International

Senta Berger: “The important things in life happen while driving”

Alicia Castro

© (M) Paul Schirnhofer

For the 261st episode of And what do you do on the weekend? we have the actress Senta Berger visited her at home in Munich-Grünwald. She was born in Vienna in 1941 and grew up there. She initially had an international film career in Hollywood and Italy, and in the 1980s and 1990s she shot legendary series for German television Kir Royal and The fast Gerdi. For her numerous roles, Senta Berger has been awarded the German Federal Cross of Merit, the German Film and German Television Awards and the Grimme Prize, among others. In the podcast she talks about the weekends of her childhood and youth in post-war Vienna and later with her family in Munich – and says that she actually wanted to become a ballet dancer. She explains the secret of the love of her life with her husband, the director Michael Verhoeven, who died in 2024. “He was a wonderful walker.” During their walks together, the two often wrote scripts together,“We always talked to each other, I miss that a lot.” When she first met Michael Verhoeven, she thought: “It’s inevitable.” To this day, Senta Berger begins her weekends with coffee, so she will always be a Viennese in her heart. And with music against the silence. In the podcast she also talks about her two sons Luca and Simon, about filming with Udo Jürgens at the Viktualienmarkt in Munich and with Kirk Douglas in Israel. She raves about the Viennese coffee house culture and her favorite meal at Schumann’s Bar. And tells how working in the theater in Salzburg and Vienna saved her career as an actress after she returned from the USA.

Hosting the weekend podcast together: Ubin Eoh (l.) and Christoph Amend (r.) © Marzena Skubatz for ZEIT ONLINE

Senta Berger’s recommendations:

Favorite place in Germany:

  • Berlin-Charlottenburg around Savignyplatz, from Mommsenstrasse to Wielandstrasse

Places in Vienna:

  • Explore the beautiful inner courtyards of Vienna
  • The city park of Vienna
  • The Vienna suburbs with their wine taverns

Restaurants:

  • Schumann’s Bar at the Hofgarten in Munich
  • Servant Tattersall in Berlin
  • Jules Verne in Berlin

Films:

  • 100 per by Simon and Luca Verhoeven
  • My father’s horses I. Part Lena and Nicoline

Hear:

  • Radio stations Bayern 2 and 4

You can now find all the recommendations from our guests in Germany on our interactive map. You can reach the team at wochenende@zeit.de.

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