Nonni and Manni is a children's television series produced as a joint venture between Iceland and West Germany. It debuted on 26 December 1988 on West Germany's ZDF channel and lasted for six episodes with the last one being aired on 1 January 1989.
The story was based on the eponymous book written by the popular Icelandic children's author Jón Sveinsson, nicknamed "Nonni", who had written several books inspired by his own experiences of growing up alongside his brother Ármann, nicknamed "Manni". The filming for the series took place in Iceland, West Germany and Norway.
The life of Nina Vandenberg, wife of Gero Vandenberg, whose family owns a successful coffee roasting company, is a disaster. First, she burns down the family villa in an alcohol intoxication and almost dies in the process, a little later Gero dies in a plane crash. But that's not all: A large amount of cash was found in the wreckage of the plane, from which no one knows where it came from - at the same time the company is missing 40 million euros, and it looks as if someone here has black money from the company wanted to smuggle past the tax office. All indications point to Nina, because she signed everything her husband presented to her without hesitation. Now she has to find out what's behind the matter, and she gets help from Gero's father, Gorm Vandenberg, who is already retired. Everything seems to be connected to a coffee plantation in Africa, so Nina travels to Kenya with her daughter Finja, where she is immediately arrested by the police.
The summer of 1986 begins on a promising note for Erfurt sisters Catrin and Maja Streesemann – they’ve finally received a travel permit for their first holiday at Lake Balaton. The only thing is, they have no idea that they’re being watched by the Stasi as the spies in swimming trunks of the Balaton Brigade have been watching out for East Germans attempting to escape to the West, with the holiday resort as a starting point. Catrin is quick to make new friends at the campsite, especially winsome Rudi from Mühlhausen, whose overtures clearly aim for more than just friendship; younger Maja is magically attracted to the glamour of the elegant Balaton-Residenz luxury hotel where only Western tourists are allowed to stay. Fate leads them not only into the Balaton-Residenz, but also to Tamás, the Hungarian hotel boss. Catrin immediately falls for the charming Hungarian, but Maja is the one to steal a kiss from him at the first opportunity, casting a shadow on the sisters’ otherwise clos