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Spanish City Santiago de Compostela is Scenario of a German Best-Seller

September 25th, 2014
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News from Berlin - Santiago de Compostela, the capital city of Galicia (Spain), will act as the scenery of a German film based on the bestseller “Ich bin dann mal weg” or, in English, “I’m off then: my journey along the Camino de Santiago” by Hape Kerkeling. In our time, the cameras invaded Praza do Obradoiro, the square situated in front of the Romanic Cathedral that has inspired so many adventures amongst pilgrims, writers and filmmakers.

Hape Kerkeling is a German actor, presenter and comedian. In his book he describes his journey towards Santiago de Compostela. The book was a success in 2006, selling over four million copies, and remaining at the top of sales lists for more than 100 weeks in Germany. It happened to be an inspiration for thousands of Germans, who decided to embark upon the same pilgrimage as Nico Hofmann, the book’s protagonist. He decided to do the journey after suffering from an illness. Now the novel will be shot as a movie in Berlin, Brandenburg and Santiago de Compostela itself.

According to the Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs, who reported about this event, the “Camino de Santiago” has been a literary topic for over a thousand years. Hape Kerkeling himself walked over 650 kilometers before he reached the city, and this book is based on the six weeks he spent wandering through Europe. The book has been translated into a multiplicity of other languages.

News from Berlin – Berlin Global