The historical "Zeitreisen" on NDR is getting a new tour guide: Yared Dibaba (57) will host the popular series from now on. He replaces Hubertus Meyer-Burckhardt (69). Accordingly, the title is also changing - "Meyer-Burckhardts Zeitreisen" will become "Yareds Zeitreisen". NDR announced this on Friday.
Dibaba is visibly excited about his new position. "Historical stories and anecdotes have always been highlights in my previous shows - it's great that I can now present my own series about them", the host is quoted as saying. "Yareds Zeitreisen" is set to premiere on NDR on August 12.
Traveling through the north with hundred-year-old travel guides
The change in the hosting position doesn't alter the concept of the series. Like his predecessor, Dibaba travels through the north with travel guides that are about 100 years old. The search for traces focuses on people and their stories, but also on locations, inventions, or buildings that already appeared in the old volumes or film documents back then and whose remnants can still be tracked down today.
In the Harz region, Dibaba encounters descendants of the naturist movement, for example, and in Hamburg's Övelgönne district - also called Oevelgönne - he learns how captains once rented out their houses to short-term vacationers. In Bremen, the host investigates the curious question of why a "Spülklosett-Darlehen" is even mentioned in a travel guide.
From Petuh-Tanten to Hans Albers
The Flensburg "Petuh-Tanten" also appear, as does the island of Oie in Western Pomerania. There, Hans Albers (1891-1960) once belted out his famous "Flieger, grüß mir die Sonne!" for the 1932 UFA film "F.P.1 antwortet nicht".
Hubertus Meyer-Burckhardt is passing on the "Zeitreisen" baton after five years because he wants to rearrange his priorities. "When I do television, I do it with full commitment! With many episodes of the 'NDR Talk Show', 'Kaum zu glauben' and long reading tours for my books, the elaborate 'Zeitreisen' would hardly have been possible for me in the future", he explains his departure.
Two farewell episodes and a well-wishing predecessor
Two more new episodes with host Meyer-Burckhardt will be broadcast. They can be seen on NDR on July 29 and August 5, starting at 9 p.m. each time. "I haven't learned as much about history from any other show as I have from 'Zeitreisen'", Meyer-Burckhardt enthuses, and he trusts that successor Dibaba knows the north very well. Dibaba even brings relevant prior experience. "And I even have a bit of professional experience as a tour guide", says Dibaba with a wink - "before my TV career, I used to be a tour guide for city tours".
