0:00:02 > 0:00:05I'm embarking on a new railway adventure that will take me
0:00:05 > 0:00:07across the heart of Europe.
0:00:10 > 0:00:12I'll be using this -
0:00:12 > 0:00:17my Bradshaw's Continental Railway Guide, dated 1913, which
0:00:17 > 0:00:22opened up an exotic world of foreign travel for the British tourist.
0:00:22 > 0:00:26'It told travellers where to go, what to see and how to navigate
0:00:26 > 0:00:30'the thousands of miles of tracks crisscrossing the continent.
0:00:30 > 0:00:32'Now, a century later,
0:00:32 > 0:00:36'I'm using my copy to reveal an era of great optimism and energy,
0:00:36 > 0:00:41'where technology, industry, science and the arts were flourishing.'
0:00:42 > 0:00:47I want to rediscover that lost Europe that, in 1913, couldn't know
0:00:47 > 0:00:52that its way of life would shortly be swept aside by the advent of war.
0:01:10 > 0:01:14I'm beginning a new journey through Denmark, Sweden and Norway,
0:01:14 > 0:01:17which, until the early 16th century,
0:01:17 > 0:01:20were all ruled by a powerful Danish monarchy.
0:01:20 > 0:01:23By the time of my guidebook in 1913,
0:01:23 > 0:01:26the three were politically separate,
0:01:26 > 0:01:29but known collectively as Scandinavia.
0:01:29 > 0:01:31The British traveller could now visit
0:01:31 > 0:01:35the extreme landscapes of mountains and lakes thanks to the railways.
0:01:37 > 0:01:38'At the turn of the 20th century,
0:01:38 > 0:01:41'British tourists would have felt a particular connection to
0:01:41 > 0:01:46'Scandinavia, thanks to the marriage of the future King Edward VII
0:01:46 > 0:01:50'to the Danish Princess Alexandra in 1863.
0:01:50 > 0:01:53'Their daughter Maud would go on to become Queen of Norway,
0:01:53 > 0:01:55'forging further strong links
0:01:55 > 0:01:58'between Britain and these Nordic lands.
0:02:00 > 0:02:04'My adventure begins in Denmark's capital Copenhagen, crosses
0:02:04 > 0:02:07'the famous Oresund Bridge to Malmo in Sweden,
0:02:07 > 0:02:11'then travels north along Sweden's west coast to Gothenburg,
0:02:11 > 0:02:13'stopping briefly in Trollhatten
0:02:13 > 0:02:16'before heading to Norway's capital Oslo.
0:02:17 > 0:02:21'Along the way, I lose my inhibitions in a Swedish sauna...'
0:02:21 > 0:02:22On the whole,
0:02:22 > 0:02:24I don't take my clothes off with people I don't know.
0:02:24 > 0:02:28'..ride one of the world's oldest fairground attractions...'
0:02:28 > 0:02:29Oh!
0:02:29 > 0:02:32'..have a Highland fling, Scandinavian style...'
0:02:32 > 0:02:34ALL: Skol!
0:02:36 > 0:02:38'..and brave a white-knuckle ride
0:02:38 > 0:02:42'based on a winter sport invented by Norwegians.'
0:02:42 > 0:02:44Whee-hoo!
0:02:46 > 0:02:48One of the great experiences of my life.
0:02:55 > 0:02:58My first stop is the Danish capital Copenhagen.
0:02:58 > 0:03:02My Bradshaw's quips that, "Denmark is a little monarchy,
0:03:02 > 0:03:06"formerly more extensive, between the North Sea and the Baltic."
0:03:10 > 0:03:12Copenhagen is the economic, political
0:03:12 > 0:03:14and cultural centre of Denmark.
0:03:20 > 0:03:24It started life in the 11th century as a Viking fishing port.
0:03:24 > 0:03:27Surrounded by water and interlaced with canals,
0:03:27 > 0:03:31it's a veritable Venice of the North.
0:03:33 > 0:03:36It is connected to Stockholm, Hamburg, Berlin
0:03:36 > 0:03:38and beyond by the railways.
0:03:44 > 0:03:46Copenhagen's main railway station was, in fact,
0:03:46 > 0:03:49new at the time of my Bradshaw's guide
0:03:49 > 0:03:52but, built as it is out of traditional wooden trusses,
0:03:52 > 0:03:54it has the feeling of a Gothic banqueting hall -
0:03:54 > 0:03:58perhaps a way of reminding us that the Danish monarchy traces its
0:03:58 > 0:04:02origins back more than 1,000 years to the middle of the 10th century.
0:04:10 > 0:04:15'According to my guide, Copenhagen is one of the pleasantest
0:04:15 > 0:04:17'of the smaller capitals of Europe.'
0:04:18 > 0:04:20And 100 years on,
0:04:20 > 0:04:24the historic skyline is unspoiled by high-rise buildings.
0:04:33 > 0:04:35On leaving the railway station,
0:04:35 > 0:04:38travellers would have noticed at once one of the oldest
0:04:38 > 0:04:41amusement parks in the world - the Tivoli Gardens.
0:04:48 > 0:04:50'Ellen Dahl knows all about it.'
0:04:50 > 0:04:52- Ellen, hello.- Hello.
0:04:52 > 0:04:56What is the origin of the Tivoli Gardens at Copenhagen?
0:04:56 > 0:05:00When Tivoli was founded in 1843, it was a big fashion all over Europe.
0:05:00 > 0:05:03So this was the first place in Denmark you could actually
0:05:03 > 0:05:05go into the public domain and see people and have fun
0:05:05 > 0:05:10and have a meal and see a show and just be out.
0:05:10 > 0:05:14Now, if I've got this right, the railway came after Tivoli Gardens.
0:05:14 > 0:05:16- It started in 1847, didn't it, the railway?- That's true, yes.
0:05:16 > 0:05:21And the first railway station in Copenhagen was just next to
0:05:21 > 0:05:23Tivoli, so just a little more west.
0:05:23 > 0:05:28And people would stand inside Tivoli to look out on the railways
0:05:28 > 0:05:31and see the trains, because they'd never seen anything like it.
0:05:31 > 0:05:34And, vice versa, people would stand in the train station
0:05:34 > 0:05:37and look into Tivoli and see all the fun going on in here.
0:05:37 > 0:05:40What does Tivoli mean to the people of Copenhagen?
0:05:40 > 0:05:44Well, Tivoli is somewhere that everybody has been.
0:05:44 > 0:05:49People have very fond memories of Tivoli, so they tend to get
0:05:49 > 0:05:52very attached to things that are in Tivoli and they tend to want
0:05:52 > 0:05:56to relive childhood memories, actually, when they are here.
0:05:59 > 0:06:02I'd like to return to childhood myself,
0:06:02 > 0:06:04on the most popular attraction in Tivoli.
0:06:04 > 0:06:08Every year, up to 1.3 million thrill-seekers
0:06:08 > 0:06:10ride this wooden roller coaster.
0:06:12 > 0:06:17Dating from 1914, it is one of the oldest of its kind in the world.
0:06:20 > 0:06:23How much has it changed, then, in the last century?
0:06:23 > 0:06:25It's extremely authentic.
0:06:25 > 0:06:28Of course, things have been maintained
0:06:28 > 0:06:30and things have been changed,
0:06:30 > 0:06:33in terms of actual boards and rails and things like that,
0:06:33 > 0:06:38but the ride is as you would have seen it 100 years ago.
0:06:39 > 0:06:41I can't wait any longer.
0:06:41 > 0:06:43- Ellen, this will be fun. - Are you all right?
0:06:43 > 0:06:47- Yeah. I like roller coasters. - Don't stand up.
0:06:47 > 0:06:50- Hold your arms inside the carriage, yeah?- And keep hold of Bradshaw.
0:06:50 > 0:06:51Hold on to your book.
0:06:55 > 0:06:58The roller coaster is pulled up to the top of the first incline,
0:06:58 > 0:07:02the highest point, and then gravity takes over.
0:07:02 > 0:07:05You have to put your arms up, yeah?
0:07:05 > 0:07:06Aaa-oh!
0:07:06 > 0:07:08HE LAUGHS
0:07:13 > 0:07:16Oh, my bottom was well off the seat there.
0:07:16 > 0:07:19That's what they call air time. That's the fun of it.
0:07:19 > 0:07:23'Tivoli is Scandinavia's most popular attraction.
0:07:23 > 0:07:26'Over four million visitors a year enjoy the rides.'
0:07:28 > 0:07:31- Oh, Ellen, that was brilliant. - Did you enjoy it?
0:07:31 > 0:07:34My bottom was in the air more than it was on the seat.
0:07:36 > 0:07:41After that excitement, I'll seek a classic theme park refreshment.
0:07:41 > 0:07:44- Hello.- Hello, Michael. Welcome.- Thank you, Kjeld.
0:07:44 > 0:07:47This looks like a very traditional ice cream salon.
0:07:47 > 0:07:49How long has it been going?
0:07:49 > 0:07:52It's been going on for more than 100 years. Since 1906.
0:07:52 > 0:07:55- Has it been in the family?- Yes. See the picture up there in the corner?
0:07:55 > 0:07:59The small boy over there, that's my granddad, back in 1906.
0:07:59 > 0:08:01- That's amazing.- Yeah.
0:08:01 > 0:08:04Kjeld's family have been using the same recipe for waffle cones
0:08:04 > 0:08:06for over a century.
0:08:06 > 0:08:10Let's see whether I can master the age-old technique.
0:08:10 > 0:08:15- OK, here goes.- Yeah.- Right. So, I lift the waffle.- Yeah.
0:08:15 > 0:08:19- And that one.- I turn this around. I give it a small squirt.- Perfect.
0:08:19 > 0:08:21Yes. So far, so good.
0:08:23 > 0:08:26The difficult bit is still to come.
0:08:26 > 0:08:28A small squeeze.
0:08:28 > 0:08:29And now we just wait.
0:08:29 > 0:08:32Now is going to be the tricky part.
0:08:32 > 0:08:33- Lift up?- Yeah.
0:08:33 > 0:08:34Give this a little lift.
0:08:34 > 0:08:37- You squeezed too hard. - I squeezed too hard.- Yeah.
0:08:37 > 0:08:39Ah. Hm.
0:08:39 > 0:08:42Just give it a go. Yeah, like this.
0:08:42 > 0:08:44- Perfect. Take it, yeah. Perfect.- Ah, OK.
0:08:44 > 0:08:47- Take it all up.- Take it all up.
0:08:47 > 0:08:48Put my thing in position.
0:08:48 > 0:08:51- Perfect, yeah. - Make a little fold there.
0:08:51 > 0:08:55- Yeah, exactly. Just roll it. - Make a little fold. Roll.- Roll it.
0:08:55 > 0:08:59- Roll, roll, roll.- We are going to get a hole in the bottom.
0:08:59 > 0:09:01That one is a failure.
0:09:01 > 0:09:03Yeah, just put it over here and we'll go on to the next one.
0:09:03 > 0:09:08- Let's see if the next one is any better. Close that up.- Next one.
0:09:08 > 0:09:13The difficult thing here is to get that fold working just right.
0:09:13 > 0:09:16- Nice and easy.- Nice and easy. And put it down there.
0:09:16 > 0:09:18- And put it down there.- Yeah. - Sort of.
0:09:18 > 0:09:21This is almost perfect. Almost.
0:09:21 > 0:09:25'I had no idea that waffle cone making was such a precision art.'
0:09:25 > 0:09:29I hope that was worth it cos my fingers are burning.
0:09:29 > 0:09:31- Ah!- This one is good. This one is a nice shape.
0:09:31 > 0:09:33You can make four nice scoops in this one
0:09:33 > 0:09:35and there is no hole in it. It's perfect.
0:09:35 > 0:09:38You see? No hole in the bottom. That's really important.
0:09:38 > 0:09:40That is a beautiful piece of work.
0:09:40 > 0:09:42Yeah, it is. It is.
0:09:44 > 0:09:46I hope it tastes as good as it looks.
0:09:48 > 0:09:51Mm! My visit to Tivoli has given me
0:09:51 > 0:09:56a real flavour of an amusement garden, 1913 style.
0:10:01 > 0:10:02'In the early 20th century,
0:10:02 > 0:10:05'the Tivoli Gardens were a great leveller -
0:10:05 > 0:10:08'a place where both rich and poor came to enjoy themselves.'
0:10:08 > 0:10:09Hurrah, two!
0:10:18 > 0:10:20But elsewhere in Copenhagen,
0:10:20 > 0:10:23the social divide was more rigidly observed
0:10:23 > 0:10:26and nowhere more so than at the Amalienborg.
0:10:30 > 0:10:33These four near-identical palaces are still home
0:10:33 > 0:10:35to the Danish royal family.
0:10:36 > 0:10:39Around the time of my guide, the connection with
0:10:39 > 0:10:43Buckingham Palace naturally drew many British visitors.
0:10:46 > 0:10:48Historian Knud Jespersen knows more.
0:10:49 > 0:10:51How did it happen, then,
0:10:51 > 0:10:54that Princess Alexandra married the British Prince of Wales?
0:10:54 > 0:10:57I think that the key person in this process
0:10:57 > 0:11:00was Edward's elder sister Vicky,
0:11:00 > 0:11:06who was Crown Princess in Prussia and who had taken it upon herself
0:11:06 > 0:11:11to find an appropriate spouse for her little brother.
0:11:11 > 0:11:16They sent pictures to Edward, who rejected them one after one.
0:11:16 > 0:11:22Then she also sent the picture of beautiful Alexandra.
0:11:31 > 0:11:36Then he was very pleased with that so some secret meetings were arranged
0:11:36 > 0:11:39at different places in Germany,
0:11:39 > 0:11:42and it ended up with a wedding in 1863.
0:11:44 > 0:11:48The marriage at Windsor took place amid great ceremonial.
0:11:48 > 0:11:50The British welcomed Alexandra with a poem
0:11:50 > 0:11:54written by Alfred Lord Tennyson, the Poet Laureate,
0:11:54 > 0:11:57celebrating the ancient links between the nations.
0:11:57 > 0:12:01"Sea-kings' daughter from over the sea, Alexandra!
0:12:01 > 0:12:04"Saxon and Norman and Dane are we
0:12:04 > 0:12:08"But all of us Danes in our welcome of thee, Alexandra!"
0:12:10 > 0:12:14A successful marriage between Alexandra and Edward VII?
0:12:14 > 0:12:18I think so. I think Alexandra was a very tolerant woman,
0:12:18 > 0:12:21who endured all Edward's affairs.
0:12:21 > 0:12:24- Was she popular in Britain? - I think so.
0:12:24 > 0:12:28She had a good social instinct
0:12:28 > 0:12:31so she could communicate with
0:12:31 > 0:12:37the upper class at court and also with the common people.
0:12:37 > 0:12:40Alexandra was the Diana of her day,
0:12:40 > 0:12:44and not the only member of her family to grace a European throne.
0:12:45 > 0:12:49One brother became the King of Denmark. Another, King of Greece.
0:12:49 > 0:12:53And her sister, Dagmar, Empress of Russia.
0:12:53 > 0:12:57I'm interested, you know, these two women, Alexandra and Dagmar,
0:12:57 > 0:12:59they have both become empresses.
0:12:59 > 0:13:02That must have been quite important, politically.
0:13:02 > 0:13:06It was because there was a direct connection between
0:13:06 > 0:13:11the two great powers of Europe - Great Britain and Russia -
0:13:11 > 0:13:15and it showed when the Russian Revolution broke
0:13:15 > 0:13:20and the Tsar's family were chased and executed.
0:13:20 > 0:13:23And so Dagmar's son, who by then was Tsar, was murdered.
0:13:23 > 0:13:25- And other members of the family? - All of them.
0:13:25 > 0:13:29She was the only one that survived.
0:13:29 > 0:13:33And only thanks to her evacuation by the British man-of-war,
0:13:33 > 0:13:35which was sent to Crimea
0:13:35 > 0:13:41on the instigation of Queen, or Empress, Alexandra.
0:13:46 > 0:13:49The bond between Alexandra and Dagmar was forged
0:13:49 > 0:13:51during a happy childhood.
0:13:52 > 0:13:54Growing up together close to the Amalienborg Palace,
0:13:54 > 0:13:57the princesses enjoyed stories read to them
0:13:57 > 0:14:00by a Danish writer famed across the world.
0:14:02 > 0:14:06'Hans Christian Andersen is perhaps Denmark's best-known author.
0:14:06 > 0:14:09'His fairy tales are known everywhere,
0:14:09 > 0:14:13'and many, such as Thumbelina and The Princess And The Pea,
0:14:13 > 0:14:16'have inspired ballets, plays and films.'
0:14:20 > 0:14:22The visitor using my Bradshaw's guide
0:14:22 > 0:14:25had a brand-new tourist attraction to see
0:14:25 > 0:14:29because in 1913 they unveiled a statue to The Little Mermaid,
0:14:29 > 0:14:33one of the characters from a Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale.
0:14:33 > 0:14:36And now tourists will risk life and limb
0:14:36 > 0:14:40to get close to this pretty creature and her fishy tale of woe.
0:14:43 > 0:14:47More than a million people visit The Little Mermaid each year.
0:14:47 > 0:14:52Most know her from the Disney film but, unlike her cartoon counterpart,
0:14:52 > 0:14:56this Little Mermaid's story didn't have a happy ending.
0:14:56 > 0:15:01- Can you remember the story of The Little Mermaid?- Er...yeah.
0:15:01 > 0:15:05It's a love story about The Little Mermaid
0:15:05 > 0:15:08and she's condemned to stay in the water.
0:15:08 > 0:15:10She couldn't get out.
0:15:10 > 0:15:12Is it a happy story or a sad story?
0:15:12 > 0:15:13A sad story.
0:15:15 > 0:15:18What did you think of the mermaid? Did you like the statue?
0:15:18 > 0:15:20Yes. It's beautiful.
0:15:20 > 0:15:22Are you visiting Copenhagen?
0:15:22 > 0:15:26Well, I'm local. I live only 3km from this place.
0:15:26 > 0:15:28What is the genius of Hans Christian Andersen?
0:15:28 > 0:15:31Why was he so successful? Why do we remember him?
0:15:31 > 0:15:35I think because he expressed himself through the fairy tales.
0:15:35 > 0:15:38He was a very sensitive person
0:15:38 > 0:15:41and he had a special life when he was young and so on
0:15:41 > 0:15:45and he had to fight for his life. He was born in 1805.
0:15:45 > 0:15:50He never married and maybe he never had any relationship with a woman.
0:15:50 > 0:15:53The Little Mermaid has a rather sad ending.
0:15:53 > 0:15:58Maybe he was projecting his own life in this story as well.
0:15:58 > 0:16:00To him, there was no happy ending.
0:16:00 > 0:16:04He was happy because he became world famous when he was older
0:16:04 > 0:16:07but his personal life was not so happy.
0:16:07 > 0:16:10It looks as if he's making a lot of tourists happy today.
0:16:14 > 0:16:18The Little Mermaid's appeal is enduring and universal.
0:16:19 > 0:16:23But with a train to catch, I must return to the station.
0:16:28 > 0:16:32A traveller using a Bradshaw's guide in 1913 would have had to do
0:16:32 > 0:16:35the next part of my journey over to Sweden by steamer.
0:16:35 > 0:16:39But, even at the beginning of the 20th century, the idea of a bridge
0:16:39 > 0:16:44was already a dream, and finally the dream became reality in 1999.
0:16:45 > 0:16:49MUSIC: "Hollow Talk" by Choir Of Young Believers
0:16:49 > 0:16:53# Echoes start as a cross in you... #
0:16:53 > 0:16:56'My journey is taking me across the Oresund Bridge.'
0:16:56 > 0:17:01'It's a central feature of the Scandi-noir drama The Bridge.
0:17:01 > 0:17:03# Spatial movement which seems to you... #
0:17:03 > 0:17:06'In the television series, it brings together detectives from Denmark
0:17:06 > 0:17:09'and Sweden to solve a gruesome murder.
0:17:10 > 0:17:13'The bridge also allows people to commute
0:17:13 > 0:17:14'between Malmo and Copenhagen.'
0:17:14 > 0:17:17# Hollow talking and hollow girl. #
0:17:17 > 0:17:20- Hello.- Hello. - Do you use it very much?
0:17:20 > 0:17:23Yeah, because my mother-in-law has a small house in Sweden
0:17:23 > 0:17:28and we live in Denmark, so sometimes we go visit the house there.
0:17:28 > 0:17:31The bridge is for both trains and cars, is that right?
0:17:31 > 0:17:34- That's right, yeah.- What do you normally do? Train or car?- Car.
0:17:34 > 0:17:36I suppose you must be very proud of this bridge.
0:17:36 > 0:17:39- It's an amazing piece of engineering.- Yes, it is.
0:17:39 > 0:17:41Has it really altered people's lives?
0:17:41 > 0:17:45Danes are going more to Malmo in Sweden for shopping
0:17:45 > 0:17:49and probably also the Swedes are coming into the city of Copenhagen
0:17:49 > 0:17:51for fun and restaurants and so on.
0:17:53 > 0:17:55It now takes just 30 minutes,
0:17:55 > 0:17:57crossing the ten-mile Oresund Strait,
0:17:57 > 0:18:00to travel from Copenhagen to Malmo in Sweden.
0:18:01 > 0:18:04We are now passing beneath Swedish soil.
0:18:04 > 0:18:06My next stop will be Malmo.
0:18:06 > 0:18:09My Bradshaw's tells me the railway station is on the quay
0:18:09 > 0:18:13close to the landing place of the steamers from Copenhagen.
0:18:13 > 0:18:17In 1917, a bald-headed gentleman might have been seen
0:18:17 > 0:18:21passing through that station on his way to Russia.
0:18:21 > 0:18:24His journey was to have epic consequences.
0:18:27 > 0:18:31'The passenger travelling to his place in history was
0:18:31 > 0:18:35'the Russian revolutionary leader Vladimir Ilyich Lenin.
0:18:42 > 0:18:45'To find out what he was doing here in Malmo,
0:18:45 > 0:18:47'I'm following his footsteps across the bridge
0:18:47 > 0:18:49'from the station to the Savoy hotel.
0:18:52 > 0:18:54'Over a drink in the bar there,
0:18:54 > 0:18:57'guide Jacques Schultze tells me more about Lenin.'
0:18:57 > 0:18:59- Hello, Jacques. - Hello, Michael.
0:18:59 > 0:19:02Why have we met in the Savoy Hotel?
0:19:02 > 0:19:04Because some people say that he actually spent the night here.
0:19:04 > 0:19:07There is a little bit of discussion about this
0:19:07 > 0:19:09because the old ledgers are unfortunately missing
0:19:09 > 0:19:12so we don't have his signed autograph that he spent the night here
0:19:12 > 0:19:14but we are quite certain at the very least
0:19:14 > 0:19:16he had a traditional Swedish smorgasbord here.
0:19:19 > 0:19:22'Lenin was returning from exile in Zurich to Russia.
0:19:23 > 0:19:27'In February 1917, the hardships of the war had led to
0:19:27 > 0:19:31'a revolution in Russia and the Tsar had abdicated.
0:19:32 > 0:19:35'But for Lenin the revolution was incomplete.
0:19:35 > 0:19:39'Only a takeover by his own Bolshevik faction of communists
0:19:39 > 0:19:43'would guarantee the transformation of Russia into a people's state.'
0:19:43 > 0:19:45Where was Lenin
0:19:45 > 0:19:49when the first revolution occurred in Russia at the beginning of 1917?
0:19:49 > 0:19:50He was still in Switzerland.
0:19:50 > 0:19:53When news reached him of the revolution,
0:19:53 > 0:19:55he saw this as his chance to say,
0:19:55 > 0:19:58"Speed is of the essence. We have to rescue the revolution."
0:19:58 > 0:20:00Of course, Germany was quite interested in this
0:20:00 > 0:20:02because the Russians were still fighting
0:20:02 > 0:20:05and they saw this as a chance to get the Russians
0:20:05 > 0:20:08out of the war by having a proper revolution, so to speak.
0:20:08 > 0:20:11'The Germans saw that a second Bolshevik revolution
0:20:11 > 0:20:13'would take one enemy out of the war
0:20:13 > 0:20:16'so they could concentrate on the Western front.
0:20:16 > 0:20:19'They gave Lenin safe passage by train from Switzerland,
0:20:19 > 0:20:22'through their own country to Scandinavia,
0:20:22 > 0:20:26'from where he could reach Petrograd - now St Petersburg.'
0:20:26 > 0:20:29So, how did he make the journey across Germany?
0:20:29 > 0:20:33He made it in, some people call it the poisonous germ.
0:20:33 > 0:20:35The legend is he was sealed up in a compartment
0:20:35 > 0:20:38so he couldn't spread his revolutionary ideas along the way.
0:20:38 > 0:20:40It was sealed and the story goes that actually
0:20:40 > 0:20:44one part of the compartment, they had a chalk line on the floor
0:20:44 > 0:20:47where they had German soldiers on one side watching him
0:20:47 > 0:20:50so he wouldn't get up to any, well, funny business.
0:20:50 > 0:20:53And the train was sealed in the sense that, of course,
0:20:53 > 0:20:55he wasn't allowed out in Germany
0:20:55 > 0:20:58- and nobody in Germany was allowed onto the train either.- Exactly.
0:20:58 > 0:21:03So, it was like a sealed diplomatic post-box that was sent up
0:21:03 > 0:21:07through Germany and Denmark and then over here.
0:21:07 > 0:21:08So, what were the consequences
0:21:08 > 0:21:13of Lenin's journey from Switzerland, via at the Savoy Hotel in Malmo,
0:21:13 > 0:21:15to St Petersburg?
0:21:15 > 0:21:18I would say that the final consequence would be
0:21:18 > 0:21:21the Russian Revolution, when people think of the Russian Revolution
0:21:21 > 0:21:23as the forming of the Soviet state.
0:21:23 > 0:21:27So, really, this German plot of sending a poison chalice,
0:21:27 > 0:21:30this revolutionary back to Russia was successful
0:21:30 > 0:21:33because after the revolution Russia drops out of the war.
0:21:33 > 0:21:34Yes, of course.
0:21:51 > 0:21:54Early morning has brought me to this beautiful place,
0:21:54 > 0:21:57thanks to a reference in my Bradshaw's to the fine pier harbour.
0:21:57 > 0:22:01What a place for bracing sea air and possibly something more.
0:22:04 > 0:22:08The buildings at the end of the pier are the Kallbadhus sauna,
0:22:08 > 0:22:10which was built in 1898.
0:22:10 > 0:22:12The owner, Henrik Klamborn,
0:22:12 > 0:22:15tells me about a fine Swedish custom that takes place here.
0:22:17 > 0:22:20It's quite a tradition, almost quite a cult for the Swedish people,
0:22:20 > 0:22:22this matter of bathing.
0:22:22 > 0:22:24Yes, this is almost like a religion.
0:22:24 > 0:22:28When you have a cold bath and you come from the hot sauna
0:22:28 > 0:22:33to the cold water, you feel very good and it's like...
0:22:33 > 0:22:36I don't know what you call it in English, but you must do it again.
0:22:36 > 0:22:38- It's like a cigarette. - It's addictive.- Yeah.
0:22:38 > 0:22:43- So the tradition is you go from a very hot sauna into cold water.- Yes.
0:22:43 > 0:22:47- How hot, how cold? - Between 85 and 95 degrees.
0:22:47 > 0:22:50And in the winter, you have -2, -3.
0:22:50 > 0:22:53- And you go from one to the other? - Yes, directly.
0:22:53 > 0:22:55Does that kill many people?
0:22:55 > 0:22:58No. Not yet, I hope.
0:22:58 > 0:23:02- Let's go and have a sauna. Do I put my swimming trunks on?- No.
0:23:02 > 0:23:06You don't. When you're in the sauna, you don't have any clothes on at all.
0:23:07 > 0:23:10- I'm so sorry.- OK.
0:23:10 > 0:23:12- Let's give it a go.- You're welcome.
0:23:15 > 0:23:18Across Scandinavia, families go to saunas together
0:23:18 > 0:23:21and seem to have no hang-ups about being naked with the in-laws.
0:23:23 > 0:23:26It is natural for them as taking a stroll in the park.
0:23:28 > 0:23:33We think of Swedes as being, to put it mildly, pretty relaxed
0:23:33 > 0:23:38about nudity, whether it's saunas or Swedish movies or whatever.
0:23:38 > 0:23:41Is this true? Is this true?
0:23:41 > 0:23:45I don't think Swedes are more...
0:23:46 > 0:23:51What do you call it? The nudity and stuff, more than other countries.
0:23:51 > 0:23:53But I think the films have been more
0:23:53 > 0:23:56giving the wrong idea what Swedes are.
0:23:56 > 0:23:59But on the other hand, the fact that you do like saunas -
0:23:59 > 0:24:01you say it's a kind of a national religion -
0:24:01 > 0:24:05that does mean a lot of people who don't know each other being naked.
0:24:05 > 0:24:07Yes, it is.
0:24:07 > 0:24:09I have to tell you, that would be very un-British.
0:24:09 > 0:24:12- It is?- Oh, yeah.- OK.
0:24:12 > 0:24:13On the whole,
0:24:13 > 0:24:16I don't take my clothes off with people I don't know.
0:24:19 > 0:24:22Saunas have been part of Scandinavian culture
0:24:22 > 0:24:23for hundreds of years.
0:24:25 > 0:24:28The heat, along with being beaten with birch twigs,
0:24:28 > 0:24:32increases blood circulation and the whole experience climaxes
0:24:32 > 0:24:34with a plunge into freezing cold snow or water.
0:24:36 > 0:24:39Time for me to see how my British stiff upper lip
0:24:39 > 0:24:41copes with the experience.
0:24:42 > 0:24:44Now for the Scandinavian plunge.
0:24:46 > 0:24:50You didn't really think I'd do the full Swedish Monty, did you?
0:24:51 > 0:24:52Aargh!
0:24:54 > 0:24:55Whoa!
0:24:55 > 0:24:59Oh! That is invigorating.
0:24:59 > 0:25:00It is.
0:25:01 > 0:25:03But I'm not sure I'd describe it as addictive.
0:25:17 > 0:25:22'Thawed out and properly dressed, I'm ready to continue my travels.'
0:25:25 > 0:25:29I'm heading 11 miles north-east to the town of Lund.
0:25:29 > 0:25:33It's a ten-minute journey on a line which opened in 1856.
0:25:41 > 0:25:45Bradshaw's rather downbeat assessment of my next stop, Lund,
0:25:45 > 0:25:48is, "A quiet town, once much more important."
0:25:48 > 0:25:50But it does go on to say,
0:25:50 > 0:25:52"The Romanesque cathedral, 12th century,
0:25:52 > 0:25:55"is regarded as one of the finest in Sweden."
0:25:55 > 0:25:58Indeed, it could have gone further and said
0:25:58 > 0:26:02it's one of the most historic sites in northern Christendom.
0:26:05 > 0:26:09From the 12th century onwards, pilgrims beat a path
0:26:09 > 0:26:12to Lund Cathedral and, even today,
0:26:12 > 0:26:15it attracts 700,000 visitors each year.
0:26:18 > 0:26:22'I'm meeting Anita Larsson to find out more.'
0:26:22 > 0:26:25Hello, Michael. Welcome to Lund Cathedral.
0:26:25 > 0:26:28Thank you, Anita. It is a stunning building.
0:26:28 > 0:26:32What is the significance of this in Christian history?
0:26:32 > 0:26:38Well, this was actually the central Christian part of Northern Europe
0:26:38 > 0:26:42in the Middle Ages because the Archbishop of Northern Europe
0:26:42 > 0:26:45was placed here and therefore this church was built.
0:26:45 > 0:26:49- Does it have any relics of saints? - There are some interesting relics.
0:26:49 > 0:26:54For example, some drops of the breast milk of Mary, for example.
0:26:54 > 0:26:58- How curious.- Yes.- And has it been altered very much?
0:26:58 > 0:27:00- It looks very complete from the outside.- Yes.
0:27:00 > 0:27:03There were big restorations in the 1800s.
0:27:03 > 0:27:06For example, the western part here with the two towers
0:27:06 > 0:27:10were completely new-built in the 1860s and '70s
0:27:10 > 0:27:15because the medieval towers were in rather bad condition.
0:27:15 > 0:27:17So this is 150 years old
0:27:17 > 0:27:21but the eastern part is complete from the 1100s.
0:27:21 > 0:27:22- How magnificent.- Yes.
0:27:30 > 0:27:33One of the finest features of Lund Cathedral
0:27:33 > 0:27:36is the Horologium Mirabile Lundense,
0:27:36 > 0:27:39which, if my Latin serves me correctly,
0:27:39 > 0:27:42translates as the wondrous timepiece of Lund.
0:27:43 > 0:27:46Here in front of you, you have this wonderful clock
0:27:46 > 0:27:49that is in two sections.
0:27:49 > 0:27:51Originally, it was built in the 1420s
0:27:51 > 0:27:55but it was restored in the very beginning of the 1900s.
0:27:55 > 0:27:59So, this clock from the 15th century with its signs of the Zodiac,
0:27:59 > 0:28:02what does this tell us about the knowledge that those people had?
0:28:02 > 0:28:04They, of course, had an opinion of the world.
0:28:04 > 0:28:08Everyone did not think that the Earth was flat.
0:28:08 > 0:28:10There were people knowing, the scientists, of course, that
0:28:10 > 0:28:14the Earth was round and this is what you can see in the middle.
0:28:14 > 0:28:17So, if you see the screw in the middle up there,
0:28:17 > 0:28:19it is a symbol of the Earth,
0:28:19 > 0:28:23and around the Earth you have the sun, the moon and the stars.
0:28:23 > 0:28:26- So, they're still going round the Earth.- Yes.
0:28:26 > 0:28:28They thought so, actually.
0:28:28 > 0:28:32And we are still saying that the sun is rising and setting,
0:28:32 > 0:28:36- even if we know it is not so. - Exactly.
0:28:37 > 0:28:41Both the clock and my stomach tell me that it's time for lunch.
0:28:41 > 0:28:45It's the perfect opportunity to taste local delicacies
0:28:45 > 0:28:48at the Saluhallen covered market.
0:28:48 > 0:28:49It's very traditional.
0:28:49 > 0:28:52You have it on your bread.
0:28:52 > 0:28:53I'm going to give you...
0:28:55 > 0:28:57- There.- Thank you very, very much.
0:28:57 > 0:28:59- Very soft and creamy.- Yeah.
0:29:01 > 0:29:02Mm!
0:29:02 > 0:29:07It's mild, but it gives a taste in the back of the mouth
0:29:07 > 0:29:10a bit like a cheddar or something. I'll certainly have that.
0:29:10 > 0:29:13- And some bread to go with it, please.- Yeah.
0:29:13 > 0:29:15If you're going to have a Swedish bread,
0:29:15 > 0:29:18I think I recommend the Mellby-kavring.
0:29:18 > 0:29:21It's rye bread. It's very traditional in Sweden.
0:29:21 > 0:29:25Usually have it for Christmas, put some herring on it.
0:29:25 > 0:29:27But it is very nice for a picnic with some cheese as well.
0:29:27 > 0:29:29- Thank you so much.- Thank you.
0:29:30 > 0:29:33'I'm putting together a smorgasbord,
0:29:33 > 0:29:36'and while pickled herring, or gravadlax, are typical components,
0:29:36 > 0:29:39'I'd like to include a local Lund delicacy,
0:29:39 > 0:29:42'and what better than Lundaknake sausage?'
0:29:43 > 0:29:46- This is hot.- Yes, it's hot. Yes. You normally eat them hot.
0:29:49 > 0:29:54Ooh, that's fantastic! Mm! I'll definitely take that on my picnic.
0:29:54 > 0:29:56I'll take that one and maybe a couple of others.
0:29:56 > 0:29:59That would be very nice. Thank you very much.
0:30:00 > 0:30:03'With my picnic packed, I've got a lunch date,
0:30:03 > 0:30:06'and I've been told that in the countryside, just outside Lund,
0:30:06 > 0:30:10'there's an attraction that will appeal to a railway lover.
0:30:10 > 0:30:13'Marina Merle's going to direct my tracks.'
0:30:13 > 0:30:14Hi. Nice to meet you.
0:30:14 > 0:30:17- What a very nice day for a picnic. - Yes, very nice.
0:30:17 > 0:30:21- So, we're going to cycle on these contraptions.- Yes.
0:30:21 > 0:30:23What is the history of this device?
0:30:23 > 0:30:26The device itself was invented in the 1840s,
0:30:26 > 0:30:29so the track inspectors could see
0:30:29 > 0:30:32if there was anything wrong on the tracks.
0:30:32 > 0:30:37And they actually stopped using them when the trains became too fast.
0:30:37 > 0:30:40I've never seen this before as a tourist attraction.
0:30:40 > 0:30:42Are there many places where these bikes are available?
0:30:42 > 0:30:46- It's not that common.- Well, it's absolutely a first for me.
0:30:46 > 0:30:49Um... Do you know a nice spot to go picnicking?
0:30:49 > 0:30:53- Yes, three kilometres down the road.- Excellent! Um...
0:30:53 > 0:30:56- May I cycle you?- Sure!
0:30:58 > 0:31:01'We're riding along a stretch of disused railway
0:31:01 > 0:31:03'between Bjornstorp and Veberod.
0:31:03 > 0:31:06'This local line closed in the 1970s.
0:31:06 > 0:31:10'Marina's father managed to save some of it and set up the ride
0:31:10 > 0:31:14'so that people could enjoy the views and countryside.'
0:31:14 > 0:31:16It's fun because this combines cycling
0:31:16 > 0:31:18with all the sounds of the railway.
0:31:18 > 0:31:22- Yes, exactly.- Going over the track, the duh-duh, duh-duh.
0:31:23 > 0:31:28It's very peaceful, even though you're doing an activity.
0:31:28 > 0:31:33# That you'll look neat upon the seat of a bicycle made for two. #
0:31:37 > 0:31:39I'm not sure that I'm perfectly dressed
0:31:39 > 0:31:42for cycling through Sweden on a summer's day!
0:31:44 > 0:31:47'That vigorous peddling has worked up my appetite.'
0:31:50 > 0:31:54So does anything tell us that this is a typical Lund smorgasbord? Yes!
0:31:54 > 0:31:59My Lund sausage tells us that. Anything else?
0:31:59 > 0:32:02Well, in that case, it should be this cake. That's very regional.
0:32:02 > 0:32:07It's called Spettkaka, and it's very sweet and contains a lot of eggs.
0:32:07 > 0:32:10- Mm! And would you care for some crayfish?- Yeah. That's...
0:32:10 > 0:32:16We love our crayfish in Sweden. We have crayfish parties every August.
0:32:16 > 0:32:20- It's very traditional. - Look at all that goodness in it!
0:32:20 > 0:32:24- Don't try this at home.- Aargh! I don't even do that!
0:32:24 > 0:32:26THEY LAUGH
0:32:26 > 0:32:30- I'm going to try sawing into my brick here.- Oh, good luck!
0:32:30 > 0:32:32THEY LAUGH
0:32:32 > 0:32:33- It's very dense, that bread.- I know.
0:32:33 > 0:32:37This is the sort of matter that Einstein used to write about.
0:32:38 > 0:32:40Usually, it's not that thickly sliced.
0:32:43 > 0:32:49- Mm. Everyone's a critic. Can I offer you some aquavit?- Sure.- Wow.
0:32:49 > 0:32:52- Marina, thank you so much. - Thank you.
0:32:52 > 0:32:55- One of the loveliest smorgasbords I've ever had.- Sure.
0:33:05 > 0:33:10'With my spirits high, I'm ready to catch the Swedish intercity
0:33:10 > 0:33:14'that'll take me north along the West Coast Line, or Vastkustbanan.'
0:33:15 > 0:33:18I'm on my way now to what the Swedish call Goteborg,
0:33:18 > 0:33:20but we call Gothenburg.
0:33:20 > 0:33:23And it's a journey of very nearly three hours,
0:33:23 > 0:33:26so I'm looking forward to putting my feet up and relaxing.
0:33:29 > 0:33:34I'm travelling 163 miles on a line that runs parallel with
0:33:34 > 0:33:35the Kattegat strait.
0:33:49 > 0:33:51Standing on the mouth of the Gota alv river,
0:33:51 > 0:33:54Gothenburg is Sweden's second-largest city.
0:33:55 > 0:33:58With the largest port in Scandinavia,
0:33:58 > 0:34:00the city was a world leader in shipbuilding.
0:34:02 > 0:34:05But the man who founded that industry wasn't a Swede
0:34:05 > 0:34:09but a Scot who crossed the North Sea from Dundee in 1826.
0:34:11 > 0:34:13Alexander Keiller was one of many Scots
0:34:13 > 0:34:15who made Gothenburg their home.
0:34:28 > 0:34:31'Professor Klas Linderborg knows more.'
0:34:33 > 0:34:35How was this Scotsman received in Gothenburg?
0:34:35 > 0:34:38They had been here from the very start.
0:34:38 > 0:34:41When the city was founded,
0:34:41 > 0:34:45people were invited to move to boom their business to Goteborg.
0:34:45 > 0:34:49And there were Dutch people, German and Scotsmen.
0:34:49 > 0:34:52The Scottish connection continued for a very long time.
0:34:52 > 0:34:56I mean, with a fair wind, you could go to Britain in a week,
0:34:56 > 0:35:00- but it took a month to go to Stockholm.- Really?
0:35:00 > 0:35:03So the sea was joining countries, not separating them.
0:35:03 > 0:35:06- And does any Scottish connection continue in Gothenburg?- Yes.
0:35:06 > 0:35:09Actually, we have a branch here
0:35:09 > 0:35:11from the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society.
0:35:11 > 0:35:16- We were the third in Europe, outside the British Islands...- Really?
0:35:16 > 0:35:19..to be fully approved by the Scottish Society.
0:35:19 > 0:35:21And we actually have a dance tonight...
0:35:23 > 0:35:26- ..if you would like to join us? - That's delightful.
0:35:29 > 0:35:33'About 500 miles lie between Scotland and Sweden,
0:35:33 > 0:35:36'but some Swedes work hard to keep the bond alive.
0:35:39 > 0:35:42'And given the maritime links between the two nations,
0:35:42 > 0:35:46'it seems appropriate that the dance should take place aboard a ship,
0:35:46 > 0:35:48'the Viking.'
0:35:48 > 0:35:49- Hello, everybody.- Hello.
0:35:49 > 0:35:53- Thank you for having me to your dance. Hello.- Hello.- Good evening.
0:35:53 > 0:35:56- Do you know the dance that we're doing this evening?- Yes, I do.
0:35:56 > 0:35:59- What's it called? - It's called Gothenburg's Welcome.
0:35:59 > 0:36:01- Is it an easy dance?- No!- Oh!
0:36:01 > 0:36:03THEY LAUGH
0:36:05 > 0:36:07I'm going to make a complete fool of myself!
0:36:12 > 0:36:14'I really don't want to show myself up.
0:36:14 > 0:36:16'After all, my mother's family is Scottish.'
0:36:16 > 0:36:17Change.
0:36:17 > 0:36:23SCOTTISH COUNTRY DANCE MUSIC
0:36:36 > 0:36:39- Oh, no! I missed it completely! - Very nice.
0:36:39 > 0:36:41'I'm not sure they'll invite me back.'
0:36:44 > 0:36:46- All the way.- Oh, sorry.
0:36:46 > 0:36:47Take my place.
0:36:49 > 0:36:51Stick your right hand out.
0:36:59 > 0:37:00Ha!
0:37:00 > 0:37:01THEY CLAP
0:37:01 > 0:37:04Well... It goes on.
0:37:04 > 0:37:06Well done! Well done!
0:37:08 > 0:37:10Guys, a little peace offering.
0:37:10 > 0:37:12I'm so sorry that I was so bad at Scottish dancing,
0:37:12 > 0:37:15but I'm not bad at Scottish drinking.
0:37:15 > 0:37:19- So have a whisky.- Skal!- Skal!
0:37:22 > 0:37:25From the high seas to the high roads,
0:37:25 > 0:37:30Gothenburg is home to perhaps the greatest Swedish icon of all.
0:37:31 > 0:37:36Now a global brand, its origin was a technology invented here
0:37:36 > 0:37:40for the motor industry in 1907, the self-aligning ball bearing.
0:37:43 > 0:37:46The Gothenburg group which produced these ball bearings
0:37:46 > 0:37:49registered a new company in 1915,
0:37:49 > 0:37:52and when two employees decided to build the first mass-produced
0:37:52 > 0:37:57Swedish car, they maintained the ball bearing-inspired name -
0:37:57 > 0:38:01the Latin for "I roll", Volvo.
0:38:01 > 0:38:06'I'm meeting Soren Nebo from the company's museum to find out more.'
0:38:06 > 0:38:09- Magnificent!- Hello, Michael. - Soren, how lovely to see you.
0:38:09 > 0:38:12- Nice to see you. - What a beautiful car!- Isn't it nice?
0:38:14 > 0:38:16What would be the idea of a Swedish car?
0:38:16 > 0:38:18Why, particularly, a Swedish car?
0:38:18 > 0:38:21Well, we're looking at it from the sake of quality at the time
0:38:21 > 0:38:25because most of the cars that we had were imports.
0:38:25 > 0:38:28This was still a very, you could say, undeveloped country
0:38:28 > 0:38:30in terms of roads and transportation.
0:38:30 > 0:38:31So they were braking,
0:38:31 > 0:38:35they were still quite expensive, also, because predominantly,
0:38:35 > 0:38:39American cars that we had in, with the very soft suspension,
0:38:39 > 0:38:41and they said, look, we need something more sturdy
0:38:41 > 0:38:44and better suited for the market, for the country.
0:38:46 > 0:38:51In April 1927, the first Volvo rolled off the production line.
0:38:52 > 0:38:55Since then, they produced almost 18 million,
0:38:55 > 0:38:58making it one of Sweden's greatest exports.
0:38:59 > 0:39:04From the beginning, passenger safety was the priority for the company.
0:39:04 > 0:39:10The 3-point seat belt was actually a Volvo invention in 1959.
0:39:10 > 0:39:13It was decided to put it in as an open patent so that, you know,
0:39:13 > 0:39:15basically, everybody could use it,
0:39:15 > 0:39:18not just to keep it to Volvo because it was, you could say,
0:39:18 > 0:39:22a breakthrough in terms of traffic and road safety.
0:39:22 > 0:39:25What were the other breakthroughs, do you think, in safety?
0:39:25 > 0:39:29Already, in 1928, we brought in, you know, bigger headlights
0:39:29 > 0:39:32because they realised that, you know, for driving at night time,
0:39:32 > 0:39:36we start getting brakes on all four wheels.
0:39:36 > 0:39:39At that time, also, whereas the first model only had, you know,
0:39:39 > 0:39:41two brakes on it...on the back.
0:39:43 > 0:39:49From ball bearing to Volvo, from a tiny acorn grows the mighty oak.
0:39:49 > 0:39:52Well, well, well! I've really enjoyed my trip in the car.
0:39:52 > 0:39:54Thank you for letting me drive. Thank you so much.
0:39:54 > 0:39:56- Thank you, Michael.- Bye-bye.- Bye-bye.
0:40:02 > 0:40:06'I'm leaving Gothenburg to head north and inland.
0:40:06 > 0:40:09'The train line follows the course of the Gota alv river,
0:40:09 > 0:40:11'and specifically, the Gota Canal,
0:40:11 > 0:40:14'which connects Gothenburg to Stockholm.
0:40:17 > 0:40:21'The man behind the canal was the British engineer Thomas Telford.'
0:40:21 > 0:40:23He designed a fully navigable waterway
0:40:23 > 0:40:26which runs the entire width of Sweden.
0:40:31 > 0:40:32My guidebook urges me to
0:40:32 > 0:40:36"find time to visit the fine falls of Trollhattan
0:40:36 > 0:40:41"and the splendid locks that enable the waterway to bypass the cascade.
0:40:41 > 0:40:44"What an opportunity to see the wonders of nature
0:40:44 > 0:40:47"and the achievements of man in one place."
0:40:52 > 0:40:55According to Bradshaw's, there's a wide gorge,
0:40:55 > 0:40:58and within it, a fine succession of rapids.
0:41:13 > 0:41:17'But on arrival, I find there's little more than a trickle.
0:41:17 > 0:41:19'To find out what happened to the falls,
0:41:19 > 0:41:23'I'm meeting Magnus Carlsen from the Olidan Power Station.'
0:41:23 > 0:41:26- Hello.- Hello.- I'm a bit surprised.
0:41:26 > 0:41:30I came with my Bradshaw's guidebook, looking for the falls,
0:41:30 > 0:41:32and I find, instead, a power station.
0:41:32 > 0:41:38- So was this built after 1913?- No. The power station was built in 1910.
0:41:38 > 0:41:42It was the start of the large electrification of Sweden,
0:41:42 > 0:41:47and it was Sweden's first large hydropower plant.
0:41:47 > 0:41:49This is an area of outstanding natural beauty.
0:41:49 > 0:41:52Was it controversial to build the power station here?
0:41:52 > 0:41:58I don't think so. It was a push to have the region industrial.
0:42:00 > 0:42:05So they looked to the West - the UK and America -
0:42:05 > 0:42:10- and wanted to have industrial things, like them.- Yeah.
0:42:10 > 0:42:13You Swedish are as lucky as we British are in having lots of water.
0:42:13 > 0:42:17Yeah. We have British rain falling down here!
0:42:17 > 0:42:19And we gather it in the Lake Vanern.
0:42:22 > 0:42:26'British rain and this hydroelectric power station helped to transform
0:42:26 > 0:42:29'the country from an agrarian society
0:42:29 > 0:42:30'into a modern industrial state.'
0:42:32 > 0:42:36Ho-ho! It's absolutely enormous, isn't it?
0:42:36 > 0:42:38I had no idea it would be that big.
0:42:38 > 0:42:41And that sound is the sound of the water rushing through
0:42:41 > 0:42:42the turbines, is it?
0:42:42 > 0:42:46It's also the sound of the machinery. They enrage us.
0:42:47 > 0:42:51'The water from the falls, described in my Bradshaw's, has been
0:42:51 > 0:42:56'diverted to spin these turbines and to generate electricity.
0:42:56 > 0:43:00'But Magnus is generously going to release the torrent
0:43:00 > 0:43:03'so that I can see the falls in all their natural splendour.'
0:43:09 > 0:43:11That is spectacular!
0:43:12 > 0:43:14In full flow,
0:43:14 > 0:43:19610 cubic metres of water per second course down the falls.
0:43:19 > 0:43:24That's more than the contents of 14 Olympic swimming pools every minute.
0:43:25 > 0:43:30The electricity generated supplies over 250,000 households.
0:43:38 > 0:43:41'After recharging my batteries in Trollhattan,
0:43:41 > 0:43:42'it's time to leave Sweden
0:43:42 > 0:43:46'and head to my third and final country on this trip, Norway.
0:43:51 > 0:43:53'It's one of the world's wealthiest,
0:43:53 > 0:43:56'thanks to an abundance of natural resources,
0:43:56 > 0:44:00'such as North Sea oil and gas, along with forests and fish.'
0:44:02 > 0:44:05I've now passed into Norway.
0:44:05 > 0:44:07My Bradshaw's says, "Although the comforts
0:44:07 > 0:44:09"and attractions of central Europe
0:44:09 > 0:44:13"are not to be expected in Norway, the healthy, hearty
0:44:13 > 0:44:16"and good-tempered tourist, the sportsman
0:44:16 > 0:44:19"and the admirer of natural beauty, who's willing to bear
0:44:19 > 0:44:23"and to forbear, and even occasionally to rough it,
0:44:23 > 0:44:27"will be amply rewarded." With a recommendation like that,
0:44:27 > 0:44:31I imagine that Norway remained pretty exclusive in 1913.
0:44:36 > 0:44:38'Norway was then a young nation.
0:44:38 > 0:44:43'Norwegians had voted to dissolve their union with Sweden in 1905.
0:44:43 > 0:44:47'Instead of forming a republic, they decided, overwhelmingly,
0:44:47 > 0:44:49'to institute their own monarchy.'
0:44:51 > 0:44:54Britain's King, Edward VII, used his influence
0:44:54 > 0:44:57to secure the Norwegian throne for his son-in-law, Carl,
0:44:57 > 0:44:59husband to his daughter, Maud.
0:45:02 > 0:45:05'Prince Carl assumed an ancient royal Norwegian name,
0:45:05 > 0:45:07'King Harken VII.'
0:45:12 > 0:45:14Following independence,
0:45:14 > 0:45:18the capital of Norway reverted to the old Norwegian name of Oslo.
0:45:18 > 0:45:20This was a country that was new.
0:45:20 > 0:45:22This was a country that was independent.
0:45:22 > 0:45:25And its artistic outpourings were distinctly modern.
0:45:32 > 0:45:37Architects, artists, musicians and writers flourished in this city
0:45:37 > 0:45:40that is home to the Nobel prizes.
0:45:40 > 0:45:43'But Norway's most famous writer, Henrik Ibsen,
0:45:43 > 0:45:46'controversially was rejected by the Nobel judges.'
0:45:47 > 0:45:51A poet, playwright and theatre director, Ibsen is the world's
0:45:51 > 0:45:54most frequently performed dramatist after Shakespeare.
0:45:56 > 0:45:59'His house has been turned into a museum,
0:45:59 > 0:46:02'where I'm meeting director Erik Edvardsen.'
0:46:02 > 0:46:04Hello, Michael. Welcome in to Ibsen's home.
0:46:04 > 0:46:06Thank you, Erik. Good to see you.
0:46:06 > 0:46:09What situations do we find in an Ibsen play?
0:46:34 > 0:46:36Was this new, what Ibsen was doing?
0:46:56 > 0:47:00Ibsen is known for the realism of plays like A Doll's House
0:47:00 > 0:47:01and Hedda Gabler.
0:47:03 > 0:47:05'As he captured real-life situations,
0:47:05 > 0:47:10'he commented on everyday inequalities between men and women.
0:47:10 > 0:47:12'Society was changing.
0:47:12 > 0:47:15'Women were starting to take control of their lives
0:47:15 > 0:47:16'and to demand equality,
0:47:16 > 0:47:20'as reflected in Ibsen's strong female characters.'
0:47:21 > 0:47:23What about his relationship with his wife?
0:47:23 > 0:47:27Well, that was very close and for a long period.
0:47:27 > 0:47:29They were married for 50 years.
0:47:29 > 0:47:32But she was also one that looked after him,
0:47:32 > 0:47:35but she decided that at nine o'clock in the morning,
0:47:35 > 0:47:39he had to be in here at the desk and start the day.
0:47:39 > 0:47:42If not, he was not free at half past 11,
0:47:42 > 0:47:44to walk down to Grand Cafe and take a drink,
0:47:44 > 0:47:45which he did every day.
0:47:50 > 0:47:55The Grand Cafe was a home from home for Oslo's writers and artists.
0:48:00 > 0:48:04Behind me is a mural depicting some of the cultured bourgeoisie
0:48:04 > 0:48:07who frequented the Grand Cafe at the end of the 19th century,
0:48:07 > 0:48:08beginning of the 20th century.
0:48:08 > 0:48:12There is Henrik Ibsen with his distinctive top hat.
0:48:12 > 0:48:14And behind me, the somewhat emaciated face,
0:48:14 > 0:48:16is the artist Edvard Munch.
0:48:20 > 0:48:23Widely imitated, and not just by me,
0:48:23 > 0:48:27The Scream is one of the most expensive paintings in the world,
0:48:27 > 0:48:30selling recently for nearly 120 million.
0:48:32 > 0:48:35Munch created four versions of The Scream,
0:48:35 > 0:48:37and one is at Norway's National Museum.
0:48:37 > 0:48:40The curator is Maibritt Gulling.
0:48:40 > 0:48:43- Welcome...- Thank you very much. - ..to the National Gallery.
0:48:53 > 0:48:56The Scream, the first time I have ever seen it for real.
0:48:56 > 0:49:01I've seen it reproduced so often. It's smaller than I imagined.
0:49:01 > 0:49:05The colours are dirtier than I imagined. But, my goodness!
0:49:05 > 0:49:07It remains very, very powerful.
0:49:07 > 0:49:11Of course, the face and then the red streaks through the sky.
0:49:11 > 0:49:13Why has it become so iconic?
0:49:13 > 0:49:18Because of the strength of the central figure,
0:49:18 > 0:49:23because it's hard to say exactly what it is.
0:49:23 > 0:49:27Is it a male, female figure?
0:49:27 > 0:49:30Is it a foetus? Is it a skeleton? A ghost?
0:49:30 > 0:49:32So you really can't say for sure.
0:49:32 > 0:49:36And that ambiguity is something that, I think,
0:49:36 > 0:49:40opens up to so many possible interpretations.
0:49:40 > 0:49:44But also, of course, it was very important
0:49:44 > 0:49:47because it's a very strong painting about emotion.
0:49:47 > 0:49:50Where does Munch stand in the history of painting?
0:49:50 > 0:49:52He's one of the classic modernists
0:49:52 > 0:49:55and he has achieved that position
0:49:55 > 0:49:57because of the way he has made paintings
0:49:57 > 0:50:01that really mean something to us because of the motives and the way
0:50:01 > 0:50:06they are painted and the strong manner in which they are painted.
0:50:06 > 0:50:12And he is often associated with being the first Expressionist painter.
0:50:15 > 0:50:19For Edvard Munch, The Scream was "a study of the soul,
0:50:19 > 0:50:21"a study of my own self."
0:50:21 > 0:50:25He later described the personal anguish behind the painting
0:50:25 > 0:50:28and said that "Nature was screaming in my blood."
0:50:30 > 0:50:34'But while nature seemed to scream at Munch, for most Norwegians,
0:50:34 > 0:50:37'nature means peace and tranquillity.
0:50:37 > 0:50:39'Love of the great outdoors
0:50:39 > 0:50:42'is ingrained in the national consciousness,
0:50:42 > 0:50:45'and Norwegians have a deep affinity with their fjords and mountains.'
0:50:47 > 0:50:50This is interesting, in a guidebook written in 1913.
0:50:50 > 0:50:53"It's only recently that English people have begun to discover
0:50:53 > 0:50:56"that the best of everything in a winter holiday
0:50:56 > 0:50:58"is to be found in Norway,
0:50:58 > 0:51:03"where winter sports may be enjoyed in a crisp, exhilarating air
0:51:03 > 0:51:06"that makes one feel glad to be alive."
0:51:06 > 0:51:08And it suggests that I make a visit
0:51:08 > 0:51:10to the skiing competition of Holmenkollen,
0:51:10 > 0:51:12and so I've jumped to it.
0:51:17 > 0:51:21Ski jumping as a sport originated here in Norway.
0:51:21 > 0:51:23We think of it as a modern sport,
0:51:23 > 0:51:26but in a show of bravado in 1809,
0:51:26 > 0:51:31a Norwegian army officer launched himself 9.5m into the air.
0:51:35 > 0:51:38Today, the world record stands at 246m,
0:51:38 > 0:51:42the equivalent of the length of two and a half football pitches.
0:51:42 > 0:51:46And the most striking and modern ski jump in the world
0:51:46 > 0:51:48is here at Holmenkollen.
0:51:49 > 0:51:52But underneath the ski jump, in the Ski Museum,
0:51:52 > 0:51:54there is a piece of British history
0:51:54 > 0:51:56which curator Karin Berg wants to show me.
0:51:58 > 0:52:02So, Michael, I have something very special for you.
0:52:02 > 0:52:05It's, um, a treasure
0:52:05 > 0:52:10because these skis, which I have taken out from the showcase,
0:52:10 > 0:52:12from the exhibition itself,
0:52:12 > 0:52:16is Scott's skis itself.
0:52:16 > 0:52:17- That is extraordinary.- Ja.
0:52:17 > 0:52:21- Scott was beaten to the South Pole by a Norwegian.- Yes.
0:52:21 > 0:52:23Ja. It was Roald Amundsen,
0:52:23 > 0:52:26and the members of his exposition.
0:52:26 > 0:52:30They were the first to plant the Norwegian flag at the South Pole.
0:52:30 > 0:52:34What did it mean to Norway to have the first man at the South Pole?
0:52:35 > 0:52:37Oh, this question is enormous,
0:52:37 > 0:52:42but you must remember that we were a young, new nation
0:52:42 > 0:52:49and Roald Amundsen enthused this as gathering the nation together
0:52:49 > 0:52:51and spreading out the message
0:52:51 > 0:52:54what you really could do with these brown planks,
0:52:54 > 0:53:01this means of survival, and he writes about this spreading to the world.
0:53:01 > 0:53:05This has to do, Michael, with roots and identity
0:53:05 > 0:53:08going back to the Viking period again.
0:53:12 > 0:53:17Amundsen said, "Victory awaits him who has everything in order.
0:53:17 > 0:53:21"Luck, people call it. Defeat is certain for him
0:53:21 > 0:53:26"who has neglected to take the necessary precautions in time.
0:53:26 > 0:53:28"This is called bad luck."
0:53:29 > 0:53:33In that sense, Britain's Robert Falcon Scott was unlucky.
0:53:33 > 0:53:37His party made it to the South Pole 33 days after Amundsen,
0:53:37 > 0:53:40on 17th January, 1912.
0:53:40 > 0:53:43Dejected, Scott's party turned back
0:53:43 > 0:53:47but were blighted by blizzards, hypothermia and starvation,
0:53:47 > 0:53:49and never made it back to base.
0:53:50 > 0:53:53The rescue party was led by the Norwegian
0:53:53 > 0:53:57who had taught Scott to ski, Trygve Gran.
0:53:57 > 0:54:02They found, then, the tent with the three bodies -
0:54:02 > 0:54:07Scott, Bowers, Wilson. The two others had died before.
0:54:10 > 0:54:14And Trygve Gran and the others made a grave about this.
0:54:14 > 0:54:18They took snow masses around the tent
0:54:18 > 0:54:22and Trygve Gran, he pointed out,
0:54:22 > 0:54:25he put his own skis at the top of the tent
0:54:25 > 0:54:30and then he took Scott's skis on his own feet,
0:54:30 > 0:54:33so these skis, used by Scott,
0:54:33 > 0:54:38has been from Cape Evans to the South Pole and back again.
0:54:50 > 0:54:54Tales of such fortitude cannot fail to inspire.
0:54:55 > 0:54:58Time to show some true grit of my own.
0:55:01 > 0:55:04It's a lovely view and a long way down, and I have a feeling
0:55:04 > 0:55:09I'm going to cover the distance between here and there very fast.
0:55:11 > 0:55:15At the top of the ski jump, around 60m above the ground,
0:55:15 > 0:55:18there is a new white-knuckle experience.
0:55:18 > 0:55:20Do many people pull out at this stage?
0:55:20 > 0:55:22Actually, we had a five-year-old.
0:55:22 > 0:55:24- Oh.- That's the only one. - Only a five-year-old. OK.
0:55:24 > 0:55:26Ohhh!
0:55:26 > 0:55:30'If I'm going to keep the British end up, I can't pull out now.'
0:55:30 > 0:55:32After all those stories of courage,
0:55:32 > 0:55:36I'm afraid this is the nearest I get to heroism.
0:55:36 > 0:55:40Hey, Michael, do you have a long tradition for ski jumping in England?
0:55:40 > 0:55:41MICHAEL LAUGHS
0:55:41 > 0:55:44If we do, it's not one that's ever affected me before.
0:55:44 > 0:55:45Three!
0:55:45 > 0:55:47ALL: Two! One!
0:55:47 > 0:55:49Go!
0:55:49 > 0:55:50Whee-hoo!
0:56:10 > 0:56:12That was fantastic!
0:56:13 > 0:56:15One of the great experiences of my life.
0:56:16 > 0:56:19- That was brilliant. - Welcome down.
0:56:19 > 0:56:23Yeah, I'm glad to be back. What a great experience.
0:56:39 > 0:56:42My journey through Scandinavia is nearly at an end,
0:56:42 > 0:56:44but I can't leave Norway
0:56:44 > 0:56:49without paying homage to the man who brought me here, George Bradshaw.
0:56:50 > 0:56:53His vision inspired generations of travellers
0:56:53 > 0:56:55to venture into the unknown.
0:56:55 > 0:56:58Bradshaw's final destination was Oslo.
0:56:58 > 0:57:02While on a tour of Norway, he contracted cholera.
0:57:03 > 0:57:06Here lies Mr George Bradshaw,
0:57:06 > 0:57:10who died here, September 6th, 1853.
0:57:10 > 0:57:13He mapped the railways, he compiled the timetables,
0:57:13 > 0:57:15and he published the guidebooks.
0:57:15 > 0:57:20They opened Victorians' eyes to the new freedoms that trains gave them.
0:57:20 > 0:57:25Edwardians used them to fan out across the continent of Europe.
0:57:26 > 0:57:29I want to thank him on behalf of the thousands
0:57:29 > 0:57:31who in three different centuries
0:57:31 > 0:57:36have enjoyed so much and learned so much by following in his tracks.
0:58:03 > 0:58:07Next time, I marvel at Prague's stunning Art Nouveau architecture...
0:58:10 > 0:58:14..hear of Britain's influence on German railway history...
0:58:14 > 0:58:16Where did the original locomotive come from?
0:58:16 > 0:58:19Stephenson Locomotive Works, Newcastle upon Tyne.
0:58:19 > 0:58:22- So it was Mr George Stephenson? - It was George Stephenson's.
0:58:22 > 0:58:25..and take on the toughest opponent of my career.
0:58:25 > 0:58:28If you're having trouble with a dragon, call a dragon slayer.
0:58:28 > 0:58:30ROARS
0:58:48 > 0:58:51Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd