The couple, 7-year-old Anna-Lena and 6-year-old Mika, had planned their getaway with Anna-Lena's 5-year-old sister Anna-Bell while their parents slept off New Year's Eve celebrations.
With suitcases packed with sunglasses, swimsuits, summer clothes, stuffed toys and some food, the trio took a streetcar to the central station to board a train to the airport. A guard, concerned to see the three young children waiting on their own, called police.
"What struck us was that the little ones were completely on their own and that they had lots of swimming gear with them," said Holger Jureczko, a police spokesperson.
He described Mika and Anna-Lena as "sweethearts" who had "decided to get married in Africa where it is warm." The boy had once been to Italy and convinced the girl that Africa would be even warmer.
Anna-Lena told the German television station RTL: "We wanted to get married and so we just thought: 'Let's go there.' "
Asked why they failed to let their parents know, the children said they thought they would not be gone for long.
Anna-Lena's mother, who was not identified, said she had known nothing of the plan. "I'm still in a state of shock. I thought, 'I'm playing a part in a bad movie.' "
The police told the trio it would be difficult to get to Africa without money or tickets and instead gave them a tour of the police station before handing them over to their parents.
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