Michael Portillo takes the train down the spine of Italy from Rome to Sicily. In Verona, Michael discovers the 'House of the Capulets', bought to attract Edwardian tourists to the scene of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. On a railway journey from the capital, Palermo, through the ancient town of Agrigento and the port of Siracusa, to Europes largest volcano, Mount Etna, Michael explores Sicilian life under the dictatorship. Takes to the skies in a vintage bi-plane and tries watchmaking, James Bond style. Armed with his 1913 railway guide, Michael Portillo travels from the Swiss Alps to the shores of Lake Geneva. At the city's Great Synagogue he hears how the once sizeable Jewish population is beginning to recover after the violent pogroms of the 19th and early 20th centuries and the Holocaust. Travelling with author Julia Boyd to Nuremberg, Michael discovers that despite the First World War and the Third Reich, Britons and Americans loved Germany and German culture in the 1930s. [1] In the early series, Portillo explores the railway networks of continental Europe, but in later series he also ventured further afield. Titel: Great Continental Railway Journeys; Datum der ersten bertragung: 2012-11-08. One of the most spectacular events I have witnessed was a Thracian classical dance in the Roman Theatre in the Bulgarian city of Plovdiv. Michael Portillo uses his Bradshaw's 1913 Continental Guidebook to undertake the second leg of his journey through Italy from the Riviera to the Alps. Following in the footsteps of early 20th-century British tourists, he pays homage to the romantic poets at the foot of the Spanish Steps before boarding the train south. Michael then boards the train that runs from the Caspian Sea to Moscow, where he performs an important role in a dramatic opera at the Bolshoi Theatre, before exploring the beauty and history of St Petersburg and riding on the first railway ever built in Russia. [8] A third series followed in January 2012, including five episodes on railways in Ireland. Steered by his 1913 railway guide, today Michael journeys through a prosperous pre-war Europe of emperors, kings, pomp and elegance. With Bradshaw's 1913 Continental Railway Guide in hand, Michael Portillo penetrates the eastern extreme of Europe to journey through the vast country of Russia. In GREAT CONTINENTAL RAILWAY JOURNEYS, British broadcaster and journalist Michael Portillo travels on the great train routes . In Avignon, he samples a glass of the region's famous wine Chateauneuf-du-Pape, before his journey ends at the Mediterranean port of Marseille, where he joins a pilot boat as it leads a supertanker to its berth. Starting in 2020, a new series featuring railways and locations in South East Asia is being broadcast on BBC2.[9]. At the Bolshoi Theatre, Michael performs an important role in one of Russia's most dramatic operas. Crossing the border again into Norway, Michael discovers how in 1913 this young nation expressed its own distinctively modern identity in plays, paintings and polar exploration. At Goettingen University, Michael discovers two sides of student life at the turn of the 20th century - the duelling fraternities and the groundbreaking scientists, who laid the foundation for Germany's world-class transport technology today. Relax. Cycling in tandem with his guide, Michael discovers Lyon's role in the country's most famous sporting event, the Tour de France. He begins in Israel, learning about the Baha'i faith and how it spread to Britain in the Edwardian era, hearing the story of the origins of Tel Aviv, and visiting the Christian, Jewish and Muslim quarters of the capital Jerusalem. Both series are fronted by ex-politician Michael Portillo and in this European odyssey he travels around continental Europe, using George Bradshaw's1913 . Among the spectacular Renaissance palaces and fortresses of the River Loire, Michael is intrigued to discover a castle much modernized during the 1930s, which became a refuge for a British royal couple embroiled in scandal. Its a heady journey, although a tweed jacket wouldnt go amiss. BBC Two - Great Continental Railway Journeys His father fled to Oxford and got to know his future wife, who was looking after refugee children. A performance of Tchaikovsky's Sleeping Beauty at Odessa's exquisite opera house rounds off his journey. Happy Xmas (War Is Over) This song completes a trio of great "message s Continue Reading 7 1 6 Quinn Cooper At the Skoda factory in Pilsen he investigates how the machine products of peacetime gave way to the manufacture of armaments for war and test drives a state of the art passenger train locomotive made there today. Javascript is required to view shouts on this page. A trip in a works train to oversee the electrification and straightening of the new 300 million section of line between Parvomay and Svilengrad culminates in a chance to live the dream - driving the train on the tracks of the historic Orient Express. On the shores of the Black Sea at Constanta, once the scene of intense pre-First World War diplomacy between Romanian and Russian royalty, Michael explores what is now emerging as Europe's largest grain port. On a railway journey from the capital, Palermo . Leaving Hungary behind, Michael begins this leg in the elegant city of Vienna, he continues his journey to Salzburg, before heading to the magnificent scenery of the Salzkammergut region. From Wroclaw it's on to the ancient capital of Poland, Krakow, where Michael lunches in a milk bar and takes a tour in an iconic vehicle of the communist era. In Madrid, he visits the scene of an assaination attempt at the royal wedding of a British princess and a Spanish king. Great Canadian Railway Journeys is a BBC travel documentary series presented by Michael Portillo and aired on BBC Two. Similarly, his main comment when standing before Picassos Guernica in Madrid was that without that event the bombing of civilians by Nazi and fascist troops that drew worldwide outrage Michael would never have existed. Striking north, Michael boards the long distance train which runs from the Caspian Sea to the capital. Arriving in Munich, he finds a blue horse created at the time of his guidebook and discovers an early 20th-century pioneer who laid the foundations for the city's pre-eminence in science and technology today. In Cordoba, Michael dances with an unusual partner and enjoys all the fun of the feria. Bradshaw's 1913 Continental Railway Guide in hand, Michael Portillo makes a grand tour of a favourite Edwardian destination - Italy - where he experiences first hand the nation's need for speed in a state-of-the-art Maserati sports car. Michael hears how new rail lines transported spectators to the Nazi Olympic Games of 1936. He encounters mummified monks in a medieval monastery and works out alongside two of the strongest women in the world. List of all seasons: Season 1. In Baku, Michael explores the thousand-year-old walled quarter and is treated to a thrilling display of Chovgan, the national horseback game of Azerbaijan. His destination is Istanbul, a multi-ethnic city where Europe and Asia meet via an underground railway. His unique window on Europe between the world wars takes him through a tumultuous period in German history, when the nations first democracy and its vibrant culture of art, design and decadence were swept away by fascism, nationalism and the increasing likelihood of war. In the ancient city of Plovdiv, Michael discovers a Roman amphitheatre built in the 2nd century AD and still in use today. He learns from the buffet car cooks how to prepare a supper of meat-filled dumplings - Dagestani specialities called pylmeni. Aboard a beautifully restored tram built in 1901, Michael finds that Riga in 1913 was one of the Russian empire's most important cities, where industry was booming. Choo choo! The creepy genius of Michael Portillo's railway shows Michael Portillo's 1936 Bradshaw's Guide brings him to the Italian 'treasure island' of Sicily, full of natural beauty and 'scenery of the greatest charm'. Rotterdam to Utrecht To think that there is now a generation to whom such a question means nothing more than whether you stayed up to watch that television presenter with the terrible wardrobe take another of his train trips across a miscellany of countries is quite a thing. Learn how and when to remove this template message, "El Tren Fantasma: ambient recording of a ghostly train journey", http://www.indiaprofile.com/transportation/railways/greatrailwayjourneys.htm, "Michael Portillo films Great Railway Journeys", "BBC Two - Great Asian Railway Journeys, Series 1, Yogyakarta to Ambarawa", Great Little Railways - "The Good and The Quick", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Great_Railway_Journeys&oldid=1106612062, 1980s British documentary television series, 1990s British documentary television series, Documentary television series about railway transport, Articles needing cleanup from August 2022, Articles with bare URLs for citations from August 2022, All articles with bare URLs for citations, Articles covered by WikiProject Wikify from August 2022, All articles covered by WikiProject Wikify, Articles needing additional references from February 2008, All articles needing additional references, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Introduction (extracts from forthcoming episodes in the series), "Journey to the Land Beyond the Mountains", This page was last edited on 25 August 2022, at 13:55. Prague to Munich. He had a go at slicing an ibrico ham, while the seller hovered anxiously in the background watching his livelihood literally being shredded. Inspired by the music and story of Poland's national icon Frederic Chopin, Michael takes to the floor to dance the polonaise with high school students rehearsing for their leavers' ball. In a vast stadium, Michael hears how new rail lines were constructed to transport crowds of spectators to the Nazi Olympic Games of 1936. Michael continues his rail journey through Spain with his 1930s Bradshaws guide. In this borderland where Europe meets Asia, Michael crosses swords with Cossacks, learns the secrets of Ukrainian cuisine and gets down and dirty in a mud spa. Boarding one of the narrowest gauge railways in the world, the Little Train of Pelion, Michael travels to the village of Milies, where he learns about the place of the Orthodox church in Greek national life. Similar series were broadcast in 1983, Great Little Railways, and 2010, Great British Railway Journeys. In the vast port, Michael joins a pilot boat as it leads a supertanker to its berth. From Tallinn, Michael crosses the Baltic Sea by ferry to Helsinki, where he discovers the music of the great Finnish composer Jean Sibelius and learns how his masterpiece Finlandia spurred Finns towards independence. Transylvania to the Black Sea Radio Times Travel offers. He finishes his journey at the vast Sangachal oil and gas terminal, one of the world's largest, and discovers how the oil industry began here during the nineteenth century. PLEASE SUBSCRIBE TO MOTIVATE :)Support me here : https://www.paypal.me/CSinha7This Will Enable me to Optimize my Creative Production to Showcase Journeys of. There have been 10 series of Great British Railway Journeys, in which he used George Bradshaws 1863 tourist handbook to investigate the sociopolitical impact of the age of steam on Britain, and several spin-offs (including journeys through Asia, Australia and Alaska) since. Great Train Journeys: 'Palermo To Mount Etna' In Sicily, Italy (BBC Home. Please download one of our supported browsers. The Young British Artists who took on the old guard and changed the art world forever, Artist Roxana Halls paints twin sisters who survived a crocodile attack in Mexico, The trailblazing designer who worked with Ye and Louis Vuitton before his 2021 death, Sonia Boyce: Finding Her Voice. Along the way, Michael discovers the parlous state of Greek finances at the time of his guidebook. Vrai, More Hope, Efficient, Having Doubts (AlbumModern string ensemble). As of 2021, series 1-6 of Great Continental Railway Journeys have been released on DVD by FremantleMedia under licence from Boundless and the BBC. Along the way, Michael discovers the parlous state of Greek finances at the time of his guidebook. Season 2. [2] To avoid offending Spanish sensitivities, the line was built concluding in Algeciras, a town in Spain on the opposite side of the Bay of Gibraltar, rather than at the Gibraltar border. In Verona, Michael discovers the 'House of the Capulets', bought to attract Edwardian tourists to the scene of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. The climate provides a pleasant environment for sightseeing. He learns how an aristocratic English poet became a Greek national hero and relives Greek athletic victory at the first modern Olympic games. 7.673. Using his 1913 railway guide, in the second part of his journey through the low countries and France, Michael Portillo travels to the French sector of the Western Front, where from 1914, the trains carried a new cargo of artillery shells, and the Edwardian tourists of 1913 were replaced by soldiers, facing the horrors of the trenches. Among the golden onion domes and icons of Tula, Michael is moved by the sound of a Russian Orthodox choir. Along the way, he marvels at the Matterhorn and is rescued from an 'avalanche' by a St Bernard puppy. Aboard the high-speed Sapsan to St Petersburg, Michael discovers the history behind the line, once the longest double-tracked railway in the world. Getting off the train at Montreux, the most genteel of Swiss resorts, I came across the statue of Igor Stravinsky. In Bologna, he embarks on a doomed search for spaghetti bolognese - until a cookery teacher takes pity on him and shows him how to make a much more authentic tagliatelle al ragu. I joined in. . Without Guernica, said Portillo to the art historian who had talked him through what could legitimately be considered to be the greatest, most harrowing painting of the 20th century, they would never have met. There was a pause. Season 7. He finishes in Stuttgart, where an ambitious engineering project is underway that will integrate the city into a high-speed train route connecting Paris with Bratislava. In the city's tobacco factory, he learns about a gypsy girl named Carmen. He then travels to the French sector of the Western Front, where from 1914 the trains carried a new cargo of artillery shells, with the Edwardian tourists of 1913 replaced by soldiers facing the horrors of the trenches. From the from the Italian Riviera to the Austrian Alps Michael visits remote villages of the Cinque Terre he then heads to Parma next up is the Alps stopping off in Rovereto he ends his trip at the Brenner Pass home to on of the world's longest rail tunnels. Jon Wygens is a multi-instrumentalist and award winning composer for film and television. This article is about the BBC Two travel documentary broadcast in the 1980s and 90s. Plucking up Dutch courage Michael takes to two wheels in Amsterdam's fast moving cycle lane and heads for the Indies district, where he samples a delicious "rijstafel" of dishes from the Dutch empire. In a caf popular with artists of the time he discovers the dance craze of the day - the tango - and gamely gives it a go. With his 1913 guidebook in hand, he discovers in Tangier how this once proudly independent nation fell under the control of the French as rival European powers scrambled to extend their empires in Africa.
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