Werner Schmidbauer from the BR summit before his last episode

One of her songs means: « If it’s time ». And there is also the clever advice that you should cede on the summit. You took that quite literally, right?

Werner Schmidbauer: In this case. For me it is in many of my songs that I only notice many years later how much they apply to my life. In fact, in this case I wrestled with myself whether I should really give up the program « summit ». The broadcaster wanted me to continue and the odds were also good. But I had this feeling that now is the right time to stop. And in fact this song went through my head.

How do you make such a decision?

Schmidbauer: At some point I spoke to my cameraman Stephan Nöbauer, who was there from the start. He has been carrying the camera up on the mountain for 22 years. And he is now 66 and should no longer do the job if he was not a free, not permanently employed cameraman. My editor Sonja Kochendörfer had to be a permanent employee at BR retire. The two are essential for the program. When she told me she would stop now, the thought came to me: Why don’t we stop all three together? A little musketan.

You end the « summit », in which you always hike to a mountain summit with a celebrity, on Good Friday at 5:45 p.m. on BR television by chatting with your friend and long-time musical partner Martin Kälberer. Does this day have a symbolic character?

Schmidbauer: This is a coincidence. We recorded the episode in autumn. The actually planned episode would have been with Giovanni de Lorenzo, who started watching TV in 1984. But this mountain tour had to fail because Giovanni only had one day, and the weather was so bad that we couldn’t turn. Then the idea came up to broadcast the show with Martin on Good Friday and another « Best of » on Easter Monday. Incidentally, I find this expression terrible, which is why the episode also means « momentum collector ».

You were on the Mitterberg near Bad Feilnbach, that was also the summit of the first episode of 2003. When did you get the idea of ​​bringing homemade meat planters with you?

Schmidbauer (laughs): Nobody has asked that yet. Most believe that I would have had them from the start. In fact, in my first broadcast, I still had a normal sausage with the Elmar Wepper, which I worshiped. At that time a strong hair dryer blew that blown the sausage from the Semmel. It was then hung in the mountain pines ten meters further. A few episodes later I had Alfons Schuhbeck included. Of course he is an outstanding cook that was incredibly popular. Then I thought you couldn’t just give it a sausage smile. And that’s why I put myself in the kitchen myself and fried out the meat planter after a recipe for my mother. The tragic thing is that the Schuhbeck never got her because a hailstorm surprised us at the summit. That was one of the few programs that we had to cancel above. Then we fled to a hut, and the host was so impressed by the Schuhbeck that he sizzled a few schnitzel. That’s why I only ate the meat planters at home (laughs).

Do you have a favorite mountain?

Schmidbauer: I have been a Wahl-Allgäuer for five years and there are really nice mountains here. But my favorite mountain is still the Brünnstein in the Inn Valley. I was already 40 to 50 times up. And my friend, who has a hut at the foot of the summit, also gave me the idea for the program « summit ».

What else do you want to tear musically after playing in the arena in Verona in front of over 10,000 people?

Schmidbauer (laughs): This has less to do with the number of people. We recently played in front of 300 people at the Stockerhof near Pfaffenhofen. It’s nice too. I come from the clubs and will go back again and again. In Verona it was clear to me that it would no longer be bigger. That’s why I don’t have to go anywhere. I no longer collect future plans, but have become a moment collector myself. I am happy about every evening when my fingers still work.

They no longer live in Bad Aibling, but for private reasons in Kempten. How are you as an upper Bavarian?

Schmidbauer: I have been living directly in Kempten for several years. Before that, I have often played in the Allgäu and had the experience that the Allgäuers are very special. If you don’t know them, you think they are a bit strange because they don’t talk that much. They are comparable to the people in Sicily who also come some taciturn. But if you get to know them and let them go to them, then you notice that they just don’t want to talk nonsense. There are regions in Upper Bavaria where it is very different. In Munich, where I was born, for example. Many are rather chattering – and I know what I’m talking about (he laughs). With my mother -in -law, I initially had a fun experience. When I met them for the first time, she told me: ‘Mei, Mr. Schmidbauer, I know her and also saw her last show. ” And when I asked: « And? » She replied: « Has Mr Ned Gfalla. » (laughs). I like this authentic on the Allgäu. I like the sparseness and simplicity, combined with warmth of the heart.

To person: Werner Schmidbauer, 63, was in BR television known with the program « Live from the Alabama ». As a musician, he has celebrated great success with the « South » tour alongside Martin Kälberer and Pippo Pollina. Schmidbauer is married in a second marriage, has three children and lives in Kempten.