What do you eat for breakfast?

Peter Philipp Schmitt

Editor in the department "Germany and the World".

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i have phases

Egg phases, for example, but they usually don't last long.

I've been in a smoothie phase since I was in London recently: baby spinach, lots, a little maca powder, some cashews, plus half an apple and half a pear, all mixed with 700ml oat milk - wonderful.

Where do you buy your clothes?

I don't like shopping for clothes.

Only if I really have to or I really like something.

And I have to admit that I buy a lot on the internet.

If a pair of jeans fits me well, I buy three of them and


then have my peace for a while.

What is the oldest item of clothing in your closet?

This is a suit of Yoji Yamamoto.

In the early 1990s, he had asked a fashion show in the Louvre and other actors, writers and painters to run for him.

I got two suits for it back then, and unfortunately the second one is gone now too.

But I wore it for almost 30 years.

When was the last time you wrote a letter by hand?

Two years ago I discovered a small house on a lake, a little way from Berlin.

I really wanted to have that, as did very, very many other


people.

That's why I sat down overnight and wrote a letter that had to be good enough for me to get the little house.

It worked.

That was my last large handwritten deed.

What book has impressed you the most in life?

It used to be Gabriel García Márquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude.

That really captivated me because it's like a world of its own that you dive into.

Most recently it was Merlin Sheldrake's "Tangled Life," a book about mushrooms that we underestimate the importance of.

Life without mushrooms is not possible and hardly anyone seems to know it.

How do you find out about world events?

About the apps from “Süddeutsche Zeitung”, “Zeit”, “Spiegel”, “Guardian” and – of course – the FAZ Those are the five most important ones for me.

What's your favorite small talk topic?

Small talk is terrible.

I don't even like the word.

I can actually only make small talk when I feel good, and when I feel good I don't need small talk.

What was the last movie that made you cry?

When I recently met refugees from Ukraine arriving at Berlin Central Station, I shed tears.

The dramatic experiences, seeing the shock in their eyes - that was very upsetting.

Sorry, this isn't a movie.

Are you superstitious?

There used to be something like that in the theatre.

You drank a Fernet-Branca before a performance and it was the best performance ever.

So afterwards you always had to drink a Fernet-Branca before the performance.

It was more of a ritual, but there was also a bit of superstition involved.

What can you laugh about?

About me.

And I love situation comedy in everyday life.

When you have someone at your side who sees things the same way, it's a big party.

And of course always good jokes.

your favorite first name?

Paulina, Jacob and Emil.

Do you take a lunch break?

Actually yes, but then suddenly it's four and I realize that I'm hungry and have forgotten the lunch break once again.

In which country would you like to live?

In Germany in my little house by the lake or in one of the Greek Cyclades in the Aegean.

What's never missing in your fridge?

Butter.

And good butter, the best butter.

butter over everything.

I wouldn't eat a pretzel without butter.

Do you feel freer with or without a car?

I like cars.

There is something very meditative about driving long distances alone.

You move and still be on your own.

But I am also a passionate motorcyclist.

What's your greatest talent?

Others have to say that.

What do you do when it's unreasonable?

Eat too much, drink too much.

.

.

I'm there for everything that starts with "too much".

Which historical person would you like to meet?

One of the first Homo sapiens, around 300,000 years ago.

I would be extremely interested in what would happen if you confronted a person of the same species after such a long time - preferably


with careful distance and curiosity.

Do you wear jewellery?

And a watch?

no

I used to wear earrings once.

I don't need a watch.

Clocks are everywhere, so there is no question of time.

Do you have a favorite scent?

What a sensual, sensitive feast smelling is!

And yet I've been wearing the same perfume for 20 years.

What was your best holiday experience?

When I drive to my house by the lake, there is a route through the forest, about five, six, maybe eight kilometers long.

Before that is the city, after that comes the country.

This transition from high energy to stillness


is particularly beautiful for me.

I also listen to music by Gustav Mahler.

It's not a real vacation, but it's a break.

What concert were you at last?

In November I went to Braunschweig Cathedral with Daniel Hope.

Our program is called "Paradise" and is a musical reading.

He played music on his violin from Bach to Debussy to Ravel, I read texts from


Aeschylus to Dostoyevsky to Zweig.

Luckily, what are you missing?

Happiness is overrated, it comes and goes.

All attempts to hold on to it reliably fail.

And that's good.

what do you drink for dinner

Very fond of red wine.

Which brings us back to "too much".

Recorded by Peter-Philipp Schmitt.