Photos: The couple who met at the top of the Eiffel Tower
Parisian love story: American conference attendee Dan Giedeman met Swiss visitor Esther Wieland by chance at the top of the Eiffel Tower in September 1998. The two spent the rest of the day wandering around Paris together, sparking an enduring cross-continental love story.
Graphic by Alberto Mier. Photos courtesy Dan and Esther Giedeman
First conversation: Dan first approached Esther on the viewing platform, asking if she would take his photo. "Dan seemed a little bit awkward when he spoke to me, which put me at ease," Esther tells CNN Travel. "And I liked his eyes." Here's that photo of Dan, taken by Esther.
Courtesy Dan and Esther Giedeman
Paris wandering: After walking around the viewing platform, Dan and Esther had lunch together. Later they wandered around the Jardin de Luxembourg together. They asked a passerby to take this photograph.
Courtesy Dan and Esther Giedeman
Saying goodbye: That evening, the two swapped addresses and said goodbye at the train station. They hoped they would stay in touch, but didn't know. "We thought that might be the last time we saw each other," says Esther.
Courtesy Dan and Esther Giedeman
Long-distance letter writing: Following their first meeting, Dan and Esther each sent one another postcards of the Eiffel Tower. This kickstarted a letter-writing friendship that eventually became a cross-continental romance. They also visited one another in the US and Switzerland.
Courtesy Dan and Esther Giedeman
A Venice proposal: Dan and Esther got engaged in Venice, Italy in 2001. They were married in Switzerland in 2002 and then moved together to the US.
Courtesy Dan and Esther Giedeman
Return trip: The two returned to Paris together in 2016 for the first time since their initial encounter.
Courtesy Dan and Esther Giedeman
Retracing their steps: Here's Dan and Esther in the Jardin du Luxembourg, almost two decades after that first afternoon wandering around the park together.
Courtesy Dan and Esther Giedeman
Reflecting on serendipity: The couple say it was special to be there with their three sons. Dan and Esther found themselves reflecting on the serendipity of their first encounter.
Courtesy Dan and Esther Giedeman
Enduring romance: Dan and Esther kept all the letters they wrote to one another. On Dan's first postcard to Esther he wrote: "I expect that for the rest of my life I will think of you whenever I see an image of the Eiffel Tower."