From the Swiss Alps to the shores of Lake Geneva caught up in a war zone with the Red Cross and rescued from an avalanche by a St Bernard puppy. With his 1913 guidebook in hand, Michael Portillo explores the stunning art nouveau architecture of the Czech capital. His journey ends at the gateway to the former French empire, Marseilles. In Delft, Michael learns how the city came to specialise in pottery and finds out the secrets of its success. 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. The title Great Continental Railway Journeys has led some to believe that the series is designed solely for train spotters. [1] In the early series, Portillo explores the railway networks of continental Europe, but in later series he also ventured further afield. Credits includes the hugely successful series Sanditon, Bloodlands and The Durrells and additional music for Emmy nominated Victoria, and Ivor Novello nominated The Collection. His idiosyncratic style strikes us as boldly modern a century later, but his building is in essence a gothic cathedral stripped of the buttresses. The title Great Continental Railway Journeys has led some to believe that the series is designed solely for train spotters. Making history in contemporary art at the Venice Biennale, Sensationalists: The Bad Girls and Boys of British Art. Was that a compliment, I wonder. Michael Portillo leaves Europe behind to take in the sights, smells and tastes of north Africa as he travels from the Mediterranean port of Tangier to the Berber city of Marrakech. / Great Continental Railway Journeys. Great Continental Railway Journeys S07E04 Palermo to Mt Etna 720p HEVC He then heads to Poznan and rides one of the few remaining steam-powered commuter trains, visits a factory in Wroclaw that manufactures car bodies for locomotives, and ends his journey in Krakow, where he takes a tour in an iconic vehicle of the communist era. In the spa of kings, Marienbad, now known as Marianske Lazne, Michael samples the sulphurous waters and wallows in peat and mud. I was drawn to it because when Jonathan Harker first encounters the vampire he is reading "of all things an English Bradshaw's guide" (studying the timetable between Whitby and King's Cross, the line that will carry Draculas coffins of earth!). Forsaking the saddle, Michael takes to the skies and pilots a light aircraft as he learns of one of France's pioneering aviators. Heading to Bilbao, he explores the industrial ties between France and Spain and learns to cook a traditional Basque dish. Armed with his 1913 railway guide, Michael Portillo explores Scandinavia and discovers the royal roots of early 20th century British travellers' close dynastic ties with the kingdoms of Denmark and Norway. A fishing trip in the bay affords spectacular views of the villages from the water. 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. 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. Transylvania to the Black Sea On a railway journey from the capital, Palermo . Great Continental Railway Journeys. He then travels the Habsburg imperial line across the Semmering Pass, a line blasted through the Alps. Great Continental Railway Journeys, Series 2 - Episode guide - BBC Number of seasons: 7 Number of episodes: 37. In 2020, the BBC made series 2 available on the BBC iPlayer. 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. 8.6 (19) Rate. 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. Armed with his 1913 railway guide, Michael Portillo embarks on a journey from the Swiss Alps to the shores of Lake Geneva. 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'. Now he embarks on the sixth series of Great Continental Railway Journeys (BBC Two), beginning in Spain and this time guided by the 1936 edition of Bradshaw's Continental Railway Guide, which was . Michael Portillo travels by rail throughout Continental Europe. Bram Stoker had never visited Bran Castle, home of the fearsome Vlad the Impaler when he wrote Dracula, but he studied images in the British Library carefully enough to describe it well. Along the way, Michael discovers the parlous state of Greek finances at the time of his guidebook. He travels to Leipzig on a historic railway line, built by British engineers in 1839. Starting in 2020, a new series featuring railways and locations in South East Asia is being broadcast on BBC2.[9]. He finds out about the first railway to be built in the country, from Naples to Portici, around the base of Vesuvius and then plucks up his courage to venture into the mighty volcano's crater. Great Continental Railway Journeys is a British television documentary series presented by Michael Portillo. He carries with him the Bradshaw's Continental Railway Guide book from 1913 and compares photos of then versus the reality of today. And I like your trousers. No, she didnt say the last bit. Javascript is required to view shouts on this page. After sampling la dolce vita in Portofino, Michael takes the train as it clings to the cliffs along the Riviera Di Levanti to reach the impossibly picturesque and remote villages of the Cinque Terre, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a national park. 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. In a vast stadium, Michael hears how new rail lines were constructed to transport crowds of spectators to the Nazi Olympic Games of 1936. 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. Athens to Thessaloniki He discovers a nation fractured at the time by social tensions and regional loyalties, which today offers a rich diversity of cultures to delight the tourist. Bordeaux to Bilbao. Start the wiki. Michael ends his journey in Thessaloniki where, in 1913, Greece's King George I was assassinated. Thats very nice, she replied. But workers unhappy with their lot were rebelling. Read about our approach to external linking. He learns how an aristocratic English poet became a Greek national hero and relives Greek athletic victory at the first modern Olympic games. The fourth series aired in 2015. We get it. Were you still up for Portillo, a hundred years ago in 1997? PLEASE SUBSCRIBE TO MOTIVATE :)Support me here : https://www.paypal.me/CSinha7This Will Enable me to Optimize My Creative Production to Showcase Journeys of. In Madrid, he visits the scene of an assaination attempt at the royal wedding of a British princess and a Spanish king. He takes a detour to the island of Capri, before finishing his journey in the ancient hilltop town of Taormina. Heading south west from Warsaw, Michael's fellow passengers come to his rescue with a crash course in Polish pronunciation. Among the spectacular ancient Greek and Roman temples of Agrigento, Michael hears of the passionate ten-year search by a British archaeologist at the time of his guide for a long-lost ancient Greek theatre. PLEASE SUBSCRIBE TO MOTIVATE :)Support me here : https://www.paypal.me/CSinha7This Will Enable me to Optimize my Creative Production to Showcase Journeys of. Great Continental Railway Journeys: With Michael Portillo, Andrew Martin, Mitch Waite, Clive Lamming. Michael Portillo embarks on a railway adventure which takes him across the heart of Europe. Travelling through the Corinth Canal, Michael finds out about the surprisingly ancient origins of the modern railway. Michael's journey ends with a spectacular ascent by train to Europe's highest station, perched atop Switzerland's dramatic Jungfraujoch mountain. Michael discovers from a British engineer how the leaning tower of Pisa was rescued from near collapse. Heading north to Gargnano, Michael discovers the romantic hideaway of one of Britain's most famous writers, DH Lawrence, whose affair with his professor's wife scandalised his home country. A romantic stop at the ruined Schloss in Heidelberg follows before Michael gets an insider's guide to share dealing on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. Great Canadian Railway Journeys is a BBC travel documentary series presented by Michael Portillo and aired on BBC Two. Both series are fronted by ex-politician Michael Portillo and in this European odyssey he travels around continental Europe, using George Bradshaw's1913 Continental Railway Guide. In his view they marred the gothic style, and can be dispensed with thanks to modern construction techniques. He encounters a bloodsucking vampire in Transylvania and brown bears in the Carpathian forest before visiting a fairy tale castle with modern conveniences in Sinaia, striking oil in Ploesti. Great British Railway Journeys, an Album by Jon Wygens. But whilst the facades are beautiful, behind the buildings were cheaply constructed warrens. (The smartest thing Spain ever did was stay out of the first world war.) There is always the slight impression that the involvement of other people even though they are usually archivists and experts there to unpack a historical moment or explain the significance of an artefact feels like an intrusion on his time. 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. At Martigny, Michael puts his faith in St Bernard after he is buried in snow. 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. 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 is ambushed by singers of the city's legendary trallalero and learns to whip up a mean pesto Genovese. 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. Michael learns how a planned boycott by the United States and other European nations failed and how the success of a black American athlete undermined the Nazi ideology of Aryan superiority. A romantic stop at the ruined Schloss in Heidelberg follows before Michael gets an insider's guide to share dealing on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. This episode offers beautiful views along the Rhine and also shows various cities in the area including Colonge and Koblenz. Striking north, Michael boards the long-distance train which runs from the Caspian Sea to the capital. In Ploesti, he helps out in the world's first oil refinery and at Sinaia, he discovers a fairy tale castle with the most modern conveniences. Michael ends his journey in futuristic style with a high speed boat trip across Lake Garda. Michael Portillo continues his railway adventure which takes him across the heart of Europe. Gaud perished on the tracks, hit by a tram. And he discovers a beautiful art nouveau Palace of Music with an emotional history. Season 1. Michael Portillo sets out to sample the delights of the Atlantic coasts of Spain and France, beginning in Bordeaux, where he uncovers a historic British connection to the region's wines. Along the way, he marvels at the Matterhorn and is rescued from an 'avalanche' by a St Bernard puppy. Some user-contributed text on this page is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. Riga to Tampere Michael Portillo follows in the footsteps of Edwardian travellers to trace a route recommended in his Bradshaw's guide from the heart of France to the Mediterranean coast. Travelling through what was, at the turn of the 20th century, one of Europe's youngest nations, Michael sinks his teeth into a Victorian gothic best seller and uncovers an unlikely fellow fan of his Bradshaw's. Research of a more sombre kind leads Michael to the roots of our modern welfare state in the work of an early 20th-century . 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. Its rhythms were primitive and its themes unmistakably sexual.