“The Mountain Rescuers” star Luise Bähr: Do Katharina and Markus still have a chance?

“The mountain rescuers” are starting again. The 16th season of the popular action series begins on November 7th (8:25 p.m.) on ZDF. In addition to rapid rescue operations at dizzying heights, the new episodes also promise a lot of romantic drama surrounding mountain rescuer Markus Kofler (Sebastian Ströbel, 47). Although he has found new love, he lives with two ex-girlfriends. One of them is Katharina Strasser, played by Luise Bähr (45). She has been playing the emergency doctor on “Die Bergretter” since 2014 and is now celebrating her tenth anniversary.

In an interview with the news agency spot on news, Luise Bähr looks back and remembers her very first assignment for “Die Bergretter”. She also reveals what still throws her off track after ten years and what the chances of a love comeback between Katharina and Markus are.

Luise Bähr: I can still remember exactly how I put on the mountain boots and the red mountain rescue jacket for the first time. I immediately had the feeling that it was a good fit. Ready for all adventures. On the first day I had to abseil directly into a built crevice. Our chief mountain rescuer asked me: “Have you ever done this?” Then I said: “Yes, but not in a situation like this here and, above all, I’ve never had to look cool doing it!” But I was brave and straight into action. The red jacket helped me (laughs). It was really nice, I will definitely never forget it.

Bähr: Yes, exactly. I love the thrill. We always have real mountain rescuers on site to keep us safe. But we’ve been doing it for so long now that they know that we also know our stuff – and can do almost everything ourselves. So things like abseiling or flying on a heli-rope, I do everything myself. For more difficult situations, such as crashes, we have a stunt team on site that accompanies us. So we’re always in a great position. Action scenes are always a welcome challenge for me.

Bähr: Absolutely. A few years ago we were presented with the honorary mountain rescuer title – which is very nice – with a small badge. Whoever wears this is obliged to help. For me it’s two things: On the one hand, I play an emergency doctor and I’m happy that I’m so familiar with the little first aid ABCs that I could actually help in an emergency. Everyone should refresh this regularly. The other thing I learned from the mountain rescuers is to always keep calm and stay level-headed. This is the most important thing, especially in extreme or dangerous situations. We always tell the film at a high tempo to increase the tension. But in reality, mountain rescuers are very calm in such situations. I copied that and took it with me for life.

Bähr: I still have the problem that I have to grin every time I fly in the helicopter because I still find it so beautiful. But most of the time I have to look serious in the game. That always throws me off track because I actually enjoy it so much. And of course my colleague’s blue eyes. (laughs)

Bähr: Well, most of the time these are actually the natural experiences that the filming locations give us that we don’t have otherwise. For example, if you stand on top of the mountain before sunrise, the fog is still hanging in the valley and then the sun rises. These are moments that make me happy. You don’t necessarily experience something like that very often in normal life. It was particularly fascinating to stand in a real crevasse. Such experiences are impressive. And then of course there are the great colleagues and the unique team. We really spend a lot of time together and always say to each other: working time is life time. That’s why we make it as nice as possible. Over the years we have also had many real adventures while filming. Of course that brings us together. We have really become a real “mountain rescuer” family, friends for life.

Bähr: The nice thing is that, like every person, every role evolves. So far I really like it. Katharina and I are also a bit similar. We are both brave women with whom you can steal horses and at the same time have a lot of empathy. That unites us a little. But I’m glad that I know more precisely what I want in my life than she does. Katharina is still searching, even if she finds out more and more this season.

Bähr: Yes, she is starting to emancipate herself more and pursue her own goals. Markus is in firm hands and she tries to look forward. And life plays a few nice cards to her.

Bähr: That she finds happiness. Whether with or without Markus… who knows?

Bähr: No. I believe that once you have truly loved each other and felt such a deep love as these two, then it never really works. But when you love, you also have to be able to let go. You have to see how you deal with it or whether this love might be rekindled again. The viewer can be curious to see who will be in whose arms at the end…

Bähr: Yes, absolutely. I also constantly get fan mail saying that this is my greatest wish and that I should please make a little effort. (laughs)