''Wege zum Glück'' (English: ''Ways to Happiness'')
/ref> is a German

telenovela A telenovela is a type of a television serial drama or soap opera produced primarily in Latin America. The word combines ''tele'' (for "television") and ''novela'' (meaning "novel"). Similar Drama (film and television), drama genres around the w ...

. The show was starting on October 6, 2005, on

ZDF ZDF (), short for (; ), is a German public-service television broadcaster based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. Launched on 1 April 1963, it is run as an independent nonprofit institution, and was founded by all federal states of Germany ( ...

and originally was planned to have 250 chapters. Later the concept was changed and the title became a label to tell different love stories in

-style. After 789 chapters, the network decided to cancel the show. The last episode aired on February 24, 2009. ZDF decided to end the show after ratings declined from season to season. Unable to find a successful replacement, the network announced in January 2012 that a deal was made with the production company Grundy UFA to reactivate the ''Wege zum Glück'' series. The melodramatic stories were also shown in

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

and

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

Overview

Season 1

Chapter 1 - Chapter 250: (''

Julia – Wege zum Glück ''Julia – Wege zum Glück'' is a German television series. After Chapter 250 the title was changed into ''Wege zum Glück''. See also *List of German television series The following is a list of television series produced in Germany: Cu ...

'') Julia Schilling meets Daniel Gravenberg on a tour in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

and they eventually start to fall for each other. But then Julia has to flee together with her troubled mother Christa. They get back to Germany and Julia thinks that she lost Daniel forever. Penniless, Julia tries to start a new life in the fictional town Falkental and begins working at a porcelain manufactory. She first does not know that Daniel is the junior executive at the company. After many complications and schemes from Daniel's mother Annabelle, the pair get their happy end.

Season 2

Chapter 251 - Chapter 500: Nina Bergmann is a single parent after her husband Max van Weyden went missing on a Photo Safari. Nina tried to find him, but in the end had to flee to her aunt Birgit Hertel, who lives in Falkental. She meets Julia's half brother Ben Petersen and falls in love with him after they work closely together in the manufactory. Eventually Nina has to fight for custody over her daughter as Annabelle's new husband Richard van Weyden, Max' father, does not think she's a responsible parent. As Annabelle has to fight against the rejection of Richard's daughter Viktoria, Nina finds a rival Elsa Ritter for Ben's heart just as Max returns into their lives. In the end, Nina and Ben get married and leave for their honeymoon in the Caribbean.

Season 3

Chapter 501 - Chapter 703: Luisa Maywald comes together with her adoptive sister Nora to Falkental to search for her biological mother. Someday she runs into Simon Becker and realizes that he possesses her old talisman. Luisa gets into his atelier to get it back and is caught by Simon. As Luisa tries to get away she destroys a stature, who hits Simon's head. As Luisa runs off to get help, Nora gets to Simon and eventually turns up as a romantic rival for Simon's heart. After Nora finds out that Annabelle is her biological mother, she becomes part of her schemes and is used by Annabelle. In the end, Nora faces prison for a crime her mother committed and Luisa ends up marrying Simon. They leave Falkental behind and start a new life with their son Moritz in

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

Season 4

Chapter 704 - Chapter 789: Before the new season starts, chapters 704 to 710 focus on other storylines of the residents in Falkental. After that the audience sees Nora and how she tries to escape from a prison hospital. She flees to Hamburg and meets Alexander Wagner. The two spend an unforgettable day together, before Nora has to take a six-year sentence in prison. After six years, Nora and Alexander meet again on her birthday and she tells him her life story. They eventually discover that they are siblings and that their love is impossible. Caught between love and taboo, Nora and Alexander are unable to resist each other. After it is proven that they are not brother and sister after all, the two get married while Annabelle is finally paying for her crimes. As she escapes from police custody, Annabelle decides to take her own life.

Cast

References

{{reflist 2005 German television series debuts 2009 German television series endings German-language television shows ZDF telenovelas German-language telenovelas