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ItalianoUpdated 09.09.2022
TheBergdoktor mountain festival in Söll took place on Thursday in an excellent atmosphere despite the pouring rain - including the awarding of the golden witch's broom...
The actors of the series know just as well as the Wilder Kaiser region that the "Bergdoktor" fans are among the most loyal of all. As the filming location and thus the home of TV doctor "Martin Gruber", it regularly plays host to the popular fan events. But what the fans showed at the big Bergdoktor mountain festival in Söll on Thursday 8 September surpassed almost everything the actors and organisers had ever seen before: In pouring rain, about 2,500 fans came with the Söll mountain railway to meet their stars from the series for once "in real". The first ones had already arrived at 8.30 a.m. to get a seat in the front row - and stayed there until the end of the show at 1 p.m.. What was going on in the Söller Hexenwasser in between? A short review of a wet but incredibly atmospheric day with Hans Sigl, Natalie O'Hara, Heiko Ruprecht, Andrea Gerhard and Rebecca Immanuel at the Wilder Kaiser.
To kick things off, host Sebastian Kaufmann, whose voice Tyrolean fans know mainly from the radio, welcomed the not-so-"new" series couple Andrea Gerhard and Heiko Ruprecht. They made a stylish appearance - with a tractor! Heiko Ruprecht has the necessary skills for this; in the series, Bergdoktor brother "Hans" as a farmer at the Gruberhof farm, of course, regularly curves through the picture with this tractor, for which he had to practise, at least in the beginning. In the meantime, however, he has become a real pro, as his safe drive to the stage proved. His enthusiasm for this type of vehicle was then just as much a topic of conversation on stage as Andrea Gerhard's first choice when it comes to getting around: as always, she travelled to the Bergfest by train, as a sustainable and environmentally friendly way of life is a great concern to her, as one learns not least from her podcast "ZWEIvorZWÖLF". She even went home with a golden witch's broom - but more about that later..
Natalie O'Hara joined the stage conversation next - this time without a grand piano, but full of anticipation for the upcoming premiere of her debut as a pianist. From 4 October, she will be seen in the 1-person play "Alice - Spiel um dein Leben" at the Hamburger Kammerspiele. In the play, which is a tribute to the Jewish pianist Alice Herz-Sommer, she not only plays the piano fantastically, but also plays 20 roles alone. Anyone who has the opportunity should by no means miss it.
With umbrella, charm and poncho on stage
Serial doctor Vera Fendrich aka. Rebecca Immanuel once again came on stage with an umbrella - in contrast to Bergfest 2021, where she spectacularly flew in with a paraglider, this time she "only entered" with an umbrella due to the weather, as presenter Sebastian Kaufmann noted with amusement. Even if she would have liked to fly through the air again this year - Rebecca Immanuel certainly won't let the weather spoil her mood. She is practically an expert in approaching things positively - even when things are not going so well. This is what she stands for with her heartfelt project "Herzlächeln" (Smile of the Heart), in which she conducts inspiring conversations with well-known personalities live on Instagram in regular interviews.
Without any umbrella at all, but as always with a lot of charm and in 100 percent solidarity with the fans, "Bergdoktor" Hans Sigl also came on stage in an environmentally friendly rain poncho made of cornstarch. There, the series doctor philosophised with the fans about cows and kissing. And whoever thought that romantic anecdotes were being told? You thought wrong! When asked by the audience what it was like to shoot kissing scenes, Hans Sigl explained that it was "mainly a technical process" - and with his further explanations of various "kissing techniques" (keyword: "The Beaver"), he caused hearty laughter in the audience and on stage. From kissing, it went on seamlessly to a premiere at the Bergdoktor events - the big quiz! Since Hans Sigl has recently also been working as a TV quiz host, this was just the right thing to do - but unfortunately he still didn't win.
Andrea Gerhard as quizmaster and honorary witch
Most of the answers to questions about the series, but also about the Wilder Kaiser region, were known by his "series assistant" Linn Kemper, aka Andrea Gerhard, and she thus secured the main prize, the golden witch's broom (donated by the hosts, the famous witches in the Hexenwasser). The pictures prove that it really does look good on her - whether she flew home on it or transported it in the luggage rack of the train is not known. So if there have been sightings of witches in the sky between the Wilder Kaiser and Hamburg in the past few days, we would already have an idea who it could have been..
Pictures that can be used free of charge for editorial reporting in connection with the Bergdoktor Mountain Festival can be downloaded here.
CREDIT: TVB Wilder Kaiser/Sabine Holaubek