Season 2. 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. He learns how an aristocratic English poet became a Greek national hero and relives Greek athletic victory at the first modern Olympic games. The climate provides a pleasant environment for sightseeing. The six episodes of 1994's Series 2 were also released on VHS. The drama of the interwar period comes to life in front of Michaels eyes as he joins six characters in search of an author at the Teatro Pirandello. Travelling through the Corinth Canal, Michael finds out about the surprisingly ancient origins of the modern railway. He left plans and models of every detail of his concept and it is now nearing completion, with spires and towers soaring above the Catalan capital extolling Christ, the Trinity, the Evangelists and the Apostles. On his travels, he is trampled underfoot at the bottom of a Catalan people steeple and learns to make the perfect paella. On the first stretch of his journey from the Latvian capital, Riga, to Tampere in Finland, he braves the freezing temperatures of the Baltic Sea and encounters medieval knights. Back up to: Great Continental Railway Journeys. Fingers crossed there will be no more . Glinka: Travelling Song (The Train Song), 1840. Portillo made five separate journeys across France, Germany, the Low Countries, Switzerland, and the countries whose land made up the former Austro-Hungarian Empire. In Spains beautiful capital city, Madrid, Michael visits the 1930s art deco Telefonica Building and discovers what happened there during the civil war. He starts in the industrial city of Tula, before visiting Leo Tolstoy's former home of Yasnaya Polyana and learning how the author's life and works were intertwined with the railways. . Feature films include Flying Blind starring the late Helen McCrory and documentaries including BAFTA winning The Murder Trial (Channel 4) and The Age Of Nature (BBC). :https://www.buymeacoffee.com/journeysPlease Subscribe to Motivate:)This Will Enable me to Optimize my Creative Production to Showcase Journeys of Various . Will four-year-old puppy Easy rise to the challenge? From Tbilisi Michael takes a trip along the 120-mile Georgian Military Road, built by the colonising Russian army in the early nineteenth century. Michael Portillo heads for the Netherlands, where he roots around the world's largest flower auction in Haarlem, operates a crane in Europe's largest container port, Rotterdam, and investigates Amsterdam's famous red-light district. . With his Bradshaw's 1913 Continental Railway Guide in hand, Michael Portillo ventures east through Romania. 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. The point of no return came at 3.10am with a return no one had been expecting. Although there have been no complete series of Great Railway Journeys released on DVD, Michael Palin's 1980 and 1994 programmes are available individually (BBCDVD1626) and as part of a box set of his collected travel documentaries, The Michael Palin Collection (BBCDVD2214). At Belorussky Station in Moscow, Michael hears how thousands of Russians journeyed to the capital in 1913 to mark the Romanov royal family's tercentenary year. Then he takes the super fast train to . 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. Armed with his 1913 Bradshaw's, Michael Portillo explores a very different Spain from the one he knows best and ventures across its border with Britain's oldest ally, Portugal. Anzahl der Jahreszeiten: 7 Anzahl der Folgen: 37 berblick: Alle Jahreszeiten auflisten: Steered by his 1913 railway guide, Michael Portillo explores Germany, the powerhouse of today's European Union, and learns how tourists in the early 20th century would have been visiting quite a new country, which they admired and envied but also feared. Boarding the fast train to Lviv, Michael reads in his Bradshaw that the city was formerly known as Lemberg and at the time of his guidebook it was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Overview: York to FrizinghallArmed with his Edwardian Bradshaw's guide, Michael Portillo conducts important research in an historic tea room, built by an Edwardian immigrant to the city of York. 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. He visits the Reichstag and the city's Olympic stadium, site of the 1936 Summer Olympics. At Biel or Bienne, Michael tries his hand at watchmaking and learns how a timekeeping innovation by Omega became indispensable in the trenches of the First World War. That feeling was confirmed as soon as I exited Vienna's stunning new main station. Hard on their heels in Madrid, he visits the scene of a grim assassination attempt at the royal wedding of a British princess and a Spanish king. Both series are fronted by ex-politician Michael Portillo and in this European odyssey he travels around continental Europe, using George Bradshaw's1913 . A humbling master class in carving cuckoo clocks shows him how the nation's reputation for quality and reliability in manufacturing was established from the early 18th century. 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. Need help? This article is about the BBC Two travel documentary broadcast in the 1980s and 90s. At the Bolshoi Theatre, Michael performs an important role in one of Russia's most dramatic operas. 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. Steered by his 1913 Bradshaw's Continental Railway Guide, Michael Portillo travels one of the most stunning rail routes of the world, the historic Trans-Caucasus Railway, through the former Russian empire from the Black Sea to the Caspian Sea, taking in present-day Georgia and Azerbaijan. He is at his best and most comfortable with the ex cathedra element of presenting. In Delft, Michael learns how the city came to specialise in pottery and finds out the secrets of its success. Michael ends his journey in futuristic style with a high speed boat trip across Lake Garda. Gaud perished on the tracks, hit by a tram. And I like your trousers. No, she didnt say the last bit. His 1913 Bradshaw's Continental Railway Guidebook under his arm, Michael Portillo continues his journey through the borderland where Europe meets Asia and fulfils a personal lifelong ambition to visit the Black Sea port of Odessa. In Stockholm, Michael braves a precarious tour of the city from its rooftops, before boarding a heritage tram to get the lowdown on 1930s Sweden from an expert. The first series was originally broadcast on BBC Two in 2012. Great Continental Railway Journeys is a British television documentary series presented by Michael Portillo. Michael begins in the port of Batumi on the dazzling Caucasian Riviera. Special dispensation to fly to the Balearic island of Mallorca allows Michael to spoil himself rotten with spectacularly scenic rides aboard a sublime 1912 vintage railway and a 1913 tram. Javascript is required to view shouts on this page. Michael begins this journey in Berlin, the capital of Germany, which at the beginning of the 20th century was a powerhouse of science and technology. 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. Armed with his 1913 railway guide, Michael Portillo embarks on a journey from the Swiss Alps to the shores of Lake Geneva. Michael Portillo embarks on a scenic thousand-mile rail journey from the Swedish capital, Stockholm, to Abisko in the northern reaches of the Arctic Circle, steered by his 1936 edition of Bradshaws Continental Railway Guide. Michael Portillo sports a modern edition of his Bradshaw's Handbook as he heads for Spain. Michael's journey ends with a spectacular ascent by train to Europe's highest station, perched atop Switzerland's dramatic Jungfraujoch mountain. [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. Great Continental Railway Journeys: With Michael Portillo, Andrew Martin, Mitch Waite, Clive Lamming. He refers to a 1913 copy of Bradshaw's Continental Railway Guide, as he describes how the places he visits have changed since Edwardian times. The first series, which used the longer title, was broadcast on BBC2 in 1980. Starting in the Hungarian capital, Budapest, he travels via Bratislava in Slovakia, to the beautiful and elegant city of Vienna where he immerses himself in pre-war decadence. [4] In Nuremberg, Portillo travels to the Zeppelin Field and learns more of the city's WW2 connection with Hitler and the Nazis. Great Railway Journeys, originally titled Great Railway Journeys of the World, is a recurring series of travel documentaries produced by BBC Television. . Steered by his 1913 railway guide, today Michael journeys through a prosperous pre-war Europe of emperors, kings, pomp and elegance. His father fled to Oxford and got to know his future wife, who was looking after refugee children. Travelling through the Corinth Canal, Michael finds out about the surprisingly ancient origins of the modern railway. Along the way, he marvels at the Matterhorn and is rescued from an 'avalanche' by a St Bernard puppy. Striking north, Michael boards the long-distance train which runs from the Caspian Sea to the capital. 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. Toronto is at its best during this beautiful spring season. East of Paris, in Champagne country, Michael finishes his journey in style with a tour of the cellars at Domaine Pommery and a glass of fizz with the owner. Michael Portillo continues his railway adventure which takes him across the heart of Europe. Following in the footsteps of Bradshaw's travellers, Michael explores the cradle of the Renaissance through Edwardian eyes. Great Continental Railway Journeysis now a firmly established series on BBC2, following in the illustrious tracks of its predecessor - Great British Railway Journeys. His journey begins in the capital of cuisine, Lyon, where he finds out about the early 20th-century Meres Lyonnaises, to whom the city owes its gastronomic reputation. In a vast stadium in Berlin, Michael hears how new rail lines were constructed to transport crowds of spectators to the Nazi Olympic Games in 1936. Michael is in his element, stoking the boiler on the footplate of the enormous locomotive. The new series starts in Romania. To capture his own view of the mighty Mount Kazbek Michael boards a helicopter to soar above the 5,000 metre peak first climbed in 1868. In Delphi, he discovers how at the turn of the 20th century an entire village was removed in order to excavate the site of the oracle. But whilst the facades are beautiful, behind the buildings were cheaply constructed warrens. In his view they marred the gothic style, and can be dispensed with thanks to modern construction techniques. A fourth series aired in January 2013, also with 25 episodes, with the last five episodes focused again on railways in Ireland. 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. Honestly yellow jacket, purple shirt and tomato trousers comprised his opening outfit. The premise of each programme is that the presenter, typically a well-known figure from the arts or media, would make a journey by train, usually through a country or to a destination to which they had a personal connection. He then heads west via the picturesque Harz Mountains to the Industrial Ruhr Valley to learn how imperial Germany was war ready. Michael Portillo follows his Bradshaw's 1913 Continental Railway Guide to continue his journey through the Netherlands. A fishing trip in the bay affords spectacular views of the villages from the water. Michael goes to the movies in Potsdam and discovers the success of the Babelsberg Studios, where directors such as Fritz Lang and stars such as Marlene Dietrich worked. Arriving in Wroclaw, Michael heads for a giant train factory, where they continue to manufacture car bodies for locomotives today. The image of the teenage warrior endures as a symbol of resistance, and her life is celebrated in an annual parade. Heading further into Andalusia, Michael arrives in Seville, the city he has made his Spanish home. His idiosyncratic style strikes us as boldly modern a century later, but his building is in essence a gothic cathedral stripped of the buttresses. Great British And Continental Railway Journeys dvd | Films & TV, DVDs & Blu-rays | eBay! Arriving in Tbilisi Michael is struck by the warm welcome of Georgians and is invited to a wedding, where he experiences the legendary feast, known as a supra. Thats very nice, she replied. Among its cobbled streets and classical buildings Michael discovers the seeds of Ukrainian nationalism in song. In the Capo district, he learns how the islands distinctive puppets are made and is enchanted to meet one carrying a Bradshaw. You might also like: Michael Portillo on going from politics to riding the rails. Arriving in Istanbul, Michael orients himself with a boat trip on the Bosphorus, samples some Turkish delight and crosses from Europe to Asia on the Marmaray metro line which now joins the two continents. Great Continental Railway Journeys is a British television documentary series presented by Michael Portillo. Michael is piped aboard the frigate ITS Virginio Fasan to learn about naval technology today. He encounters mummified monks in a medieval monastery and works out alongside two of the strongest women in the world. Other similar series followed: Great Indian Railway Journeys in 2018 and Great Alaskan and Canadian Railroad Journeys and Great Australian Railway Journeys in 2019. Arriving in Lodz, he discovers how the former industrial heartland - the Manchester of Poland - supplied the vast Russian Empire of the early 20th century and marvels at how the region today has been transformed into a breathtaking version of 'Hollywoodzh'. 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. Michael begins an emotional rail journey that takes him deep into his familys past and reveals the tentacles of the regime which forced his father into exile. An excursion to a nearby bathing resort popular at the time of his guide and during Soviet times leads Michael to a hydropathic establishment where he braves an intimate massage in warm mud. Michael Portillo uses George Bradshaw's Continental Railway Guide to explore Switzerland, whose remarkable railways helped make it a favourite with Edwardian tourists. Armed with his trusty 1913 Bradshaw's Continental Railway Guide, Michael Portillo travels east through the Balkans along the most exotic section of the route taken by the Orient Express. In Poznan, at the heart of former German Poland, Michael takes in the view from the kaiser's balcony before climbing aboard what is possibly the last steam-powered commuter train. A spot of on-the-job training as a welder is a salutary lesson to stick with the day job. 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.