Beginning in Galicia, Michael discovers the elegant city of La Coruna, a fashionable destination for Edwardian Britons, for whom the principal attraction was the tomb of a British military hero. He will end his epic journey in the forest of Compiegne to hear how, after four years of conflict, the Armistice was finally signed in a railway carriage. In the years before the Great War, Barcelona seemed to offer Marxists the best hope of proletarian revolution, due to the huge politicised urban population mainly working in factories. Michael Portillo uses his 1913 copy of Bradshaw's Continental Railway Guide to explore Poland. / Great Continental Railway Journeys. On the island, Michael finds out about apocalyptic scenes at Messina only five years prior to publication of his guidebook and marvels at the survival - and beauty - of the ancient hilltop town of Taormina, in the shadow of Mount Etna. Toronto is at its best during this beautiful spring season. He is at his best and most comfortable with the ex cathedra element of presenting. Great Continental Railway Journeys is a British television documentary series presented by Michael Portillo. Transylvania to the Black Sea 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. 2012-11-08. Among the golden onion domes and icons of Tula, Michael is moved by the sound of a Russian Orthodox choir. Steered by his 1913 Bradshaw railway guide, Michael Portillo takes the train down the spine of Italy as he travels from Rome to Sicily. On this leg, he finds peace paddling a canoe on the lakes of Finland, grills sausages in Helsinki, and samples cloudberry liqueur in a hot tub by the light of Finland's midnight sun. Heading further into Andalusia, Michael arrives in Seville, the city he has made his Spanish home and where, in the city's tobacco factory, he learns about a gypsy girl named Carmen. I joined in. . Michael visits the magnificent stained-glass windows of the Cathedral of Sainte-Croix. North of Helsinki, in Tampere, Michael takes to the water again to explore one of Finland's 180,000 lakes. 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. Steered by his 1913 railway guide, on this journey Michael Portillo explores the once-great empire of Austria-Hungary, domain of the famous Habsburg monarchs. In Lviv, Michael learns to make Vareniki, the sour cheese-filled pasta, which is so popular in Ukraine, and encounters a much loved 19th-century poet before boarding the overnight express to Odessa. Following in the footsteps of early 20th-century travellers, on this journey Michael uses his 1913 railway guide to explore Switzerland, whose remarkable railways helped make it a favourite with Edwardian tourists. 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. As he embarks on a new series, Portillo selects some of his favourite trips and cultural highlights, drawn from the five series of railway journeys. English musician and sound artist Chris Watson worked as an audio recorder for the fourth episode "Los Mochis to Veracruz" of the fourth season. Steered by his 1913 railway guide, Michael journeys through a prosperous pre-war Europe of emperors, kings, pomp and elegance. The new series starts in Romania. Similar series were broadcast in 1983, Great Little Railways, and 2010, Great British Railway Journeys. Steered by his Bradshaw's 1913 Continental Railway Guide, Michael Portillo heads for the Netherlands, where he operates a crane in Europe's largest container port in Rotterdam, and experiences the power of Kinderdijk's picturesque windmills. Then he takes the super fast train to . Michael Portillo uses his 1913 copy of Bradshaw's Continental Railway Guide to venture beyond Europe as he travels through the Holy Land. For the younglings among you, this was the question that burst exuberantly from leftist lips in the days and weeks after Labours landslide electoral victory. Michael learns how diplomacy brought Britain and Spain closer together and rides on a hair-raising scenic railway. En route, he is caught up in a war zone with the Red Cross, takes to the skies in a vintage bi-plane and tries his hand at watchmaking, James Bond style. He learns from the buffet car cooks how to prepare a supper of meat-filled dumplings - Dagestani specialities called pylmeni. 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. Armed with his 1913 Continental Railway Guide, Michael Portillo embarks on a Greek odyssey from Athens's port of Piraeus north to the city of Thessaloniki, captured the year before from the Ottoman Turks, who had ruled much of Greece for 400 years. He learns about the health craze of the time and attempts the equivalent of a 1913 Jane Fonda workout. Exploring the Acropolis and delighting in the tastes of moussaka and baklava, Michael discovers the many influences at play in the creation of modern Greece - from its classical past to the oriental Ottomans and the great European powers of Britain, France and Russia. 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. 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. 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. Fortified by railway wine and Swiss fondue, Michael makes his way to the capital, Bern, where in a 1930s bi-plane, he follows in the slipstream of the Swiss pilot Oskar Bider, first to fly across the Alps. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for GREAT CONTINENTAL RAILWAY JOURNEYS SERIES 2 dvd REGION 4 michael portillo NEW at the best online prices at eBay! Credits includes the hugely successful series Sanditon, Bloodlands and The Durrells and additional music for Emmy nominated Victoria, and Ivor Novello nominated The Collection. 6 / 6 Michael Portillo samples the delights of the French and Spanish Atlantic coast. His father fled to Oxford and got to know his future wife, who was looking after refugee children. Bradshaw's Continental Railway Guide was published in 1913 and was a guide to Europe's rail network on the brink of the First World War. Second is the increasing awareness . Crossing the border from Bohemia to Bavaria, Michael encounters a fire breathing dragon in Furth-im-Wald and in Nuremberg he rides German railway history - made in Britain. 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 Bradshaws Continental Railway Guide, which was a big year in that particular pais and for Portillos pa, a don and leftwing activist at the University of Salamanca, who was three years away from needing to flee Franco. Arriving in Naples, Michael savours spectacular views across the bay. Leaving London behind, armed with his 1913 railway guide, Michael Portillo follows the most popular route of the Edwardian traveller through France. Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning. 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. . PLEASE SUBSCRIBE TO MOTIVATE :)Support me here : https://www.paypal.me/CSinha7This Will Enable me to Optimize My Creative Production to Showcase Journeys of. Copyright 2023 Ravel-Chapuis Music Library, Great Continental Railway Journeys (BBC2). Looking at history and trying 21st century things that changed since before The Great War. Michael ends his journey in futuristic style with a high-speed boat trip across Lake Garda. 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. But that is what Portillo now is (and wears and does). [1] In the early series, Portillo explores the railway networks of continental Europe, but in later series he also ventured further afield. Connect your Spotify account to your Last.fm account and scrobble everything you listen to, from any Spotify app on any device or platform. A visit to a sardine cannery has Michael scrubbing octopus tentacles, and a taste for the cephalopod sees Michael set sail with local fishermen to see if he can trap one. After sipping sherry in Jerez, he traces Winston Churchill's tense diplomatic mission to Algeciras on Spain's Costa del Sol and finishes with tales of British espionage on the Rock of Gibraltar. Braving the force of the Goettingen wind tunnel, Michael investigates the track where model trains are fired at up to 360km per hour. This early 20th-century handbook opened up an exotic world to the Edwardian tourist. Great Continental Railway Journeys. Great Asian Railway Journeys. 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. 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. 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. Michael discovers from a British engineer how the leaning tower of Pisa was rescued from near collapse. The third episode of Great Continental Railway Journeys series 7 will return to its usual slot come Wednesday, August 19th. Steered by his 1913 railway guide, Michael Portillo takes the train from the former political capital of Italy, Turin, to Casanova's capital of romance, Venice. 8.6 (19) Rate. Michael makes a scenic journey from Stockholm to Abisko. Arriving in Wroclaw, Michael heads for a giant train factory, where they continue to manufacture car bodies for locomotives today. Michael, mate youre a Tory on a jolly. With Bradshaw's 1913 Continental Railway Guide in hand, Michael Portillo ventures east through Romania.