SIGNIERSTUNDE: "Glück gehabt!" - Über das Unterwegssein, das Filmemachen und das Leben an sich

Come join us for Franz Xaver Gernstl’s book signing on July 16, 2026, at your Hugendubel bookstore in Munich’s Fünf Höfe!

In his SPIEGEL bestseller “Glück gehabt!” (Lucky Me!), Gernstl shares his best stories, recounts his wild years “on the road,” and describes what he found without ever looking for it: an adventurous life with his best friends and a glimpse of what happiness means.

About the book:
Three men in a red bus. For 40 years, Franz Xaver Gernstl traveled the length and breadth of the world with two friends—in search of good stories and extraordinary people. People in the countryside and in the city, on the fringes of society and in the fast lane. How do they live? What drives them? What do they dream of? This became the BR cult series “Gernstl unterwegs.” In over 1,000 conversations, people share their life stories—openly, directly, and sometimes in rather quirky ways. But how do such encounters come about? Can you plan for chance? Or does it all come down to one thing: just plain luck?!

About the Author:
Franz Xaver Gernstl, born in 1951, is a trained banker and holds a degree in social pedagogy, but he quickly realized that juggling numbers in a tailcoat and suit or sitting in an ivory tower wasn’t for him. He wanted to get out there, tell stories, meet people, and make films. What began as a fixed idea for Bayerischer Rundfunk—“Driving around in search of something”—turned into an unparalleled TV success story: “Gernstl unterwegs” aired on television for 42 years and achieved cult status. Together with cameraman Hans Peter Fischer and sound engineer Stefan Ravasz, he traveled across Germany, Europe, and the world from 1983 to 2024, serving as producer, director, and host all at once. Filmmaker Franz Xaver Gernstl, through his production company megaherz Film und Fernsehen, is responsible for numerous hit shows on the German TV landscape: “Landfrauenküche,” “Willi wills wissen,” “Checker Tobi,” and “Checkerin Marina” are among them, as is “Erleuchtung garantiert” by Doris Dörrie. Gernstl and megaherz are multiple Grimme Award winners and recipients of the Bavarian Film Award, the Bavarian Television Award, and the German Film Award.

Pre-register now for free!