Anastasia Makus, a student in Germany, tells PEOPLE about the story behind the viral TikTok she made with her dad
Anastasia Makus
Anastasia Makus and her dad in Switzerland in August 2024
Anastasia Makus and her boyfriend had been planning a holiday in the Balkans, but then they broke up
Instead of not doing anything for her holiday, she went hiking with her dad in Switzerland, and a TikTok video about their trip ended up going viral
“It was a big surprise that it got so hyped,” Makus tells PEOPLE, adding that “the comments were also very heartwarming”
Anastasia Makus, a 21-year-old student in Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany, originally planned to spend her summer holiday in the Balkans with her boyfriend. The trip was one of the first things they had discussed in their relationship when they first met about a year ago.
“It was happening,” Makus tells PEOPLE about the vacation. “We had the tickets booked already in early April. We were planning the routes, where to stay, the car, everything.”
However, on July 18, the couple broke up and those plans were scuttled. But rather than feeling sorry for herself about not having anywhere to go, Makus decided to go hiking with her father in the Swiss Alps instead.
Footage of the father-daughter duo doing silly dances as they enjoyed their unexpected holiday ended up going viral on TikTok, getting over 200,000 views.
Before she went viral, Makus was in a long distance relationship with her now-ex, who lives in Barcelona. And from the beginning, vacationing together was on the agenda.
“Literally a week after we’ve met, he hit me up with saying, ‘Would I be interested in checking out the Balkans?’ ” she recalls. “We were planning to stay for almost three weeks.”
After the breakup, Makus initially considered making the trip to the Balkans by herself – she had previously traveled alone after her high school graduation, including a trip to Australia. However, her friends cautioned her against it, and she got a similar reaction from her parents when she visited them the following week.
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Then came another thought: she and her father Gennadij, a 46-year-old mechanic, could go on a two-day hike in the Swiss Alps. And so on Aug. 18, Makus and her dad drove to Kandersteg, Switzerland, to see Oeschinen Lake, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
During their trip, Makus also says her dad let her talk about the breakup on her terms. “I didn’t feel pressured,” she says. “He was just listening.”
“He would just say that he’s happy that I decided to spend my summer holiday with him and that I will be okay,” she adds. “That was really helpful.”
As for the idea to film themselves goofing off while surrounded by nature, Makus says her dad “is quite a funny person” and she wanted to make a video that showed them “dancing throughout the whole hiking trip.”
Makus says her father didn’t understand her vision at first, but she promised to show it to him before posting.
“When we got back to the camping site, it was raining,” Makus recalls. “There was not much to do. I was sitting in a tent editing the video, and then, I think, at dinner I showed him. He was like, ‘Okay,’ but not having a big reaction.”
Related: Woman Gets Emotional While Sharing Dad’s Powerful Message After Her Breakup (Exclusive)
After their short hiking trip, Makus’ father left to go back to work, but she continued her stay in Switzerland to volunteer at a farm. When she eventually returned home, she hung out with friends before resuming her university studies in early September. “The time with my friends let me forget the break up completely and I just had such an adventurous, warm and joyful time in those 3 weeks,” she says.
Makus initially paid no attention to how her TikTok was doing. Then, after a few days, her friends alerted her about the clips’s growing popularity.
“I think one of my friends was actually texting me and saying, ‘Your video went a bit viral. I was like, ‘Really?’ ” she says.
“It was a big surprise,” she adds. “And the comments were also very heartwarming. I was calling my dad and I was saying, ‘People liked your moves.’ He got really happy about it.”
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As for whether her ex has seen the clip, Makus doesn’t know as they haven’t kept in touch. “Maybe he saw it, maybe not,” she says.
Overall, she hopes her TikTok video will encourage people not to give p on their happiness just because something goes wrong. “You have that strength to do things and you don’t really need other people,” Makus says. “Of course it’s nicer to share with someone, but it does not necessarily mean to just have a bunch of friends. It can be just like your mom or your dad….your parents can be your best friends as well.”
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