From Personal Pilgrimage to Global Bestseller

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(© Simon & Schuster)

In 2001, German comedian and author Hape Kerkeling went on a pilgrimage along the Camino de Santiago in northern Spain. He documented this spiritual journey in a personal diary turned book which became a bestseller in Germany, where it has sold more than 3 million copies since its publication in 2006.

Translated into almost a dozen languages, it has now been published in the United States by Simon & Schuster under the title "I'm Off Then" (Ich bin dann mal weg). Striking a vibrant yet easygoing tone reminiscent of Bill Bryson, Kerkeling humorously chronicles his experiences and observations during a six-week oddysey of self-discovery.

An award-winning entertainer in Germany, Kerkeling has hosted a German-language version of the popular TV show "Dancing with the Stars" and has been known to appear in various guises on a variety of programs.

The most internationally recognized of these widely divergent alter egos is Horst Schlämmer, a boorish average German Joe who just happens to be running for chancellor on a far from enlightened platform in the parody "Horst Schlämmer - Isch kandidiere!", released in German movie theaters in August 2009 - a mere month before the country's next big national election.

During a September 2009 visit to the Germany Embassy in Washington, Kerkeling was feted by Ambassador Klaus Scharioth, read from the new US version of his book before a live audience, and spoke with Germany.info about how it all happened in the first place.

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Hans-Peter "Hape" Kerkeling received a 2008 Bavarian television award for a broadcast in which he read aloud from his bestseller "Ich bin dann mal weg" (I'm Off Then).

(© picture-alliance/dpa)

How did you get the idea for this hiking trip and this book?

There is a difference between a hiking trip and a pilgrimage ... I started out on this pilgrimage after undergoing surgery to remove my gallbladder and experiencing a sudden hearing loss.

After that I really did not want to go through a typical convalescence period but instead use this time to do something totally different. And so I got the idea to go on this pilgrimage. I was fortunate in that it just came to me this way.

Why did you chose the Camino de Santiago?

That was really pure coincidence. I knew that the Santiago de Compostela was a pilgrimage site. But what I did not know is that one can walk more than 800 kilometers (500 miles) to reach it. I first heard about this from a book I picked up randomly in a bookstore which inspired me to walk along the Camino de Santiago.

I would have also liked to hike around Mount Kailaish (in Tibet) - that is a famous buddhist pilgrimage. But at the time I excluded this option for myself, and I still exclude it, simply because it would be too physically challenging for me.

Surely you met some interesting people during your pilgrimage. What were they seeking?

The wonderful thing about going on a pilgrimage is that you meet people who are preoccupied with questions pertaining to their own existence. If you hike along an old mountain route, you will usually meet other hikers who are out enjoying the natural world as tourists. And such encounters tend to remain - at least in my experience - superficial in nature.

When by contrast you hike along a pilgrimage route, then you meet people in search of a truly meaningful experience, who want to change something specific about their lives, or are seeking something in particular. And in this regard every encounter is special, because these people are in a certain state of mind. I cannot quite describe it any other way.

This pathway is so special because you sense that in the last thousand years millions of people have walked along it. If you hike through the so-called valley of the stone men, for instance, where every pilgrim is supposed to build their own stone man - and most of them actually do this - then you become keenly aware just how many people have gone through these same trials with their own longings, with their own fears, with their own desires.

That is what makes this particular path so special.

What was your own personal goal in the process - more athletic, more spiritual, or a combination of both?

I was not really interested in the athletic aspect, and have not become a hiker to this day. I had to push myself anew every day to finish my daily hike of 20 to 30 kilometers (12 to 19 miles).

What did interest me was more of an inward journey, which takes place through this constant movement and because your body is somehow distracted by the pain you thereby inflict upon it. This pain also becomes bearable when you realize what its source is, and in the best possible scenario this allows you to clear your head and open yourself up to something new.

Did you find God or something spiritual in the process?

That was my goal. I am a believer, although I once had many more doubts. So I would say I am more confident about it now than I was before - that I was strengthened in my belief. I have categorized this as a spiritual experience for me, although another person could experience something similar or even experience the very same thing and categorize it totally differently. Of course it remains subjective, but for me it was a spiritual experience.

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Hape Kerkeling as Horst Schlämmer at the August 2009 Berlin premiere of the film "Horst Schlämmer - Isch kandidiere!".

(© dpa - Bildfunk)

How would you explain the success of your book in Germany?

I have no idea. It remains a mystery to me. This book came about purely by coincidence. I had never planned to publish it. I was chatting in a private conversation with (German talkshow host) Sandra Maischberger ... and then at some stage I blurted out: "I went on a pilgrimage!"

And then she looked at me and said: "A pilgrimage ... can we talk about this on TV?" And then I said: "No way - this is too private, I don't want that."

But then she convinced me anyway, and I did talk about it and then the Pieper publishing house contacted me. I sent them my original diary, which they wanted to publish five years after my pilgrimage. Then I reworked the whole thing and it was published.

Yet the publishers faced a dilemma - not a single bookseller wanted to take on this book, because they all said: "Well the name Kerkeling is really great, and surely he could sell some kind of book, but not on this topic, which we can find no use for and which really does not interest us at all."

Nevertheless the first printing was quite respectable at about 30,000 copies ... The only thing we had was a preview of one chapter reprinted in (the German weekly newspaper) "Die Zeit", and based solely on this article and a short interview, where I was slammed by (German newsmagazine) "Der Spiegel", the first edition was sold out on the first day of its publication. And then more copies were printed until some 3 million copies were sold.

So neither the publishing house nor I had anticipated this. I had actually assumed that the critics would tear me apart and that maybe 5,000 people would say: "(It's an) obscure topic, but I will read it anyhow."

And now I have a kind of mean question for you ...

106 Kilo (234 pounds) ...

No, it's a question about humor. The British have their own, very famous, brand of humor, as do the Americans to a certain extent. In the UK and US, by contrast, Germans are often labeled as "humorless". Do you think this is an unfair prejudice, or is there something to it?

Is this an unfair prejudice? Of course it is, at the end of the day. The Germans have a lot of humor. And it is precisely international performers, wherever they may come from - be it the United States or France or Italy - who without exception praise German audiences. And they say this even when they are asked about it in other countries. So they are not just out to flatter the Germans but to praise German audiences for their willingness to go along with things, to have fun, to laugh. Based on this (positive feedback) I would definitely say that the Germans are humorous.

However when I observe my own countrymen going about their daily business, well they do move about more awkwardly perhaps than, say, the Italians. And our language is not always easy - as beautiful as it is, and I do love it. But for someone who does not speak the language I believe it does sound kind of harsh. That is why I sometimes try to enunciate everything softly, so it somehow sounds more like a romance language or more anglo-saxon. (Kerkeling's pleasantly soft-spoken enunciation in German does indeed come across over the course of this discussion ... )

So in a certain sense this prejudice is definitely true at first glance. But when you dig a little deeper you will find that the Germans are really quite humorous. Every person has a sense of humor (laughs). And because the Germans are people, they have a sense of humor too.

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Kerkeling performed in drag as another alter ego, singer Uschi Blum, on a February 2009 episode of the hit German variety show "Wetten, dass ... ?" taped in Düsseldorf.

(© dpa/Sven Simon)

Have you been to the US before?

Often.

Do you like it here, do you have any favorite places?

I love America. I love America! I don't really have any favorite places. For me it is always exciting again when I come to America ... I feel like I'm going back in time to when I was 15 or 16 years old and learning English in high school, which included a lot of American history. And in this regard I really find it very refreshing to be here.

And do you think the Americans are funny?

I do find them funny ... Everyone is always ready here to crack a joke during a conversation or to lead up to a punch line.

Do you have favorite entertainers in the US?

I would not say I have favorite entertainers, but I think Woody Allen is marvelous. For me he is the Nonplusultra - he is just unbeatable.

Have you seen "Vicky Christina Barcelona"?

Yes, and I think it is almost his best film – it is a great film.

Back to the book: Surely you are hoping it does well in America.  Do you believe it will speak to a lot of people here? Would you recommend a similar kind of pilgrimage to Americans?

It seems to me that a lot of Americans go on pilgrimages. When I was on my own pilgrimage, I would estimate that about 10 to 15 percent of my fellow pilgrims were Americans.

I have no idea whether or not the book will be a success in the United States. It is altogether possible, because Americans are indeed interested in spirituality and are really open to such themes. In this regard it is not inconceivable.

But just the mere fact that it will be published in the United States is cause enough to me for great joy. And how many copies of the book are sold at the end of the day - I would not say that I do not care about this, but it is not of the utmost importance. I am simply excited - every other day I think "unbelievable - this is the book, it has been published, it has been translated!"

And I stand before it in amazement!

Related Links:

Hape Kerkeling (official site, in German)

A Pilgrimage Tale (Not Chaucer's) Amuses and Inspires (The New York Times)

Before Election, Not a Voter Was Stirring (The New York Times)

Comedian Hape Kerkeling illuminates the way for spiritual seekers (Examiner.com)

A comedian for chancellor? Why not, Germans think. (Examiner.com)