ENGAGEMENT STORIES - Felix and Josefin
From Germany to Sweden on a bike!
A few weeks ago we got an email from Felix who was planning to propose to his Josefin with one of our rings - and he wanted it to be an adventure! Here's his story on how he took his bike from Germany to our Malmö shop to pick up the perfect engagement ring.
" The whole experience of me finding an engagement ring for my girlfriend Josefin started with reaching out to Caroline Hjerpe via email. Before that, Josefin and me had lots of talks about the concept of marriage, how it could fit into our views of a modern society and what kind of traditional role models there might be associated with that we do not wanted to reproduce. So while the decision of getting married was done, already I found myself responsible of finding a ring and make it somehow official.
I knew Josefin was a fan of Caroline’s work, so I started browsing their website. Even though there were a lot of very nice pieces, I felt I wanted something a little more individual and the whole process of getting the ring more personal. This was when I came up with the idea of making the whole experience something special for me too, concluding that I would pick up the ring in person at the Malmö shop. I further decided that I would do the whole 700km from Germany to Sweden on my road bike, going solo!
The one thing missing though was the ring, so as already mentioned in the beginning I reached out to the Caroline Hjerpe team via mail, describing what I was looking for and explaining what I had in mind. The following correspondence that I had with them was what I would call the perfect customer support. Linnea who helped me, immediately proposed a variety of pieces they had in stock and encouraged me that we could make the whole thing happen. While there wasn’t a fitting ring in stock, she was very pro-active in finding the right diamond for Josefin and me.
After only a few days, we found the perfectly shaped stone, a salt and pepper diamond that went on to be set into a golden ring. To make everything a little more dramatic I should emphasise that I wrote the first email less than three weeks before I was planning to arrive to Malmö. However, the team ensured me that they would try to make it happen in time and ultimately they did.
So without Josefin knowing, I went out on my bike to cycle from Dresden to Copenhagen within only three days. On day one, a Monday, I did 210km, arriving to Berlin in the evening and riding through the Brandenburg Gate in true touristy fashion. From there on I continued on 250 more kilometers towards north and made it to Rostock long after the sun went down. For my final day, I needed to catch a ferry in the early morning that would bring me over to Gedser, from where on I would ride the remaining 180km on day three to finally arrive to Copenhagen. On my way to the ferry I crashed though while crossing rails in the wet. Fortunately, the bike suffered no major damages in contrast to my hip and knee that were quite badly bruised. After I could treat my wounds briefly on the ferry I went into a short spiral of self-doubt, looking for train connections that would bring me to Copenhagen. When the ferry arrived to Denmark though, I was back in good spirits and went on. I arrived to Copenhagen when the sun was setting, which was a very welcomed sight after a rainy day in the saddle. Along the way, I never needed a Hotel as we have friends in Berlin, Rostock and Copenhagen that were kind enough to give me shelter for the night and fuel me for the day. To have friends involved along the way still makes me feel very happy and grateful, as it made this adventure something of a collective effort.
After three very long days in the saddle, Thursday had finally come and with it the day of me picking up the engagement ring. I took the train from Copenhagen to Malmö and had a very warm welcome to the shop by Emma in the afternoon. There I saw the ring for the first time and got very excited. I had made it up there on my bike and found the perfect ring.
Both satisfied and excited I started my way back on my bike with the ring in the pocket of my cycling jersey. After only 40km I arrived to the ferry in Trelleborg, that would bring me back to Rostock in the night.
I left the ferry on Friday morning very happy as I knew I would meet Josefin by the sea in a few hours. I had 40km to go and made it just in time to spread a blanket and cherish the scenery before Josefin arrived.
We sat down by the water, had a hot glass of mulled wine that I had asked her to bring and I told her where I had been to and how. When I gave her the ring everything was said already and no questions were needed to be asked!
Thank you for sharing this romantic moment with us!
We love chatting with all of you and hear about your proposal moments! Do you have a story including our rings that you want to share with us? Reach out at hello@carolinehjerpe.se
/ The Caroline Hjerpe team ♡
