In January 2021 Elizabeth Ives Solomon pulled into Naples, Florida in a transformed Toyota Sienna camper. A thirst for journey, together with worldwide journey restrictions imposed by Covid-19, had impressed a month-long journey to discover the American West after which the coast of Florida.
Upon her arrival, Mrs. Solomon, a author and former radio journalist who lived in Washington, determined to remain in Naples for some time.
Certainly one of her first stops was on the Arthur L. Tennis Middle. Allen, the place he put his mom’s recommendation into apply. “She all the time informed me it was essential to play good tennis as a result of it was a good way to fulfill folks,” mentioned Mrs Solomon, 58.
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She rapidly befriends a seventy-year-old Austrian lady who agrees to be her enjoying companion. Throughout their first sport, Mrs. Solomon obtained distracted.
“I observed a very good-looking man stroll into the court docket subsequent door,” Ms. Solomon mentioned, recalling the primary time she noticed Gero Claus Geilenbrugge. She overheard Mr. Geilenbrüge talking German to his tennis companion and requested her pal, who additionally spoke German, to introduce him.
The 4 struck up a dialog (in English) and set a date the next week to play tennis collectively. A rainstorm canceled these plans. However Ms. Solomon and Mr. Geilenbrugge did meet on a foggy stroll on a public seashore. Below a blanket of grey clouds, they found that they have been each free souls who shared a ardour for journey and new experiences.
“We walked for 2 hours,” Mr Geilenbrugge, 56, recalled. “It was so good. And he or she actually appreciated that I used to be so open.
He knowledgeable Ms. Solomon that he had a teenage son from a earlier relationship and informed her in regards to the alternative he had made to maneuver to the US from Berlin in 2000, swapping a busy profession as a tax legal professional for a slower tempo of life. He at the moment works as an actual property dealer for Waterfront Realty Group in Naples. He acquired a regulation diploma from the College of Trier in Germany.
Ms. Solomon, who has a bachelor’s diploma in historical past from Yale, shared particulars about her life however selected to not reveal that she lives in a van, sleeps in parking tons and bathes in public seashore showers. Her “cowl story,” she mentioned, was that she crashed at a cousin’s house 20 minutes north of Naples.
The 2 started spending extra time collectively, having fun with dinners at Mr Geilenbrugge’s villa in Naples or sparring on the tennis court docket the place they met, one thing Ms Solomon knew her late mom would have loved.
“I knew she was sitting on a cloud, flapping round it and saying, ‘See, I informed you Beth,'” Mrs. Solomon mentioned.
After a couple of weeks, she shyly informed Mr. Geilenbrugge about her dwelling scenario. “He simply checked out me and mentioned, ‘That is so cool,'” Ms. Solomon recalled. “I believed, ‘Wow. That is the one individual in Naples who would assume that manner.
Mrs. Solomon slowly started transferring her issues into Mr. Geilenbrugge’s residence. “We have by no means felt aggravated with one another and that is an enormous factor, particularly once you meet later in life,” Mr Geilenbrugge mentioned.
The 2 took quite a few journeys collectively, together with a spontaneous trip to Helsinki, Finland, and one other to Germany, the place Mr. Geilenbrugge launched Ms. Solomon to his prolonged household in Düsseldorf. Additionally they purchased a sailboat collectively.
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In October 2023 the couple went on a humanitarian journey to Malawi with CARE, a non-profit group that fights starvation around the globe; Ms. Solomon works as a fundraiser for the group. Each have been struck by the indomitable spirit of most of the folks they met. On the finish of 1 specific day, Mrs. Solomon felt significantly considerate.
“We have been on this bus leaping out of this village,” she recollects. “I simply mentioned, ‘Honey, I feel we should always get engaged.’
Mr. Geilenbrugge agreed with out hesitation. “I am calm, however I’ve very excessive expectations,” he mentioned. “And I’d say she is totally flawless. She is the kindest individual, essentially the most beneficiant individual.
They celebrated their choice that night time on Lake Malawi, ingesting cocktails and watching the sundown.
The couple married on December 26 on the seashore in Naples, the place they’d their first date. A number of onlookers close by applauded after they have been introduced as married.
“It was a really small, non-public ceremony, however we weren’t separated from the folks round us,” Ms Solomon mentioned. “It was open to anybody who wished to expertise the enjoyment we really feel for one another.”
Metropolis Mayor Teresa Heitman, a pal of the couple who was ordained by Common Life Church for the occasion, officiated the occasion. Additionally in attendance have been Mr. Geilenbrugge’s son, Noah Rose, who served as finest man, and Ms. Solomon’s niece, Jessica Solomon, who served as maid of honor.
“I used to be joyful,” Ms. Solomon mentioned of her life earlier than transferring to Florida. “However I did not notice how full and wealthy life might be till I met Gero.”
