Collien Ulmen-Fernandes (41) emigrated to Mallorca with her husband Christian Ulmen (47) and their daughter. The family has been temporarily living in an apartment on the Balearic island since January. “We bought a house there that is currently being renovated,” explains the presenter and actress in an interview.
“But the center of my life will continue to be in Germany,” says the 41-year-old, who will be shown in two TV formats at Easter. On Easter Sunday (8:15 p.m., ZDF) she sets course for Vancouver, Canada, with the “Dream Ship”. On Easter Monday (5:30 p.m., ZDF) she will lead you through the documentary “When the impossible becomes true. How miracles change our lives”. In an interview with spot on news, Ulmen-Fernandes describes what miracles she has already experienced herself and what challenges her move to Mallorca entails.
Collien Ulmen-Fernandes: We have been temporarily living in an apartment on Mallorca since January. We bought a house there that is currently being renovated. But the center of my life will continue to be Germany, because I shoot a lot there, for example for my current ZDF program “When the impossible comes true”.
Ulmen-Fernandes: Such a restructuring process is always exhausting. Many decisions have to be made: doorknobs, fittings, light switches. Something has to be decided every day. It’s not that easy when you’re filming and just before “and action” you have to release a doorknob.
Ulmen-Fernandes: Absolutely. We have an amazing interior designer who makes excellent suggestions. We only have to say “yes” or “no” and this has always been done with great unanimity.
Ulmen-Fernandes: That was a pretty spontaneous thought. The house purchase took place within a few days. A shoot was postponed for me and we saw that three hours later there was a plane to Mallorca. So we spontaneously flew to Mallorca, spontaneously looked at a house there and bought it.
Ulmen-Fernandes: I happened to be on the talk show “Kölner Treff” with Jan Hofer and asked him where he lived. Majorca! This is happening to me all the time. It feels like you only meet Mallorca emigrants. And yes, they are happy to give lots of tips.
Ulmen-Fernandes: She thinks it’s great and has already made many new friends.
Ulmen-Fernandes: I look forward to when the renovation work is finally complete and we can finally move into the new house. We have a wonderful view over Palma to the sea. I can think a lot better with this look. I have never written my columns as quickly and inspired as there. This vision frees the mind.
Ulmen-Fernandes: That’s why I still live in Germany. This way I can do my shoots in one go and don’t have to go back and forth all the time. For sustainability reasons, I mostly try to cover the distance by ferry. So I go to Germany, shoot for two to three weeks at a time and then go back to Mallorca.
Ulmen-Fernandes: Yes, that’s right. Especially since one is fiction and the other is documentary. I am happy that I can serve both areas and that ZDF keeps coming up with such exciting topics as the current show. If you break it down, I would say that the show is about hope. We accompany people who have not lost hope even in really life-threatening situations. For me, as a born pessimist, that is really impressive.
Ulmen Fernandes: Yes. I had ordered a convertible, the delivery of which was delayed by a week. This week, after many rainy days, there was finally a sunny day and I was out and about in my old car. If I had already had the convertible, I would definitely have driven with the roof down. That day, a tree crashed onto my car roof. He just fell over. There was a huge bang and suddenly it was dark. The treetop had wrapped itself around my car. I definitely wouldn’t have survived that in a convertible. So I owe my life to this late convertible.
Ulmen-Fernandes: I find it exciting the power that can emanate from places. What power thoughts can have, believing in something. Whether that is a god or a talisman. Basically, it helps if you believe in something. This is exactly what I talk to our expert, the psychologist Leon Windscheid, who says that it makes sense to make a pilgrimage to Lourdes. If you have a serious illness and hope for a spontaneous healing – why not make a pilgrimage there? You can actually draw power from rituals, from places, from lucky charms. If you embark on this journey, then that means that you trust that you will experience healing there.
Ulmen-Fernandes: At Easter I will be just before India with the dream ship. I’m trying to get my extended Indian family on the ship and hopefully we’ll all celebrate Indian Easter there together.
