They Met in Paris

"If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young man, then wherever you go for the rest of your life it stays with you, for Paris is a moveable feast."- Ernest Hemingway

Ulla came to Paris from Germany in January, 1954 at the age of 22. She wanted to escape the constant reminders of World War II that surrounded her in her home land. She had been under bombardment since she was seven. moving constantly, and unable to attend school regularly.

Mika came to Paris from Yugoslavia to escape the new communist regime. In his home land, friends had disappeared after speaking out against the new government. He arrived in France on a student's visa and was given political asylum by the French government.

Ulla lived cheaply in Paris. She rented a "chambre de bonne" (formerly a maid's room), and ate at the student cafeteria at Sorbonne University. It was during one such inexpensive lunch that she met Mika. They fell in love and lived together in Paris for the next two years. Ulla edited and typed Mika's thesis, and in 1956 he got his PhD in Economics.

They had both already applied for visas to this country before they met, and his arrived before hers, so Mika set sail for America. Seven months later Ulla got her visa as well, and she arrived in the U.S. in December, 1956. That month, they were married in City Hall in Manhattan, They became naturalized US citizens, lived in New York City for the rest of their lives, and raised two children there.

More about this at: They Met in Paris

A tribute to my parent's adventures,Claudia