score:11
Several points of advice.
So, with these things said:
I think the answer by Michael is wrong, and note how it was downvoted. You can get away with not volunteering information, but do not lie. One lie leads to the next, sooner or later one lie will be exposed, and then you will have a file that says you lied to an EU official.
I know several couples where a German partner married a partner from outside the EU. In each case it was a process that started with visits before it came to a residency permit and then to the marriage. That's the latest point where the authorities will ask if it is a sham marriage or a true one, and little lies at an earlier stage will come to hurt you.
Upvote:-6
immigration in Germany don't ask as many questions as the US, but they will certainly ask you why you are travelling to Germany and what you are intending to do. The simplest answer is: "I'm visiting friends in Hamburg." If they ask where you know the people from (unlikely to be asked this), you are free to make a white lie and say: "German friends I met in Panama." As for the private story, ignore the strange questions from other posters. In the days of the Internet there are much weirder ways to meet people.