0:00:03 > 0:00:07I'm embarking on a new railway adventure that will take me
0:00:07 > 0:00:08across the heart of Europe.
0:00:11 > 0:00:15I'll be using this, my Bradshaw's Continental Railway Guide,
0:00:15 > 0:00:20dated 1913, which opened up an exotic world of foreign travel
0:00:20 > 0:00:21for the British tourist.
0:00:23 > 0:00:25It told travellers where to go, what to see,
0:00:25 > 0:00:29and how to navigate the thousands of miles of tracks
0:00:29 > 0:00:31crisscrossing the continent.
0:00:31 > 0:00:34Now, a century later, I'm using my copy to reveal
0:00:34 > 0:00:37an era of great optimism and energy
0:00:37 > 0:00:41where technology, industry, science and the arts were flourishing.
0:00:42 > 0:00:48I want to rediscover that lost Europe that in 1913 could not know
0:00:48 > 0:00:52its way of life would shortly be swept aside by the advent of war.
0:01:11 > 0:01:14On the second part of my journey through Germany, I'll discover how
0:01:14 > 0:01:19Kaiser Wilhelm II's fascination with all things military was threatening
0:01:19 > 0:01:21the fragile balance of power in Europe.
0:01:21 > 0:01:24The Navy built two battleships a year.
0:01:24 > 0:01:27So, that was really a tremendous fleet.
0:01:27 > 0:01:33I'll let Bradshaw's steer me towards Germany's music and culture...
0:01:33 > 0:01:36HE SPEAKS GERMAN MENACINGLY
0:01:36 > 0:01:41..see model railway making on the grandest of scales...
0:01:41 > 0:01:45This is an absolute paradise for model lovers,
0:01:45 > 0:01:47for anybody who loves trains.
0:01:47 > 0:01:50..and sample Germany's favourite tipple...
0:01:50 > 0:01:53- What does your expert palate tell you?- It is perfect, isn't it?
0:01:53 > 0:01:55It's pretty good, isn't it?
0:01:58 > 0:02:00My journey started in Dresden,
0:02:00 > 0:02:03close to the border with the Czech Republic,
0:02:03 > 0:02:06then headed north on Germany's oldest long distance railway line,
0:02:06 > 0:02:10through the eastern states, to the musical city of Leipzig.
0:02:10 > 0:02:13Continuing north into Lower Saxony,
0:02:13 > 0:02:16I'll head to Braunschweig in the heart of Germany
0:02:16 > 0:02:20before arriving at the prosperous port of Hamburg.
0:02:20 > 0:02:25My journey will end at the home of Prussia's Imperial Navy.
0:02:27 > 0:02:29Today, I'm in Leipzig.
0:02:29 > 0:02:33My guidebook directs me to the Thomaskirche, or St Thomas's church,
0:02:33 > 0:02:36with its lofty roof - very distinctive -
0:02:36 > 0:02:39and its monument to Johann Sebastian Bach.
0:02:39 > 0:02:43Now Bach was the so-called Thomaskantor here at the church
0:02:43 > 0:02:46and more to the point, he wrote several cantatas
0:02:46 > 0:02:49while he was in charge of the boys' choir here.
0:02:49 > 0:02:53And he effectively established Leipzig as the musical capital
0:02:53 > 0:02:56of Saxony, arguably of Europe.
0:03:01 > 0:03:04I'm heading to a remarkable music school,
0:03:04 > 0:03:06where the creativity of Bach
0:03:06 > 0:03:08could be sustained and nurtured,
0:03:08 > 0:03:12and one generation of genius could inspire the next.
0:03:12 > 0:03:16I'm meeting conservatory librarian Barbara Wierman
0:03:16 > 0:03:18at the Hochschule.
0:03:18 > 0:03:20My Bradshaw's tells me
0:03:20 > 0:03:24about the famous music conservatorium of Leipzig -
0:03:24 > 0:03:25why was it so famous?
0:03:25 > 0:03:30Oh, actually it was the first music conservatory in Germany.
0:03:30 > 0:03:32Especially our founder, he's really famous -
0:03:32 > 0:03:35that's Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy,
0:03:35 > 0:03:38and it was his idea to have a conservatory,
0:03:38 > 0:03:40a music school in Leipzig.
0:03:40 > 0:03:42He was a really good music politician.
0:03:42 > 0:03:47He made politics here in Leipzig so that it became in his time,
0:03:47 > 0:03:51the music town, Leipzig. Music city Leipzig.
0:03:51 > 0:03:55The students of this elite music school were privileged indeed.
0:03:55 > 0:03:58Not only did they study under a great composer, they were
0:03:58 > 0:04:02also taught by the musicians of his Gewandhaus Orchestra.
0:04:02 > 0:04:05I've brought you to the library to tell you about some
0:04:05 > 0:04:09of our famous alumni and to show you some of the archival materials.
0:04:09 > 0:04:12You must have had so many, I imagine.
0:04:12 > 0:04:13Who are the most famous?
0:04:13 > 0:04:17I think one of the most famous is Edward Grieg and Leos Janacek
0:04:17 > 0:04:23and of course of interest to you is Arthur Sullivan.
0:04:23 > 0:04:25# Three little maids from school are we
0:04:25 > 0:04:27# Pert as a schoolgirl well can be
0:04:27 > 0:04:30# Filled to the brim with girlish glee
0:04:30 > 0:04:34# Three little maids from school... #
0:04:34 > 0:04:37Arthur Sullivan, the composer half of Gilbert and Sullivan,
0:04:37 > 0:04:39won the Royal Academy of Music's
0:04:39 > 0:04:42first Mendelssohn Scholarship to study here.
0:04:42 > 0:04:46Barbara wants to show me how the young Arthur fitted in.
0:04:46 > 0:04:49If we have a look at our reports, there are two reports left.
0:04:49 > 0:04:54He came here in 1858 and he left in 1861.
0:04:54 > 0:04:58The reports say he was really good at composing.
0:04:58 > 0:05:02He was a first violinist of the Gewandhaus Orchestra
0:05:02 > 0:05:05and you must know the first violinist is also responsible for conducting.
0:05:05 > 0:05:09He was very talented at conducting.
0:05:09 > 0:05:11Good heavens. What's this here?
0:05:11 > 0:05:16These are the programme notes of his final exam.
0:05:16 > 0:05:21He played and conducted his own composition.
0:05:21 > 0:05:23The Tempest, by Shakespeare.
0:05:23 > 0:05:26Do you know how that was received? Was that well received?
0:05:26 > 0:05:29It was very well received.
0:05:29 > 0:05:33Here in Germany and when he returned to Britain.
0:05:33 > 0:05:36I should think it was hard for the people in the conservatory
0:05:36 > 0:05:37to imagine that Arthur Sullivan,
0:05:37 > 0:05:39such a gifted conductor and composer,
0:05:39 > 0:05:43would one day become famous for satirical operettas.
0:05:43 > 0:05:45OK!
0:05:45 > 0:05:48It was surprising, let's say!
0:06:03 > 0:06:05In a city of so many students,
0:06:05 > 0:06:08the 1913 traveller might not have been surprised
0:06:08 > 0:06:10to find a jolly good pub.
0:06:17 > 0:06:20In this most famous subterranean Leipzig haunt -
0:06:20 > 0:06:24Auerbach's Keller - they could enjoy a hell of a good evening.
0:06:27 > 0:06:31- Thank you very much. - This is a typical Saxony food.
0:06:31 > 0:06:36Beef roulade with dumpling potatoes and red cabbage.
0:06:36 > 0:06:39That does sound typically Saxon.
0:06:39 > 0:06:42The dumpling potatoes...
0:06:42 > 0:06:44are very solid.
0:06:47 > 0:06:51They're chewy, but they really absorb the gravy.
0:06:51 > 0:06:55The beef is stuffed with olives and other vegetables.
0:06:55 > 0:06:57A very good meal.
0:06:57 > 0:07:00MAN SPEAKS IN GERMAN
0:07:11 > 0:07:14Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, the Shakespeare of Germany,
0:07:14 > 0:07:17set a key scene of his tragedy Faust here.
0:07:20 > 0:07:22HE SPEAKS GERMAN MENACINGLY
0:07:23 > 0:07:25Faust sells his soul to the devil,
0:07:25 > 0:07:28in return for knowledge and worldly pleasures.
0:07:28 > 0:07:30Together, they visit the Keller,
0:07:30 > 0:07:32where Goethe used to drink as a student.
0:07:32 > 0:07:36MAN SPEAKS IN GERMAN
0:07:40 > 0:07:43Well, I assume that those were lines from Goethe's Faust,
0:07:43 > 0:07:46but I must say, this devil wouldn't tempt me to very much.
0:07:46 > 0:07:51After devil and dumplings, I'm ready for heavenly sleep.
0:08:04 > 0:08:08I'm up early, heading north from Leipzig station into Lower Saxony.
0:08:08 > 0:08:13You can get a nice cooked breakfast on the German railways
0:08:13 > 0:08:15but on this train, it's strictly self-service.
0:08:28 > 0:08:31My destination today is Braunschweig or Brunswick,
0:08:31 > 0:08:34and I'm changing at Magdeburg.
0:08:34 > 0:08:36I'm supposed to have six minutes to make the change.
0:08:36 > 0:08:40But this train is arriving late, so it's going to be a real chase.
0:08:47 > 0:08:49Koln, bitte.
0:08:49 > 0:08:51Links, danke.
0:08:53 > 0:08:56The train for Koln, or Cologne,
0:08:56 > 0:08:59stops at Brunswick, but it's three platforms away.
0:09:01 > 0:09:03Ah!
0:09:09 > 0:09:11Made it.
0:09:12 > 0:09:15Relief. Now that I'm on the Brunswick train,
0:09:15 > 0:09:18my journey should just take me just 45 minutes.
0:09:26 > 0:09:29Helmstedt is an interesting station because in the old days,
0:09:29 > 0:09:32this was the border between East Germany and West Germany.
0:09:32 > 0:09:36Now of course there is no border and the trains go through smoothly.
0:09:36 > 0:09:39And to the uninitiated like me, you can't tell the difference
0:09:39 > 0:09:43between East and West Germany - it is now an entirely seamless country.
0:09:47 > 0:09:52Brunswick is home to one of Germany's oldest breweries.
0:09:52 > 0:09:58The Hofbrauhaus Wolters dates back to 1627 and by the 1880s,
0:09:58 > 0:10:02they were brewers by appointment to the Duke of Brunswick.
0:10:02 > 0:10:04Meike Bluhm is the brewmaster.
0:10:04 > 0:10:07- Meike, hello. - Hi, Michael, nice meeting you here.
0:10:07 > 0:10:11I notice straightaway that there are railway tracks here.
0:10:11 > 0:10:13Historically, were the railways important for the brewery?
0:10:13 > 0:10:17Absolutely. They were important for us to bring the raw materials
0:10:17 > 0:10:20on to site, but also to transport the finished goods
0:10:20 > 0:10:23to all over northern Germany.
0:10:23 > 0:10:25Curiously, the railway also contributed
0:10:25 > 0:10:28to the taste of the beer.
0:10:28 > 0:10:30The steam locomotives running on this line
0:10:30 > 0:10:34needed soft water in their boilers.
0:10:34 > 0:10:36But Brunswick is a city of hard water,
0:10:36 > 0:10:41so it had to be piped in from the Harz mountains, 40km away.
0:10:41 > 0:10:44And the brewery was quick to use it,
0:10:44 > 0:10:47giving its beer a purer, softer taste.
0:10:48 > 0:10:52This is called the mash tun, where the malt grist
0:10:52 > 0:10:55and water are mixed,
0:10:55 > 0:10:59stirred and heated up to about 75 degrees.
0:10:59 > 0:11:02- Which explains why it's so hot in here.- Absolutely.
0:11:02 > 0:11:06And what happens when you mix the grain with the water like this?
0:11:06 > 0:11:08What happens is that the enzymes in the grains
0:11:08 > 0:11:10break down the starch into sugars.
0:11:10 > 0:11:15And that sugar is later fermented into alcohol by the yeast.
0:11:15 > 0:11:18Forgive me asking you, but is it quite unusual these days still
0:11:18 > 0:11:21for a woman to be a master brewer?
0:11:21 > 0:11:24It is still quite unusual, although times are changing
0:11:24 > 0:11:27and there are a few to be found now in some breweries,
0:11:27 > 0:11:31but I'm...a rarity.
0:11:31 > 0:11:34A master brewer has to have a very good palate.
0:11:34 > 0:11:35Is that true?
0:11:35 > 0:11:38Are you born with it or are you trained to it?
0:11:38 > 0:11:41That is true. You can be born with it. Some people are not.
0:11:41 > 0:11:45There is a lot of training you have to undergo to develop
0:11:45 > 0:11:47a palate for beer.
0:11:47 > 0:11:50Tasting is still our most important quality check,
0:11:50 > 0:11:53so we sample every batch, every day.
0:11:53 > 0:11:54Were you born with a fine palate?
0:11:54 > 0:11:57I do have a bit of a palate, yes.
0:11:57 > 0:11:59And how did you discover that?
0:11:59 > 0:12:02Don't want to answer that question!
0:12:02 > 0:12:06I carry a guide book from 1913 and I'm wondering what would beer
0:12:06 > 0:12:09have tasted like at the beginning of the 20th century, do you think?
0:12:09 > 0:12:12It would have tasted more bitter than it tastes now,
0:12:12 > 0:12:16and also a bit sweeter, that means more body.
0:12:16 > 0:12:21I can give you a sample of beer that comes pretty close to what
0:12:21 > 0:12:24beer would have tasted like 100 years ago.
0:12:30 > 0:12:33It doesn't taste very bitter to me, it does taste a bit sweet.
0:12:33 > 0:12:35Actually, it's pretty good.
0:12:35 > 0:12:37What does your expert palate tell you?
0:12:37 > 0:12:40- It's perfect, isn't it? - It's pretty good, isn't it?
0:12:40 > 0:12:47Wolters produces around 270 million bottles and cans of beer a year,
0:12:47 > 0:12:49all now transported by road.
0:12:51 > 0:12:55But with nearly 200 kilometres between me and my hotel,
0:12:55 > 0:12:58I'm definitely letting the train take the strain.
0:13:06 > 0:13:08Hanover - I have to change trains here.
0:13:28 > 0:13:30My next stop will be Hamburg.
0:13:30 > 0:13:33According to my Bradshaw's, it's situated on the River Elbe
0:13:33 > 0:13:3660 miles from the mouth of the river,
0:13:36 > 0:13:38the second city of the German Empire.
0:13:38 > 0:13:41It ranks in commercial importance
0:13:41 > 0:13:44before any other town in continental Europe.
0:13:44 > 0:13:47By 1913, the Great British ports of Liverpool
0:13:47 > 0:13:51and London had to regard Hamburg as a serious rival.
0:13:55 > 0:13:59Its huge port, that gives Hamburg this access to the world,
0:13:59 > 0:14:01is situated in the heart of the city.
0:14:02 > 0:14:05And as Germany's second largest city,
0:14:05 > 0:14:07it's also one of Europe's most affluent.
0:14:18 > 0:14:22Hamburg's main station is really awe-inspiring.
0:14:22 > 0:14:23It was built in 1906,
0:14:23 > 0:14:27apparently replacing four different terminal stations.
0:14:27 > 0:14:30So for the traveller with the Bradshaw's Guide in 1913,
0:14:30 > 0:14:32it would have been new.
0:14:32 > 0:14:35It is, they say, the busiest station in Germany,
0:14:35 > 0:14:39the second busiest in all of Europe after Paris' Gare du Nord,
0:14:39 > 0:14:42and this evening it really feels like it.
0:14:45 > 0:14:48Time, I think, to find the quiet sanctuary of my hotel.
0:15:05 > 0:15:10When I think of Hamburg, I picture a busy industrial port.
0:15:10 > 0:15:13Its beauty is an unexpected bonus.
0:15:26 > 0:15:30The Bradshaw's Guide loves to list major engineering feats.
0:15:30 > 0:15:34"Under the Elbe is a double tunnel for pedestrians and vehicles,
0:15:34 > 0:15:40"490 yards long, made at a cost of over £500,000."
0:15:40 > 0:15:43With that tone of enthusiasm, this has to be worth seeing.
0:15:50 > 0:15:55By the early 1900s, Hamburg's traffic problems were chronic.
0:15:55 > 0:15:58The roads were hectic, and the river even worse.
0:15:58 > 0:16:03The solution was to dig the Sankt Pauli Elbtunnel,
0:16:03 > 0:16:06and this grand entrance hall is the way in.
0:16:06 > 0:16:10Well, this is built on an extraordinary scale.
0:16:10 > 0:16:14But it's not just the size of it, it is the architectural grandeur.
0:16:14 > 0:16:19It's been built like the Pantheon in Rome and it's beautifully tiled
0:16:19 > 0:16:23and here I see reliefs - I imagine these are the engineers
0:16:23 > 0:16:30and the architects immortalised in statues, and quite rightly so.
0:16:37 > 0:16:41Four huge lifts on either side of the river carry pedestrians,
0:16:41 > 0:16:44cyclists and motor vehicles to the bottom...
0:16:47 > 0:16:50..where they enter two narrow tunnels
0:16:50 > 0:16:52taking traffic backwards and forwards.
0:16:55 > 0:16:57Hello, Hartmut.
0:16:57 > 0:17:00- Hello, Michael. Welcome to the Old Elbe Tunnel.- Thank you very much.
0:17:00 > 0:17:04- I'm finding it impressive and beautiful.- Yes, it is.
0:17:04 > 0:17:06'Hartmut Graf is the head engineer
0:17:06 > 0:17:08'responsible for keeping the tunnel running.'
0:17:08 > 0:17:10When was it actually built?
0:17:10 > 0:17:17It was built up to 1911 and it was planned up to 1905.
0:17:17 > 0:17:20And the planning was heavily influenced by the Glasgow tunnel.
0:17:20 > 0:17:24The decision to build a tunnel, rather than a bridge?
0:17:24 > 0:17:30The port was too active for a bridge and the ships were too big.
0:17:30 > 0:17:32It's a pretty active tunnel, isn't it?
0:17:34 > 0:17:39But at just over 100 years old, the tunnel is showing signs of age.
0:17:42 > 0:17:43Ready.
0:17:43 > 0:17:47'And major restoration work is being carried out on the second bore.'
0:17:49 > 0:17:52This is amazing, because you have obviously taken the tunnel
0:17:52 > 0:17:55back to its original skin.
0:17:55 > 0:17:58What is the job you are doing now?
0:17:58 > 0:18:03The main job we are doing here at the moment is to renew the lead.
0:18:03 > 0:18:05How long will this job take you?
0:18:05 > 0:18:08It's taken already nearly two years
0:18:08 > 0:18:12and it will take us up to 2016.
0:18:12 > 0:18:17So why is Hamburg spending the money on these tunnels, do you think?
0:18:17 > 0:18:23Because this is a thing which is very important to all Hamburg people
0:18:23 > 0:18:25and they don't want to miss it.
0:18:25 > 0:18:29Well, thanks to you, they're not going to miss it.
0:18:29 > 0:18:31This might seem like a DIY job,
0:18:31 > 0:18:35but this is to protect future generations from lead poisoning.
0:18:37 > 0:18:39I'm delighted that this engineering heritage
0:18:39 > 0:18:42is being celebrated and restored.
0:18:47 > 0:18:50My next stop isn't old at all,
0:18:50 > 0:18:52but if Bradshaw's was to be republished today,
0:18:52 > 0:18:56this place would secure an enthusiastic mention.
0:18:56 > 0:19:01Hamburg is home to the greatest model railway in the world.
0:19:11 > 0:19:16Miniatur Wunderland has 13,000 metres of track,
0:19:16 > 0:19:20covering an area of 1,300 square metres,
0:19:20 > 0:19:25divided up into eight huge sections representing different countries.
0:19:28 > 0:19:32I'm meeting one of the model's founders, Sebastian Drechsler.
0:19:35 > 0:19:40Sebastian, this is an absolute paradise for model lovers,
0:19:40 > 0:19:43for children, for adults, for anybody who loves trains.
0:19:43 > 0:19:45It's fantastic.
0:19:45 > 0:19:48And you have now established the largest model railway in the world?
0:19:48 > 0:19:51Already, since we opened up Switzerland,
0:19:51 > 0:19:53we are the largest model railway.
0:19:53 > 0:19:56Now, where is the United Kingdom? I thought I might go there.
0:19:56 > 0:19:59It's only in our heads.
0:19:59 > 0:20:01No United Kingdom?
0:20:01 > 0:20:05Not now, because we need the perfect space for the motherland
0:20:05 > 0:20:09of railways and we need to have such a huge space.
0:20:09 > 0:20:13We want to build a spectacular United Kingdom.
0:20:14 > 0:20:16This is our control room,
0:20:16 > 0:20:19the core of everything in Miniatur Wunderland.
0:20:19 > 0:20:21It's so impressive.
0:20:21 > 0:20:24It looks like the control room of a real railway, just astonishing.
0:20:24 > 0:20:28We have 265 cameras on the whole layout
0:20:28 > 0:20:31because there are train accidents all over the layout.
0:20:31 > 0:20:34Because someone is running and searching for the train,
0:20:34 > 0:20:35where exactly it is,
0:20:35 > 0:20:38we first localise the train with the cameras
0:20:38 > 0:20:40and then go to fix the problem.
0:20:40 > 0:20:44So the guys working here, I imagine if one day they were asked
0:20:44 > 0:20:47to go and work for the German railways,
0:20:47 > 0:20:50- they could do the transition. - They could.
0:20:52 > 0:20:57The wonder of this miniature world is its attention to tiny detail.
0:20:57 > 0:21:03Every one of the 250,000 inhabitants has a story.
0:21:03 > 0:21:05And model maker Sonia Schroder
0:21:05 > 0:21:08is going to show me how they come to life.
0:21:08 > 0:21:11- Well, I hope you have your spectacles?- I do.
0:21:11 > 0:21:17So, first you should dip your brush into the water. Just slightly.
0:21:18 > 0:21:22And you definitely should start with the pink shirt.
0:21:22 > 0:21:25'If you haven't worked it out yet, Sonia is coaching me
0:21:25 > 0:21:27'to paint a mini me.'
0:21:27 > 0:21:31Try to paint around your hand and booklet.
0:21:32 > 0:21:34You're doing well.
0:21:34 > 0:21:38Just do little, little paint strips.
0:21:38 > 0:21:42'Now I begin to understand the high standards they set themselves.'
0:21:44 > 0:21:49My Bradshaw is about 2% of the size of me.
0:21:49 > 0:21:51So this is quite a small target.
0:21:54 > 0:21:57Not bad. You know what, Michael?
0:21:57 > 0:22:00I can tell you did neither party last night
0:22:00 > 0:22:02or drink coffee this morning.
0:22:02 > 0:22:04Is that right? Does my Bradshaw look big in this?
0:22:06 > 0:22:09Eagle-eyed tourists in Wunderland can now spot
0:22:09 > 0:22:12a brightly-coloured fellow clutching a red book.
0:22:12 > 0:22:16He's marooned in perpetuity in the middle of Hamburg Station.
0:22:16 > 0:22:19There are uglier places to spend eternity.
0:22:30 > 0:22:33Although I could quite happily linger with my alter-ego,
0:22:33 > 0:22:37the tracks are calling, and the scent of the Baltic Sea.
0:22:39 > 0:22:41At the time of my Bradshaw's,
0:22:41 > 0:22:46Kaiser Wilhelm's Germany sought colonial and naval power.
0:22:46 > 0:22:49Locked in a naval race with Britain,
0:22:49 > 0:22:54he'd already built a fleet of 39 warships based at Kiel.
0:22:54 > 0:22:58As tensions grew, the Kaiser's navy needed a quick and safe route
0:22:58 > 0:23:02from the Baltic to face the British in the North Sea.
0:23:02 > 0:23:05To sail north round Denmark's Jutland Peninsula
0:23:05 > 0:23:10was dangerous and a diversion of 250 nautical miles.
0:23:10 > 0:23:14But the Kiel canal was too narrow for warships.
0:23:14 > 0:23:16So the Kaiser undertook a massive widening,
0:23:16 > 0:23:20all along the canal's 100km.
0:23:20 > 0:23:25And today, that feat of German engineering is still in use,
0:23:25 > 0:23:29with close to 35,000 ships a year passing through.
0:23:31 > 0:23:34Now to test my sea legs.
0:23:35 > 0:23:39- Ahoy, skipper. Happy to receive boarders?- Yes, please.
0:23:41 > 0:23:42What a wonderful vessel!
0:23:42 > 0:23:46Yes, a racing yacht from the turn of the last century.
0:23:46 > 0:23:50It's absolutely beautiful, thank you so much for having me on board.
0:23:52 > 0:23:56With Andreas Neubau, President of the Kiel Sailing Association,
0:23:56 > 0:24:00I can experience why the Kaiser was so captivated by yachting.
0:24:03 > 0:24:06So, Andreas, we've left the British Kiel Yacht Club behind us.
0:24:06 > 0:24:10- Where are we now?- We are right in the middle of the Kiel Fjord.
0:24:10 > 0:24:12And, of course, it's one of the
0:24:12 > 0:24:15most important sailing areas in the whole world.
0:24:15 > 0:24:18So this is very much the equivalent of Cowes.
0:24:18 > 0:24:21You have a Kiel Week as we have a Cowes Week.
0:24:21 > 0:24:25Yes, and the Kaiser had a special interest in Cowes Week
0:24:25 > 0:24:27and so he really copied it.
0:24:28 > 0:24:32This international racing attracted some impressive competition.
0:24:32 > 0:24:37The Kaiser's biggest rival was his uncle, British King Edward VII.
0:24:37 > 0:24:40But the yachtsmen couldn't have failed to notice
0:24:40 > 0:24:44the significance of the growing presence of warships.
0:24:45 > 0:24:48The navy built two battleships a year,
0:24:48 > 0:24:51so in the end they had 39 battleships.
0:24:51 > 0:24:54So this was really a tremendous fleet.
0:24:54 > 0:24:58Now declassified documents show that by 1913,
0:24:58 > 0:25:02British intelligence was already monitoring the growing threat,
0:25:02 > 0:25:06using British yachtsmen to do the surveillance.
0:25:06 > 0:25:10I feel a little bit like Carruthers in that novel,
0:25:10 > 0:25:13you know that novel The Riddle Of The Sands,
0:25:13 > 0:25:17about a couple of British guys who go spying on the German navy.
0:25:17 > 0:25:21Oh, there were many spies.
0:25:21 > 0:25:25For instance, the Sunbeam from Lord Brassey came here one year.
0:25:25 > 0:25:31And the old lord let himself row into a submarine pen.
0:25:31 > 0:25:33Of course, they didn't make much of it
0:25:33 > 0:25:36but this was, of course, a little spy tour.
0:25:38 > 0:25:41The intelligence conveyed the stark news that by 1913,
0:25:41 > 0:25:45Britain faced an ambitious rival with a formidable navy.
0:25:47 > 0:25:51And as the yachts gathered for Kiel Week a year later,
0:25:51 > 0:25:53Europe was slipping towards war.
0:25:54 > 0:25:57The spark was the assassination by a Serb in Sarajevo
0:25:57 > 0:26:00of Archduke Franz Ferdinand,
0:26:00 > 0:26:03the heir to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian empire.
0:26:06 > 0:26:09And the Kaiser heard the news aboard his yacht.
0:26:11 > 0:26:16Over the fjord came the little boat of Admiral von Muller.
0:26:16 > 0:26:21He said, "I have an urgent message here."
0:26:21 > 0:26:25He put it into his cigarette box
0:26:25 > 0:26:26and threw it on board.
0:26:28 > 0:26:30And there, the Kaiser had it.
0:26:30 > 0:26:33That was the last weekend in June
0:26:33 > 0:26:36and by the beginning of August, Europe was at war.
0:26:38 > 0:26:41Events in the Balkans set off a chain reaction.
0:26:41 > 0:26:44Germany encouraged its Austro-Hungarian ally
0:26:44 > 0:26:47to strike back against Serbia.
0:26:47 > 0:26:49The alliance of Russia and France prepared for war,
0:26:49 > 0:26:52as armies mobilised across Europe.
0:26:53 > 0:26:57Germany marched through Belgium to strike at France
0:26:57 > 0:27:00and Britain was obliged to act in her defence.
0:27:01 > 0:27:05British Foreign Secretary, Lord Grey, lamented,
0:27:05 > 0:27:09"The lamps are going out all over Europe.
0:27:09 > 0:27:12"We shall not see them lit again in our lifetime."
0:27:18 > 0:27:20Over the next four years,
0:27:20 > 0:27:24Europe squandered the benefits of peace and progress
0:27:24 > 0:27:26in a savage, mechanised war.
0:27:28 > 0:27:31During the 19th century, the railways helped to bring together
0:27:31 > 0:27:35the culture of Dresden, the musicality of Leipzig,
0:27:35 > 0:27:39the trading power of Hamburg, and the economic might of Berlin.
0:27:39 > 0:27:44The new Germany was an industrial, scientific and artistic giant,
0:27:44 > 0:27:48elbowing Britain aside in the European league tables.
0:27:48 > 0:27:51Sadly, statesmen did not appreciate
0:27:51 > 0:27:55that the enviable prosperity and civilisation of Germany
0:27:55 > 0:27:57depended on the absence of war.
0:27:59 > 0:28:03'Next time, I lose my inhibitions in a Swedish sauna...
0:28:03 > 0:28:05On the whole, I don't take my clothes off
0:28:05 > 0:28:07with people I don't know.
0:28:07 > 0:28:10'..ride one of the world's oldest fairground attractions...'
0:28:10 > 0:28:12Ohhhh!
0:28:12 > 0:28:15'..have a Highland fling, Scandinavian style,
0:28:15 > 0:28:18'and brave a white knuckle ride
0:28:18 > 0:28:21'based on a winter sport invented by Norwegians.'
0:28:25 > 0:28:28One of the great experiences of my life!