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Love in time of coronavirus: Octogenarians picnic at Danish-German border
Two octogenarian lovers are determined to keep meeting every day for a picnic and a chat on either side of the border, which has been shut to help curb the spread of the coronavirus.
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The separated couple, the eighty-nine years old German Karsten Tuchsen Hansen from Suederluegum and his eighty-five years Danish girlfriend Inga Rasmussen from Gallehus meet daily at the Aventoft border crossing after the border has been closed, as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues in Aventoft, Germany, on April 2, 2020. (REUTERS/Fabian Bimmer)
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wo octogenarian lovers, one living in Denmark and the other in Germany, are determined to keep meeting every day for a picnic and a chat on either side of the border, which has been shut to help curb the spread of the coronavirus.
Inga Rasmussen, 85, who lives in Gallehus on the Danish side, met Karsten Tuechsen Hansen, 89, two years ago. Both widowed, they quickly fell in love.
Like many lovers around the world in this time of the coronavirus pandemic and restrictions on free movement, they face obstacles in meeting up but they are not easily deterred.
Rasmussen now drives to the border with deckchairs and he rides there on his bicycle. Then they sit on either side of the red-and-white barricade to munch biscuits and sip schnapps diluted with hot water from a thermos flask.
Read also: Flouting the fever: Love in the Time of Coronavirus
"There’s no two ways about it. Love goes on... It's nice to see each other once a day like this. We can't hug or kiss, but she's here and we can talk about what's new," said Hansen.
"To love, to health and to long life," he said, raising his cup in a toast.
Germany and Denmark introduced border controls two weeks ago as part of efforts to slow the spread of the virus.
