Just a few weeks after my 28th birthday, I arrived in Burgenland, a wine region south of Vienna, to work on a natural wine estate.
Fresh from quit my full-time job in California I planned to travel indefinitely, hopping from country to country during the wine harvest.
I didn’t have the space, nor the desire, to make room for a serious relationship. Then I met Lars.
In the sticky heat of August, we both arrived at 3am on the first morning of harvest, faceless strangers in the dark. Lars was gentle and curious, with a thick accent that made some words sound unfamiliar, but they were all endearing.
We sat next to each other under the stars and talked passionately until the sun rose. Being close to him felt both exciting and familiar.
Over the next few weeks we fell in love, but there was one complication: I had plans to move halfway around the world to Australia.
We knew our time together would end, but we fell in love anyway
We maintained a long-distance relationship while I was in Australia. Sierra Newell
I had an Australian work and holiday visa, so I planned to move in early December and stay there for at least a year. travel to different countries in between.
From the very beginning, I made it clear to him that despite our unexpected connection, my plans would not change. Lars wholeheartedly supported my decision, even though it meant parting ways; after a year working in wineries in Italy and Austria, he wanted to stay in one place.
Despite the impending due date, we continued. After the harvest, our first date was a whirlwind walking tour through the Dolomites, Tyrol and the Bavarian Alps. On our second date we said ‘I love you’ over frothy pints of beer in a pub in Glasgow.
After a tearful farewell at the airport, I started a new one wine harvest in Australia, while returning to Germany, his home country, to begin a full-time role as a winemaker. We planned to continue dating long distance and spending hours on FaceTime whenever we could.
He often sent me handwritten letters, sometimes surprising me with one bottle of wine I couldn’t find a T-shirt that smelled like him in Australia.
We talked candidly about our growing feelings for each other and fantasized about traveling the world and building our own winery together. We built a collective dream around ‘someday’, despite not knowing when that day would come.
His surprise invitation derailed my plans, but opened the door to something new
We decided to try living together for three months and go from there. Sierra Newell
As the length of our FaceTime calls grew longer and we became more emotionally intertwined, I began to doubt my plans.
One evening in January he invited me to move to Germany in the spring. He wanted to spend the entire summer investigating whether this relationship had legs.
We were both thrilled at the prospect of a long-term future together, but I worried that integrating our lives would erase my newfound independence and purpose.
Since move abroadI had given myself permission to actively move towards the things I wanted. I’ve longed for this level of freedom my entire life, and I didn’t want to give up what I’d been working toward for years.
He suggested we give it three months: if our relationship didn’t work out by the end of the summer, I could return to Australia, and we could both move on. In May I arrived in Germany to start over.
Over the summer it was essential for me to secure my own source of income; Although I had saved a significant amount of money, I wanted to be financially independent. I started working part-time for a female winemaker in a nearby vineyard.
It was great to be together, but as the novelty wore off, some friction was inevitable. For example, the difference in our cultural and communication styles became more apparent.
I also became restless and wanted to travel more often than his job allowed, and the quaint villages of rural Germany began to feel more stifling than peaceful.
However, cohabitation became a good practice when it came to compromise. Instead of hopping on a flight or always going somewhere new, we spent a day riding the train south to Alsace, or exploring the forest in our own backyard.
I’ve learned that adventure doesn’t have to mean chasing the greatest heights or traveling the furthest distance.
We have moved past every moment of discomfort and learned how to deal with the inevitable conflict that living together brings. As summer came to an end, I decided to stay.
Despite my fears, I was able to maintain my independence – and gain so much more
I’ve learned that adventure doesn’t have to mean traveling far away. Sierra Newell
Now, over a year later, we have live on a winery in the German countryside and plan to make our first wine project together.
Even though we have a permanent address, adventure is a regular part of our routine, both individually and as a couple. We have moved on road trips through Francebackpacking in Patagonia and going to concerts in Luxembourg.
I am pursuing a meaningful career that I love, a career that allows me to travel and connect with people all over the world. I’m also building a life in Germany, learning the language and creating a growing community.
While I’ve always been drawn to the chaotic joy of picking up and moving to new places, Lars taught me how to slow down, turning everyday moments into their own kind of magic. Together we have created a structured life that feels more spacious together than alone.
