To say that Verena and Pedro's relationship is an Erasmus love would not really be telling the truth. Especially when you hear Verena say: "Well, if we had met during my Erasmus year we would probably not be together anymore." Still: without Erasmus they wouldn't be together either. Confused? Their story is actually quite simple: Verena did Erasmus three years ago in Lisbon. She had a wonderful time, meeting people from all over Europe, studying a bit at university, learning the language. The usual stuff - but: she did not find true love among all those people. A fact which makes the 26-year old German, who is now a  Journalism graduate working in Munich, rather glad. "It was good to have freedom at that time. Freedom without any commitment", Verena says today.

But there is a reason why Verena's Portuguese is perfect; it's not only because she loves the language and the country. It's because she talks Portuguese with her boyfriend. Pedro - in fact his full name is Rui Pedro Martins Girao Gaspar - is from Portugal, from its capital Lisbon. But it was impossible for them to meet in Lisbon - Pedro was already living in Munich at that time, working as an electronic engineer for an international company. But they did meet  before Verena returned home, at least virtually: on Pedro was looking on www.sprachduo.de for a tandem partner to improve his German. They first met outside cyber-space during the 2006 football world championship. It was the eighth final, Holland versus Portugal. Pedro's home country won, his heart was soon lost and by the time Italy won the final against France the two had become a couple.

For both of them Munich is still their life's epicentre. To Pedro, it feels like home. Maybe it would even if Verena was not there. Cultural differences? Not really. "I don't come from a typical Catholic family where you are not allowed to live with someone if you are not married", says the 28-year-old. They now share a flat - and often have fish for dinner, a tradition imported from Portugal where fish and seafood are a big part of the cuisine. "It was hard for Pedro to accept that in Germany getting fresh fish is not only quite hard but also very expensive", says Verena. They found a way to solve the fish problem: they visit Portugal very regularly.

By the way: don't think that Verena always falls for her tandem partners. She had one even before she left for Lisbon. He is a great guy. But only a friend.