Germany? I mean in a good or bad way.

Lukas: I was positively surprised how much people in Germany hug each other but they are not as willing to meet each other to have a good time together. The streets are far more cleaner, but of course this is just my experience. Pity that in north-west Germany it rains so often...

How did your family, friends and colleagues react when they found out that you had found your partner so far away?

Nina: Most people encouraged me a lot by saying I looked happy like never before. And it’s true. Of course everyone was very curious to get to know my Czech boyfriend, and none of them was disappointed. My friends and family like him a lot, so they support us. In the very beginning my work lacked any concentration, and I am very thankful my line manager tolerated it for some time.

Lukas: My relatives were really surprised because they never saw any partner by my side so they were quite glad that I am “social”. On the other hand they all have fear that I will move into Germany. Maybe one day they are right. For now it is really open.

What are your plans for the future?

Nina: Our relationship is too young to plan anything more. Right now we are enjoying spending more time together, giving it some routine … And when we survive all this, we can decide about further steps.

Lukas: Who knows...