0:00:03 > 0:00:06I'm embarking on a new railway adventure
0:00:06 > 0:00:09that will take me across 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 > 0:00:22for the British tourist.
0:00:22 > 0:00:26It told travellers where to go, what to see and how to navigate
0:00:26 > 0:00:31the thousands of miles of tracks crisscrossing the continent.
0:00:31 > 0:00:34Now, a century later, I'm using my copy to reveal an era
0:00:34 > 0:00:39of great optimism and energy, where technology, industry,
0:00:39 > 0:00:41science and the arts were flourishing.
0:00:42 > 0:00:48I want to rediscover that lost Europe that in 1913 couldn't know
0:00:48 > 0:00:52that its way of life would shortly be swept aside by the advent of war.
0:01:08 > 0:01:10On this journey, I'm following my guidebook
0:01:10 > 0:01:14through part of the vast Austro-Hungarian Empire
0:01:14 > 0:01:19that in 1913 stretched from Italy in the west to Russia in the east,
0:01:19 > 0:01:25where the border between the two empires extended over 500 miles.
0:01:25 > 0:01:29Were I travelling a century ago, this train would be carrying me
0:01:29 > 0:01:33to the capital of the Austro-Hungarian Empire,
0:01:33 > 0:01:38a hotchpotch of nationalities that could sing the Imperial Anthem
0:01:38 > 0:01:41in 17 different languages.
0:01:41 > 0:01:46Bradshaw's tells me that it's presided over by Francis Josef I,
0:01:46 > 0:01:49"..a very old and old-fashioned emperor."
0:01:49 > 0:01:53I shall travel on the very first transalpine railway,
0:01:53 > 0:01:57an iron artery that connected the imperial capital
0:01:57 > 0:01:59to its Adriatic port.
0:02:03 > 0:02:05Franz Josef's family, the Habsburgs,
0:02:05 > 0:02:09had reigned over lands in Europe for seven centuries,
0:02:09 > 0:02:14but the Austro-Hungarian emperor's outdated rule was under challenge
0:02:14 > 0:02:17from modernisers and nationalisms.
0:02:19 > 0:02:23I'll be travelling along the first major trunk railway
0:02:23 > 0:02:24to be built in the empire.
0:02:27 > 0:02:30I begin in the Austrian capital of Vienna,
0:02:30 > 0:02:32from where I'll travel south-west,
0:02:32 > 0:02:37crossing the Alps through the awe-inspiring Semmering Pass.
0:02:37 > 0:02:41My journey continues south to Graz, Austria's second city,
0:02:41 > 0:02:45crosses into Slovenia and on to its capital Ljubljana
0:02:45 > 0:02:47and from there I'll travel
0:02:47 > 0:02:49the last 60 miles into Italy
0:02:49 > 0:02:50and my final stop,
0:02:50 > 0:02:52the port of Trieste.
0:02:55 > 0:02:57Along the way, I'll learn that the empire,
0:02:57 > 0:03:02when confronted by change, fought to hold on to its past.
0:03:02 > 0:03:05Not everybody likes it when a new world begins.
0:03:05 > 0:03:07A new world beginning means an old world ends.
0:03:08 > 0:03:12I'll be attempting an Edwardian-style winter sports challenge.
0:03:12 > 0:03:14HE CHEERS
0:03:14 > 0:03:16And I'll travel along one of the world's
0:03:16 > 0:03:20most impressive feats of railway engineering.
0:03:20 > 0:03:24No tunnel drilling machines, so they had to drill the holes by hand.
0:03:24 > 0:03:27It's a handmade railway line.
0:03:35 > 0:03:37At the time of my guidebook,
0:03:37 > 0:03:41the Habsburgs had already been forced to compromise with Hungary,
0:03:41 > 0:03:43their largest and most rebellious territory.
0:03:43 > 0:03:48For the preceding half-century, Franz Josef had reigned as a dual monarch.
0:03:48 > 0:03:51Hungary had its own parliament in Budapest,
0:03:51 > 0:03:55but the empire's first city was undoubtedly the Austrian capital.
0:03:56 > 0:04:00"Vienna," says Bradshaw's, "is regarded as one of the brightest
0:04:00 > 0:04:03"and healthiest of the large continental cities,
0:04:03 > 0:04:07"with cheerful and courteous inhabitants."
0:04:07 > 0:04:09The number of its citizens had quintupled
0:04:09 > 0:04:11since the middle of the 19th century,
0:04:11 > 0:04:16and its Jewish population had risen 35 times over.
0:04:16 > 0:04:20Whilst its imperial port was perhaps the most hidebound
0:04:20 > 0:04:25and reactionary in Europe, Vienna had attracted masses of migrants
0:04:25 > 0:04:31who defied tradition with their new music, art and ideas.
0:04:35 > 0:04:38With the formation of the dual monarchy in 1867
0:04:38 > 0:04:42had come new civil rights, enabling minorities to move more freely
0:04:42 > 0:04:45to cities to seek new opportunities.
0:04:49 > 0:04:51Around the date of my Bradshaw's,
0:04:51 > 0:04:55trains were bringing in Jewish, Slav and Czech migrants
0:04:55 > 0:04:57from all corners of the empire.
0:05:13 > 0:05:16Vienna has this most impressive new central railway station,
0:05:16 > 0:05:18the Hauptbahnhof.
0:05:18 > 0:05:22Over the last few years, four billion euros have been invested here,
0:05:22 > 0:05:25and from a single station, you'll be able to travel
0:05:25 > 0:05:28east and west and north and south.
0:05:28 > 0:05:31Bucharest and Budapest and Rome and Berlin,
0:05:31 > 0:05:33from a single station.
0:05:40 > 0:05:42When Edwardian tourists came here,
0:05:42 > 0:05:47they found a city newly rebuild according to the will of the emperor.
0:05:47 > 0:05:53In 1857, Franz Josef had personally ordered that the medieval walls
0:05:53 > 0:05:54be razed to the ground
0:05:54 > 0:05:59to make space for a grand imperial capital with magnificent buildings
0:05:59 > 0:06:03designed by the empire's leading architects.
0:06:19 > 0:06:23This is the Ringstrasse, which Bradshaw's tells me is,
0:06:23 > 0:06:25"..a fine, broad thoroughfare.
0:06:25 > 0:06:29"Within this district are most of the principal buildings."
0:06:29 > 0:06:36This is imperial Vienna - the city of pomp and elegance and etiquette,
0:06:36 > 0:06:38of balls and opera.
0:06:38 > 0:06:42But by 1913, there was a different city.
0:06:42 > 0:06:45It was audacious, rebellious and modern.
0:06:50 > 0:06:54The values represented by these edifices of tradition
0:06:54 > 0:07:00and dynastic power were being shaken to their foundations.
0:07:00 > 0:07:02I'm meeting historian Philipp Blom
0:07:02 > 0:07:06outside Austria's National Theatre, built in 1888.
0:07:06 > 0:07:09- Philipp, hello.- Welcome to Vienna.
0:07:09 > 0:07:10Thank you.
0:07:10 > 0:07:14How would you describe the state of the Austro-Hungarian Empire by 1913?
0:07:14 > 0:07:16Well, it was a difficult time.
0:07:16 > 0:07:19It was a time when everything was really trying to break apart,
0:07:19 > 0:07:21or threatening to break apart,
0:07:21 > 0:07:24and people were desperately trying to keep it together,
0:07:24 > 0:07:26so the emperor was trying to keep it together,
0:07:26 > 0:07:30but basically, it's a medieval empire in a modern Europe.
0:07:30 > 0:07:32This is a place where facades,
0:07:32 > 0:07:35where appearances are tremendously important
0:07:35 > 0:07:41because only the appearance of unity really makes this one empire.
0:07:42 > 0:07:45At the turn of the 20th century,
0:07:45 > 0:07:51governing 50 million inhabitants from 15 nations was proving impossible.
0:07:51 > 0:07:53With different groups clamouring for equality,
0:07:53 > 0:07:59nationalism was on the rise and the empire's integrity was under threat.
0:08:01 > 0:08:05Philipp is taking me to the Prater Park, mentioned in my guide,
0:08:05 > 0:08:08to ride on the world-famous Prater Wheel.
0:08:09 > 0:08:13It was built by British engineer Walter Bassett in 1897.
0:08:14 > 0:08:17- Our very own sitting room! - Oh, wonderful.
0:08:17 > 0:08:20And soon to be a sitting room in the skies.
0:08:22 > 0:08:23And off we go.
0:08:23 > 0:08:26Wonderful!
0:08:26 > 0:08:28In fact, this Ferris wheel was already here
0:08:28 > 0:08:30- by the end of the empire, wasn't it? - Well, yes.
0:08:30 > 0:08:33Your tourists would have been able to ride on it
0:08:33 > 0:08:36and it was said to be a bit like imperial politics, you know?
0:08:36 > 0:08:41There's always movement and you always end up where you were before.
0:08:41 > 0:08:44Whilst the politics may have been going round in circles,
0:08:44 > 0:08:47Vienna's cultural life, led by its Jewish population,
0:08:47 > 0:08:52was challenging Viennese values and breaking down its social barriers.
0:08:54 > 0:08:59This was an extraordinary period for the arts in Vienna
0:08:59 > 0:09:02and for scientific progress, wasn't it?
0:09:02 > 0:09:05There was an explosion of creativity, that is true.
0:09:05 > 0:09:10And you have got writers like Arthur Schnitzler who really
0:09:10 > 0:09:14observed people's identities and crept into their soul.
0:09:14 > 0:09:18You, of course, had Sigmund Freud who did the same thing
0:09:18 > 0:09:20in a therapeutic context.
0:09:20 > 0:09:23You have painters like Schiele and Klimt.
0:09:23 > 0:09:26So I think, you know, the questioning of everything,
0:09:26 > 0:09:28the questioning of identity
0:09:28 > 0:09:31and tradition in a city that is burgeoning
0:09:31 > 0:09:34and really bursting at the seams, that was something very important
0:09:34 > 0:09:37and that's what we call Viennese Modernism.
0:09:37 > 0:09:40There would be a reaction against modernism.
0:09:40 > 0:09:43Was that associated with anti-Semitism?
0:09:43 > 0:09:47Well, it was, because not everybody likes it when a new world begins.
0:09:47 > 0:09:50A new world beginning means an old world ends.
0:09:52 > 0:09:53This anti-modernism
0:09:53 > 0:09:57especially influenced the city's Austrian middle class,
0:09:57 > 0:10:02among them, a young Adolf Hitler who dreamed of studying art here.
0:10:03 > 0:10:09By 1913, both capital and empire faced an uncertain future.
0:10:16 > 0:10:20I'm heading back onto solid ground, from where I can contemplate
0:10:20 > 0:10:25this iconic landmark which features in one of my favourite movies.
0:10:44 > 0:10:48Ever since I saw that Orson Welles film, The Third Man,
0:10:48 > 0:10:54I've thought of Vienna as the centre of Cold War intrigue.
0:10:54 > 0:10:59But in 1913, it was the setting for a real-life spy drama.
0:11:05 > 0:11:09I'm on the trail of an event that 100 years ago
0:11:09 > 0:11:12sent shock waves around Europe.
0:11:12 > 0:11:16I'm meeting military historian Colonel Christian Ortner
0:11:16 > 0:11:18at Vienna's central post office.
0:11:18 > 0:11:20Hello, Christian. I'm Michael.
0:11:20 > 0:11:21Nice to meet you.
0:11:21 > 0:11:23Christian, I believe that in 1913,
0:11:23 > 0:11:27the Austro-Hungarian army was rocked by a spy scandal.
0:11:27 > 0:11:29How did it come to light?
0:11:29 > 0:11:31Yes, it was really a big catastrophe,
0:11:31 > 0:11:34especially for the Austro-Hungarian army
0:11:34 > 0:11:35because it all started
0:11:35 > 0:11:41when a few letters here in this post office were not collected.
0:11:41 > 0:11:44They were sent back to a tiny, little village
0:11:44 > 0:11:47near the German-Russian border,
0:11:47 > 0:11:50well-known to be one of the spy centres of the area.
0:11:50 > 0:11:53And there, the German secret service realised,
0:11:53 > 0:11:55"Hmm, some letters are coming."
0:11:55 > 0:11:57They opened them and money was in it.
0:11:57 > 0:11:59- A lot of money?- A lot of money.
0:11:59 > 0:12:02And then they informed the Austrian military secret service...
0:12:02 > 0:12:06"There could be some problems within your army."
0:12:06 > 0:12:09The envelope full of cash also contained addresses
0:12:09 > 0:12:12linked to Russian intelligence.
0:12:12 > 0:12:14It looked as though the Austro-Hungarian secret service
0:12:14 > 0:12:16had a mole.
0:12:16 > 0:12:19A copy of the letter was sent back to the post office
0:12:19 > 0:12:23and whoever collected it would be exposed as the traitor.
0:12:23 > 0:12:25Three civil detectives were here, waiting,
0:12:25 > 0:12:29and a female worker here had a bell
0:12:29 > 0:12:33and when the letter was collected, she should ring the bell
0:12:33 > 0:12:35and the three detectives realised, oh, that's the man.
0:12:35 > 0:12:37So presumably they followed?
0:12:37 > 0:12:40Yes, they did and this was a very interesting story
0:12:40 > 0:12:43because when following, the man took a taxi.
0:12:43 > 0:12:47This is the decisive point of the whole investigation.
0:12:47 > 0:12:50Detectives had staked out the post office for six weeks.
0:12:50 > 0:12:55If they wanted to catch the traitor, they had to close the net fast.
0:12:58 > 0:13:00Fearing that they'd lost their man,
0:13:00 > 0:13:04the detectives waited for the taxi driver to return to the rank
0:13:04 > 0:13:08and learned that the suspect had gone to a central hotel.
0:13:10 > 0:13:12They also discovered that he'd dropped the sheath
0:13:12 > 0:13:15of a letter opener on the back seat.
0:13:17 > 0:13:20So the detectives have the sheath of a knife
0:13:20 > 0:13:24- and they have an address, a hotel. - Yes.- What do they do?
0:13:24 > 0:13:25Quite interesting.
0:13:25 > 0:13:27They gave the sheath of the knife to the concierge,
0:13:27 > 0:13:32because it was clear that maybe some of the guests was the real owner.
0:13:32 > 0:13:35And, er, they were waiting in the lobby room
0:13:35 > 0:13:40and suddenly a man came down and said this is his sheath.
0:13:40 > 0:13:42It was Colonel Redl,
0:13:42 > 0:13:46a high-ranking officer of the former military secret service.
0:13:46 > 0:13:48My goodness. That must have been a huge shock.
0:13:50 > 0:13:54Colonel Alfred Redl was being blackmailed by the Russians
0:13:54 > 0:13:56over his homosexuality
0:13:56 > 0:13:59and was supplying them with Austrian military secrets.
0:14:01 > 0:14:02Interrogators assembled
0:14:02 > 0:14:07and went up to his hotel room to extract the truth.
0:14:07 > 0:14:10- Did he confess? - Yes, he confessed immediately.
0:14:10 > 0:14:14And later on, he was handed over a pistol and in the morning
0:14:14 > 0:14:18of the 25th of May, they found him dead in his room.
0:14:18 > 0:14:20He had shot himself.
0:14:20 > 0:14:24What was the impact of this scandal on Austro-Hungary?
0:14:24 > 0:14:26This was an enormous scandal
0:14:26 > 0:14:30and I think it was an earthquake to the empire.
0:14:32 > 0:14:35In a bid to repair the damage done to the military's reputation
0:14:35 > 0:14:39and to improve morale, Emperor Franz Josef appointed his nephew
0:14:39 > 0:14:44and heir, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, inspector general of the army.
0:14:44 > 0:14:49It was while visiting troops in the Bosnian capital Sarajevo in 1914
0:14:49 > 0:14:52that Franz Ferdinand was assassinated
0:14:52 > 0:14:55and Europe was plunged into the First World War.
0:14:59 > 0:15:02Ending my day, I'm drawn to an aspect of this city
0:15:02 > 0:15:07that no early 20th-century tourist would have ignored.
0:15:17 > 0:15:21Vienna's extraordinary musical heritage of Mozart, Schubert
0:15:21 > 0:15:26and Strauss had been central to its culture for over 200 years.
0:15:27 > 0:15:33But in 1913, a new sound caused uproar in the city's concert hall.
0:15:37 > 0:15:42I'm at the stunning National Library to meet Professor Susana Zapke.
0:15:43 > 0:15:45Susana, what are these?
0:15:45 > 0:15:48We have here the newspapers that tell the story
0:15:48 > 0:15:53of the Skandalkonzert on the 31st March, 1913.
0:15:53 > 0:15:58- The Skandalkonzert?- Skandalkonzert, yes. A big event in Vienna.
0:16:07 > 0:16:10The concert was conducted by avant-garde composer
0:16:10 > 0:16:15Arnold Schoenberg, and featured new works by other emerging modernists.
0:16:15 > 0:16:19For the traditional audience, they'd gone too far.
0:16:24 > 0:16:28Did people begin to whistle or to boo or what happened?
0:16:28 > 0:16:34And to laugh and to cry and to gesticulate.
0:16:34 > 0:16:39- It was a moment absolutely of high tension.- Did it come to blows?
0:16:39 > 0:16:42Oh, yes. It came to blows.
0:16:42 > 0:16:48And therefore, in Vienna, we speak not about the Skandalkonzert
0:16:48 > 0:16:51but about the Slapkonzert.
0:16:51 > 0:16:54- So it was a clash of the old and the new?- Absolutely.
0:16:54 > 0:16:59They were absolutely aggressive to this new form of music,
0:16:59 > 0:17:00this modernity.
0:17:00 > 0:17:02Which do you prefer to play?
0:17:02 > 0:17:08Straus, but I think if you play music from your heart,
0:17:08 > 0:17:10it doesn't matter which kind of music you play.
0:17:11 > 0:17:15Do you think people in Vienna now accept Schoenberg
0:17:15 > 0:17:17in the way that they accept Straus?
0:17:17 > 0:17:20- No. Not really. - SHE LAUGHS
0:17:20 > 0:17:24- It's still considered rather new? - Yes. Yeah.
0:17:50 > 0:17:54I'm leaving the capital behind and following my guidebook 60 miles
0:17:54 > 0:17:58south-west towards some of Austria's most breathtaking scenery.
0:18:08 > 0:18:11I have, of course, the most enormous admiration
0:18:11 > 0:18:13for British railway engineers,
0:18:13 > 0:18:17but let's face it, they didn't have to cope with the Alps.
0:18:17 > 0:18:21I'm going to take this train through the mighty Semmering Pass.
0:18:21 > 0:18:24And as I make that epic journey, I'm going to be thinking
0:18:24 > 0:18:30about the man who lived for that idea and the many who died for it.
0:18:31 > 0:18:33WHISTLE BLOWS
0:18:36 > 0:18:40The Semmering Pass is Europe's first transalpine railway.
0:18:40 > 0:18:44It forms part of the 300-mile long Vienna to Trieste line,
0:18:44 > 0:18:48which was the empire's spinal cord through the mountains.
0:18:49 > 0:18:53I've arranged to meet railway historian Gunter Dinhobl on board.
0:18:54 > 0:18:56- Hello, Gunter.- Hi, Michael.
0:18:56 > 0:18:58- Nice to meet you. - Very good to see you.
0:18:59 > 0:19:02Why was it so important for the Habsburg Empire
0:19:02 > 0:19:04to build this railway line?
0:19:04 > 0:19:08I think the most important thing was to get a good transport connection
0:19:08 > 0:19:14from Vienna, the capital of the empire, to Trieste,
0:19:14 > 0:19:17the main harbour, the main port of the empire,
0:19:17 > 0:19:21and at this time, to get the opening of the world.
0:19:21 > 0:19:25The emperor wanted Austria-Hungary's main seaport
0:19:25 > 0:19:27to rival Genoa and Marseilles.
0:19:29 > 0:19:33Plans for a line were discussed as early as 1837,
0:19:33 > 0:19:35but the treacherous alpine route
0:19:35 > 0:19:38prevented them from becoming a reality.
0:19:40 > 0:19:43So suddenly, Gunter, I feel that the train is beginning to move up
0:19:43 > 0:19:44a steep gradient.
0:19:44 > 0:19:48You can feel it pulling as it goes around the very tight curves
0:19:48 > 0:19:51and, of course, the scenery has become very alpine.
0:19:51 > 0:19:52Beautiful.
0:19:53 > 0:19:56How big a challenge was it
0:19:56 > 0:19:58to build the railway line through the Semmering?
0:19:58 > 0:20:02I was a really huge challenge because in the time before,
0:20:02 > 0:20:08no-one tried to build a railway in such a mountainous area or so steep.
0:20:08 > 0:20:10Who was the brain behind the railway?
0:20:10 > 0:20:13Karl Ghega, who was born in Venice,
0:20:13 > 0:20:17studied mechanical engineering, mathematics,
0:20:17 > 0:20:23also studied architecture and he was designated to be the chief engineer
0:20:23 > 0:20:25for the whole railway line from Vienna to Trieste.
0:20:27 > 0:20:31Karl von Ghega was brought onto the project in 1842.
0:20:31 > 0:20:33He immediately began to survey the area
0:20:33 > 0:20:38and to study systems abroad to try to overcome to alpine obstacle.
0:20:38 > 0:20:43In 1848, construction of the ambitious line began.
0:20:43 > 0:20:49It would involve 22 major bridges, 16 viaducts and 14 tunnels.
0:20:49 > 0:20:52There had been around 15,000 to 20,000 people
0:20:52 > 0:20:55working on the 42km long railway line.
0:20:55 > 0:21:00Dynamite didn't exist at that time, no tunnel drilling machines,
0:21:00 > 0:21:03so they had to drill the holes by hand.
0:21:03 > 0:21:07- It's a handmade railway line. - An extraordinary achievement.
0:21:09 > 0:21:15700 men and women died building the line. It took six years to complete.
0:21:15 > 0:21:20And in 1854, the first passenger train puffed over the Semmering Pass.
0:21:21 > 0:21:25Now UNESCO protected, it's as awe-inspiring today
0:21:25 > 0:21:29as it would have been for tourists following my 1913 guide.
0:21:31 > 0:21:34I often say to people, if there's one thing that's more beautiful
0:21:34 > 0:21:38than a green valley, it's a green valley with a railway viaduct in it.
0:21:38 > 0:21:40Indeed. You'll see it on the Semmering.
0:21:50 > 0:21:51Auf Wiedersehen.
0:22:02 > 0:22:07What a beautiful alpine station and wonderful, fresh -
0:22:07 > 0:22:08not to say, cold - air.
0:22:19 > 0:22:21I want to take a close-up look
0:22:21 > 0:22:24at one of the line's most striking structures.
0:22:30 > 0:22:33This is the Kalte Rinne viaduct.
0:22:33 > 0:22:37And what impresses me is that the engineers,
0:22:37 > 0:22:41who were having to do something that had never been done before,
0:22:41 > 0:22:45still had enough passion left to make it beautiful.
0:22:50 > 0:22:53Von Ghega's achievements are widely recognised today,
0:22:53 > 0:22:56and by one man perhaps more than most.
0:22:56 > 0:23:01- Hello. Are you Georg?- Yes, I'm Georg.- Georg, good to see you.
0:23:01 > 0:23:02Michael.
0:23:02 > 0:23:03Ah, thank you.
0:23:05 > 0:23:09Georg Zwickl is such a devotee of the engineer that he moved here
0:23:09 > 0:23:12from Vienna to build a museum in his honour.
0:23:13 > 0:23:17It's perched at the top of the 46m tall Kalte Rinne viaduct.
0:23:23 > 0:23:26Georg, this is fantastic.
0:23:26 > 0:23:30Perfect little museum. What is this house, Georg?
0:23:30 > 0:23:37- In this house always worked two men who looked at the train.- Yeah.
0:23:37 > 0:23:41- So this was built by the railway for some of their workers?- Yes.
0:23:41 > 0:23:47- Do you live close by?- I live here, yes.- Ha! You live in a museum?- Yes.
0:23:47 > 0:23:48A model of the viaduct.
0:23:50 > 0:23:52- That is fantastic.- It's exact.
0:23:52 > 0:23:54- It's exact?- Yes.- I can believe it.
0:23:56 > 0:23:59Superb. The Kalte Rinne viaduct.
0:23:59 > 0:24:00In all its majesty.
0:24:01 > 0:24:03And here's the house.
0:24:03 > 0:24:05That's where we are.
0:24:07 > 0:24:11Built to the exact scale, this really is a work of precision.
0:24:20 > 0:24:23You have a wonderful view from your house, don't you?
0:24:23 > 0:24:27This is perfect. A train spotter's paradise.
0:24:27 > 0:24:29Greatest model train in Europe.
0:24:29 > 0:24:32The greatest model train in Europe, I believe it.
0:24:36 > 0:24:39The Semmering Pass transformed this landscape forever.
0:24:39 > 0:24:43Soon, the viaducts were joined by villas and hotels,
0:24:43 > 0:24:45built to accommodate the many tourists
0:24:45 > 0:24:49coming to enjoy one of the first alpine resorts.
0:24:56 > 0:25:00Bradshaw's tells me that Semmering is one of the favourite resorts
0:25:00 > 0:25:02both in summer and winter.
0:25:02 > 0:25:05Now I've never done any alpine sports.
0:25:05 > 0:25:07But when it comes to my duty,
0:25:07 > 0:25:11there'll be no slipping or sliding by me.
0:25:16 > 0:25:20At the time of my guidebook, many of the capital's modernist writers
0:25:20 > 0:25:24and artists were coming here to find inspiration for their work
0:25:24 > 0:25:26and get their alpine kicks.
0:25:28 > 0:25:34Off to the snowy peaks before I make my daredevil descent.
0:25:45 > 0:25:50It took men of courage to build the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
0:25:51 > 0:25:55And today, I feel inspired by their example.
0:25:55 > 0:25:58Yay!
0:26:05 > 0:26:09Although skiing didn't become common until the 1930s,
0:26:09 > 0:26:13skating, bobsleighing and tobogganing were all popular
0:26:13 > 0:26:16for the most thrill-seeking of Edwardian tourists.
0:26:35 > 0:26:38As thrilling as it was to get down the mountain like that,
0:26:38 > 0:26:40I think I'll stick to train travel.
0:26:45 > 0:26:46Gruss Gott.
0:26:48 > 0:26:50I'm heading 66 miles south
0:26:50 > 0:26:53towards another popular Edwardian destination.
0:27:00 > 0:27:03My journey from Vienna to the Adriatic continues
0:27:03 > 0:27:06and my next stop will be Graz, which Bradshaw's tells me is,
0:27:06 > 0:27:09"..the picturesquely situation capital of Styria,
0:27:09 > 0:27:13"1,135 feet above the sea on the River Mur
0:27:13 > 0:27:17"and one of the healthiest of Austrian towns."
0:27:17 > 0:27:22I really am enjoying this beautiful, snowy alpine scenery.
0:27:22 > 0:27:26And it will be a pleasure to spend the night there.
0:27:38 > 0:27:39Arriving in the evening,
0:27:39 > 0:27:43I'll save my exploration of Austria's second city for the morning.
0:27:55 > 0:27:58'Next time, when my journey continues
0:27:58 > 0:28:00'through the Austro-Hungarian Empire,
0:28:00 > 0:28:03'I'll delve into the history of caving...'
0:28:03 > 0:28:06- You will hang like this... - I wondered how I would hang!
0:28:09 > 0:28:13'I'll explore Slovenia's patriotic past...'
0:28:13 > 0:28:17- It's extraordinary, isn't it? The power of that is amazing.- Yes.
0:28:17 > 0:28:21'And I'll absorb the national spirit...'
0:28:21 > 0:28:22- You want to try mine? - Yeah, I'd love to.
0:28:24 > 0:28:26Mmm! LAUGHTER
0:28:26 > 0:28:29Na zdravje, na zdravje, na zdravje!