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 > 0:01:10I'm continuing my journey
0:01:10 > 0:01:13through three countries which, at the time of my guidebook,
0:01:13 > 0:01:16were part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
0:01:19 > 0:01:22I started in the imperial capital Vienna,
0:01:22 > 0:01:25and headed south through the mountains to the Semmering Pass.
0:01:26 > 0:01:30Today I'm beginning in Austria's second city Graz,
0:01:30 > 0:01:33before crossing the border to Slovenia
0:01:33 > 0:01:35and her capital, Ljubljana.
0:01:35 > 0:01:39I'll end my journey in the Italian port of Trieste.
0:01:45 > 0:01:48Along the way, I'll delve into the history of caving...
0:01:50 > 0:01:53- You will hang like this. - I wondered how I would hang!
0:01:56 > 0:02:00..explore Slovenia's patriotic past...
0:02:00 > 0:02:04- It's extraordinary, isn't it? The power of that is amazing.- Yes.
0:02:04 > 0:02:08..and absorb the national spirit.
0:02:08 > 0:02:11- Want to try mine? - Yeah, I'd love to.
0:02:11 > 0:02:13Mmm!
0:02:13 > 0:02:16THEY TOAST
0:02:20 > 0:02:23This morning, I'm exploring Graz.
0:02:23 > 0:02:27Known as a popular retirement town at the time of my guide,
0:02:27 > 0:02:30the city has since undergone a rejuvenation.
0:02:30 > 0:02:36With six universities, one in five living in Graz today is a student.
0:02:37 > 0:02:42This was also the 2003 European capital of culture,
0:02:42 > 0:02:46which saw the opening of the modern British-designed art gallery.
0:02:55 > 0:02:59But it's the view over the city that Bradshaw's recommends.
0:03:04 > 0:03:09My guidebook promises me a fine view from the Schlossberg,
0:03:09 > 0:03:14that's the fortress mountain at 1,545 feet.
0:03:14 > 0:03:17"Ascent by cable tram."
0:03:17 > 0:03:21and on the south side, I'm promised a beautiful old clock tower.
0:03:21 > 0:03:25Interestingly, when this was opened in 1894,
0:03:25 > 0:03:30it was powered by a steam engine, which was at the top of the mountain,
0:03:30 > 0:03:35and a boiler at the bottom, the two linked by steam pipes.
0:03:35 > 0:03:36Extraordinary!
0:04:02 > 0:04:06BELLS CHIME
0:04:12 > 0:04:16Well, as I hoped, a lovely panorama over Graz,
0:04:16 > 0:04:19with its combination of the Baroque and the ultra-modern.
0:04:29 > 0:04:32I'm following my guidebook out of the city.
0:04:32 > 0:04:36Bradshaw's tells me that, in the area surrounding Graz, the heights and
0:04:36 > 0:04:40woods offer innumerable excursions, including Lurloch Grotto.
0:04:44 > 0:04:46From the late 1800s,
0:04:46 > 0:04:50Alpine adventure wasn't restricted to the mountain heights.
0:04:50 > 0:04:56Beneath the ground, cave exploration was also becoming a popular pastime
0:04:56 > 0:05:01and the world's first speleology society formed in France in 1895.
0:05:01 > 0:05:05I'm meeting cave expert Heinrich in the Lurgrotte where,
0:05:05 > 0:05:09over 100 years ago, tragedy was narrowly averted.
0:05:09 > 0:05:12- Heinrich, I'm Michael.- Hi, Michael.
0:05:12 > 0:05:15What an extraordinary cave!
0:05:15 > 0:05:18When was this cave discovered?
0:05:18 > 0:05:21The cave was discovered in 1894.
0:05:21 > 0:05:24It was very hard even to come here
0:05:24 > 0:05:29because there were so many lakes and streams and pools to cross over.
0:05:29 > 0:05:33You make it sound quite dangerous with all that water and so on.
0:05:33 > 0:05:36Were there accidents in the early days?
0:05:36 > 0:05:41There were a lot of accidents. The most famous was in 1894.
0:05:41 > 0:05:47There were two competitive caving clubs who tried to be the first
0:05:47 > 0:05:53to explore the cave and one of them entered the cave secretly.
0:05:53 > 0:05:58It was a very unlucky exploration because a flood took place outside,
0:05:58 > 0:06:04a very big thunderstorm and this thunderstorm flooded the entrance
0:06:04 > 0:06:08of the cave, so they couldn't get out any more.
0:06:09 > 0:06:13The group of seven cavers, including one 15-year-old boy,
0:06:13 > 0:06:15were all amateurs.
0:06:15 > 0:06:16When they failed to return home,
0:06:16 > 0:06:19their families quickly raised the alarm.
0:06:20 > 0:06:22Was there a very big rescue effort, then?
0:06:22 > 0:06:24It was a very big rescue effort.
0:06:24 > 0:06:293,000 people involved in the rescue and many spectators.
0:06:29 > 0:06:33It was a big event in the papers.
0:06:33 > 0:06:36It attracted so much attention that Emperor Franz Josef
0:06:36 > 0:06:38dispatched a military team.
0:06:40 > 0:06:44They took some people from the army, they brought some logs
0:06:44 > 0:06:48and made a blocking of the stream.
0:06:48 > 0:06:53Finally, they had to dig a new tunnel to enable the cavers to escape.
0:06:53 > 0:06:55Despite being trapped for nine days,
0:06:55 > 0:06:58extraordinarily, no-one was seriously hurt.
0:07:02 > 0:07:06Today, there are societies dedicated to cave rescue.
0:07:06 > 0:07:09Henrich is part of one called Hohlenbaren,
0:07:09 > 0:07:14'and they've agreed to let me take part in a rescue training exercise.'
0:07:14 > 0:07:18OK, down here you will see there is a little rope.
0:07:18 > 0:07:21and here we have a kind of break with a special knot.
0:07:21 > 0:07:24- And then you'll let me down gently with this slipknot.- Exactly.
0:07:24 > 0:07:26Very good. OK.
0:07:26 > 0:07:28You will hang like this later.
0:07:28 > 0:07:31THEY LAUGH I wondered how I would hang.
0:07:31 > 0:07:33- OK?- Like this?
0:07:37 > 0:07:38Yeah.
0:07:40 > 0:07:42OK.
0:07:42 > 0:07:45'Hearing water rushing around me,
0:07:45 > 0:07:48'I try to imagine what a terrifying experience it must have been
0:07:48 > 0:07:50'for those trapped here over 100 years ago.'
0:07:52 > 0:07:54Michael, stop.
0:07:54 > 0:07:55Stop.
0:07:55 > 0:07:57Michael, you OK?
0:07:57 > 0:07:59I'm fine.
0:08:02 > 0:08:05Ah.
0:08:05 > 0:08:08- Are you fine, Michael?- I am. Thank you very much, Henrich.
0:08:08 > 0:08:11- Welcome down to Earth! - It's good to be back.
0:08:14 > 0:08:17After such an adventure, I'll head for a night's rest
0:08:17 > 0:08:20before continuing my journey south in the morning.
0:08:35 > 0:08:38Back at Graz Station, my journey resumes
0:08:38 > 0:08:41along Austria-Hungary's imperial rail route.
0:08:43 > 0:08:47Today I'm leaving Austria for Slovenia.
0:08:50 > 0:08:55I'll pick up a connection over the Slovenian border at Zidani Most,
0:08:55 > 0:08:59as there's only direct train per day from Graz to Ljubljana.
0:09:11 > 0:09:13- Thank you.- Thank you very much.
0:09:19 > 0:09:23My Bradshaw's gives my next destination its German name,
0:09:23 > 0:09:26Laibach, but it's now known as Ljubljana.
0:09:26 > 0:09:29It tells me that it's the capital of Carniola.
0:09:29 > 0:09:33Well, it's now the capital of Slovenia.
0:09:33 > 0:09:37And it tells me that the city was greatly injured by an earthquake
0:09:37 > 0:09:41in April, 1895, so I'm expecting to find a city
0:09:41 > 0:09:45in a new country with a different language and rebuilt.
0:09:53 > 0:09:57Under the Austria-Hungarian Empire, those with power and influence tended
0:09:57 > 0:10:01to speak German, while everyone else used their native language.
0:10:03 > 0:10:05- Hello, ladies.- Hello.
0:10:05 > 0:10:07Do you mind if I join you for a moment?
0:10:07 > 0:10:08Thank you very much indeed.
0:10:08 > 0:10:10I wonder if you can help me.
0:10:10 > 0:10:14The Slovenian language, is it like the Croatian language,
0:10:14 > 0:10:17like the Bosnian language, or is it very different?
0:10:17 > 0:10:19It's very similar, but it's not the same.
0:10:19 > 0:10:23I think we understand each other, almost all.
0:10:23 > 0:10:26Are you very proud of your own language?
0:10:26 > 0:10:29Do you feel a very strong sense of ownership of your own language?
0:10:29 > 0:10:32Well, youngsters, I think they are, like...
0:10:33 > 0:10:41..more connected with English than like with their own language.
0:10:41 > 0:10:45- So most people of your generation now speak English?- Yes.
0:10:48 > 0:10:51Although independent since 1991,
0:10:51 > 0:10:55for much of the 20th century, Slovenia was part of Yugoslavia.
0:10:57 > 0:11:00I always feel excitement when I arrive in
0:11:00 > 0:11:04one of the former communist countries, because Slovenia
0:11:04 > 0:11:08has had a pretty rough passage since it left the Austro-Hungarian Empire
0:11:08 > 0:11:10nearly 100 years ago.
0:11:21 > 0:11:25Since the time of my guide, it's been a state, a kingdom,
0:11:25 > 0:11:29three kinds of republic and, finally, an independent nation.
0:11:32 > 0:11:36Throughout the upheaval, Ljubljana has been Slovenia's first city
0:11:36 > 0:11:37and it's stunning.
0:11:45 > 0:11:50I'm meeting historian Peter Krecic at the central Preseren Square
0:11:50 > 0:11:53to discover more about the city as Bradshaw travellers
0:11:53 > 0:11:54would have found it.
0:11:55 > 0:11:58We meet in a really beautiful square,
0:11:58 > 0:12:02but I hear from Bradshaw's Guide
0:12:02 > 0:12:05that there was an earthquake here in 1895.
0:12:05 > 0:12:07A lot of destruction?
0:12:07 > 0:12:09Yes, quite a lot.
0:12:09 > 0:12:13Maybe more than 50% of the buildings were destroyed
0:12:13 > 0:12:19and it was really a dramatic view when you entered Ljubljana
0:12:19 > 0:12:21immediately after the earthquake.
0:12:23 > 0:12:27On that Easter Sunday, the city was devastated.
0:12:27 > 0:12:29The earthquake was so powerful
0:12:29 > 0:12:32that it was felt in Vienna almost 250 miles away.
0:12:34 > 0:12:38It left many of the 31,000 population homeless,
0:12:38 > 0:12:42so a plan to salvage the city was quickly put in place.
0:12:43 > 0:12:49When it came to beginning to rebuild the city, how was that undertaken?
0:12:49 > 0:12:56In that time, we had a good and capable member of Ljubljana Council.
0:12:56 > 0:12:58His name was Ivan Hribar.
0:12:58 > 0:13:02Later on, he became a mayor of Ljubljana for a decade
0:13:02 > 0:13:06because of his successful reaction after the earthquake.
0:13:06 > 0:13:11"Immediately," he said, "when the earth was still moving,
0:13:11 > 0:13:17"going through the town, I was thinking of what to do."
0:13:17 > 0:13:21He wanted broader streets, new parks, greenery in the town.
0:13:22 > 0:13:26Councillor Ivan Hribar, a passionate nationalist,
0:13:26 > 0:13:30recognised that this could be an opportunity to create
0:13:30 > 0:13:31a contemporary Slovenian capital.
0:13:34 > 0:13:39What had been a sleepy Baroque town became an architectural playground.
0:13:39 > 0:13:42The city's interpretation of the Viennese Secession,
0:13:42 > 0:13:48Austria's equivalent of Art Nouveau, adorned the streets and, by 1910,
0:13:48 > 0:13:52over 400 new buildings had been constructed.
0:13:52 > 0:13:56They were intended to embody more than architectural fashion.
0:13:58 > 0:14:01This building was built immediately after the break of the centuries,
0:14:01 > 0:14:04somewhere...1901.
0:14:04 > 0:14:10And, as you see, the national feeling is put on the facade
0:14:10 > 0:14:12in the form of the Slovenian flag.
0:14:12 > 0:14:15You can see the red ground floor,
0:14:15 > 0:14:18then the first floor is in blue
0:14:18 > 0:14:20and the rest of the building is white.
0:14:20 > 0:14:22- An extraordinary building.- Yes.
0:14:33 > 0:14:35At the start of the 20th century,
0:14:35 > 0:14:38nationalism was on the rise across Europe.
0:14:38 > 0:14:42Many Slavic groups in the Empire wanted greater independence
0:14:42 > 0:14:45and Slovenia wanted to be a nation in its own right.
0:14:47 > 0:14:50That passion expressed itself in architecture, literature,
0:14:50 > 0:14:52science and art.
0:14:54 > 0:14:57I'm meeting curator Andrej Smrekar.
0:14:59 > 0:15:02- Andrej? Michael. - Very nice meeting you.
0:15:02 > 0:15:07- Your National Gallery is spectacular, absolutely beautiful. - Thank you.
0:15:08 > 0:15:11The gallery exhibits many works by the Sava Group,
0:15:11 > 0:15:14a collection of Slovenian artists formed in 1906,
0:15:14 > 0:15:18whose work became a plank of Slovenian nationalism.
0:15:21 > 0:15:25Now this painting here, the image emerges perfectly clearly
0:15:25 > 0:15:29and it is a man sowing a field,
0:15:29 > 0:15:32taking the seed from a basket on his left hip
0:15:32 > 0:15:35and presumably casting it with his right hand.
0:15:35 > 0:15:38And in the background?
0:15:38 > 0:15:40And in the background is a hayrack.
0:15:42 > 0:15:46The painting is by Ivan Grohar, a Sava Group member.
0:15:46 > 0:15:48Those artists exhibited across the Empire
0:15:48 > 0:15:51at the start of the 20th century,
0:15:51 > 0:15:54reaching a broad audience with their scenes of Slovenian life,
0:15:54 > 0:15:57fuelling national pride and sentiment.
0:15:57 > 0:16:02Why do you think that this image is so powerful for Slovenian people?
0:16:02 > 0:16:04That's... That's us.
0:16:04 > 0:16:10Because, from the start, the peasant was understood
0:16:10 > 0:16:14as the essence of Slovenian identity.
0:16:14 > 0:16:17Aristocracy was, in the 19th century,
0:16:17 > 0:16:20perceived as foreign, as other.
0:16:20 > 0:16:24The peasant represented the millennial struggle against
0:16:24 > 0:16:26German domination.
0:16:26 > 0:16:28That's what makes him so iconic.
0:16:29 > 0:16:34The picture is saying, "This peasant is of the same stuff as the Earth."
0:16:34 > 0:16:36I see that.
0:16:36 > 0:16:40These images were part of Slovenia's national awakening,
0:16:40 > 0:16:45strengthening national identity and the desire for independence.
0:16:45 > 0:16:48This painting features on Slovenian coins even today.
0:16:48 > 0:16:52Has it become the most important painting in Slovenian history?
0:16:52 > 0:16:58I think so. I think it kept its centrality for the whole century.
0:16:58 > 0:17:01- It's extraordinary, isn't it? The power of that is amazing.- Yes.
0:17:08 > 0:17:11With all this talk of Slovenian patriotism,
0:17:11 > 0:17:14I'm anxious to absorb the national spirit.
0:17:16 > 0:17:22TRADITIONAL SLOVENIAN MUSIC
0:17:30 > 0:17:34So the Snopc o'tecca seems like a good place to pause.
0:17:38 > 0:17:40- Hello!- Hello.
0:17:40 > 0:17:43- This is a very nice shop.- Thank you.
0:17:43 > 0:17:48- I was hoping to drink something typically Slovenian, please.- OK.
0:17:48 > 0:17:49What do you recommend?
0:17:49 > 0:17:52- We have 80 different spirits. - No!- Yeah.
0:17:52 > 0:17:55I think pear, apple and plum are the most typical ones.
0:17:55 > 0:17:58Actually, the apple sounds quite nice.
0:17:58 > 0:18:03All the schnapps are fruit-based and made using traditional techniques.
0:18:03 > 0:18:08This revival of artisan distilling has become popular in recent years.
0:18:08 > 0:18:12- Want to cheers with us?- Yes, cheers! - Na zdravje, we say na zdravje!
0:18:12 > 0:18:14- Na zdravje!- Na zdravje!- Cheers.
0:18:16 > 0:18:18Here, do you want to try my...?
0:18:18 > 0:18:21- This is apple. You want to try mine? - Yeah, I'd love to.
0:18:23 > 0:18:24Mmmm!
0:18:24 > 0:18:26Very nice to see you. Cheers.
0:18:26 > 0:18:29- Na zdravje.- Na zdravje, na zdravje, na zdravje.
0:18:35 > 0:18:38My time in Ljubljana is almost up,
0:18:38 > 0:18:41so I'm turning in before I embark on my final day
0:18:41 > 0:18:43across the old Empire.
0:19:03 > 0:19:06I'm heading back to the station for the last leg of my journey...
0:19:07 > 0:19:09TRAIN HONKS
0:19:09 > 0:19:12..although it's a bit more complicated than it was
0:19:12 > 0:19:13at the time of my guidebook.
0:19:14 > 0:19:19According to the timetables in my Bradshaw's Guide, 100 years ago
0:19:19 > 0:19:22you could travel from Ljubljana to Trieste by train
0:19:22 > 0:19:25in about three hours and ten minutes.
0:19:25 > 0:19:27Today the journey takes rather longer,
0:19:27 > 0:19:30and just now there are all sorts of problems with the lines
0:19:30 > 0:19:33and there's a replacement bus service.
0:19:33 > 0:19:34I don't fancy one of those,
0:19:34 > 0:19:37so I've found a freight train that's going my way.
0:19:40 > 0:19:41Good morning. I'm Michael.
0:19:41 > 0:19:43Oh. Hello, I'm Zoron.
0:19:43 > 0:19:45- Zoron, good to see you. - Thank you.
0:19:45 > 0:19:47- May I sit here? - Yeah, yeah.- Wonderful.
0:19:52 > 0:19:55TRAIN HONKS
0:19:57 > 0:20:00What is the cargo on the train today?
0:20:00 > 0:20:05It's containers, all is containers from Austria,
0:20:05 > 0:20:10for all Austria to the Adriatic Sea and then go on board.
0:20:10 > 0:20:18540 metres long and 1,500 tonnes.
0:20:18 > 0:20:21- Wow. That's a big train, isn't it?- Yeah.
0:20:25 > 0:20:29Here is the route built by the Austro-Hungarian Empire
0:20:29 > 0:20:30to carry goods to Trieste.
0:20:33 > 0:20:38But this train is heading to Koper, Slovenia's only seaport,
0:20:38 > 0:20:40about 13 miles outside Trieste.
0:20:42 > 0:20:45TRAIN HONKS
0:20:47 > 0:20:50BRAKES SQUEAL
0:20:50 > 0:20:52Thanks, it was a great ride. Bye-bye, now.
0:20:55 > 0:20:58Thanks.
0:20:58 > 0:21:02I'm picking up my final connection for Trieste at Villa Opicina,
0:21:02 > 0:21:04just over the Italian border.
0:21:17 > 0:21:20A traveller using my Bradshaw's Guide 100 years ago could have travelled
0:21:20 > 0:21:25on a tram on this route, because it began service in 1902.
0:21:25 > 0:21:28And it's unusual, possibly unique, because at this point,
0:21:28 > 0:21:32it's a conventional tram, but as we begin the very sharp descent into
0:21:32 > 0:21:37the city of Trieste, a rope system takes over, balancing the tram
0:21:37 > 0:21:41that's coming up the gradient with another that's descending.
0:21:50 > 0:21:55Outside the city, a so-called shield wagon is added to the tram.
0:21:59 > 0:22:02So now we're at the top of the gradient
0:22:02 > 0:22:06and it is an incredibly steep gradient and the tram has engaged
0:22:06 > 0:22:09with this cable, which is running along wheels, and as we go down,
0:22:09 > 0:22:13we must be balanced by a tram that is now coming up,
0:22:13 > 0:22:16but I am amazed by how steep this hill is.
0:22:19 > 0:22:23Fantastico questo tram, no? E' unico, no?
0:22:23 > 0:22:24E' unico, si.
0:22:26 > 0:22:32It operates like a funicular, but its application to a tram is unique.
0:22:32 > 0:22:34The cable system enables the vehicles
0:22:34 > 0:22:38to get up and down the 27% gradient
0:22:38 > 0:22:41before they continue as ordinary trams through the town.
0:22:43 > 0:22:45We're in the city of Trieste,
0:22:45 > 0:22:48which Bradshaw's tells me was the "Tergeste of the Romans,
0:22:48 > 0:22:52"the principal seaport of Austria, situated on a gulf
0:22:52 > 0:22:55"at the northeast end of the Adriatic,
0:22:55 > 0:22:57"a thriving commercial place."
0:22:57 > 0:23:00Indeed, it's difficult to overstate the importance of Trieste,
0:23:00 > 0:23:05the place where Austria's imports and exports flowed, and the Adriatic,
0:23:05 > 0:23:09the sea on which its dreadnoughts and battleships
0:23:09 > 0:23:11could project the Empire's power.
0:23:25 > 0:23:27At the time of my guidebook,
0:23:27 > 0:23:30Trieste had become Austria-Hungary's economic hub.
0:23:30 > 0:23:34During the second half of the 19th century, its population doubled
0:23:34 > 0:23:39as migrants flowed in to find work building ships or heaving cargo.
0:23:42 > 0:23:47By 1913, over six million tonnes of goods, including tropical fruit,
0:23:47 > 0:23:52coal and cotton, were being moved by rail from ships through the port
0:23:52 > 0:23:54and out to the rest of the Empire.
0:24:03 > 0:24:06Today, cargo is brought into Trieste's new port.
0:24:06 > 0:24:09One of the vital goods at the time of my guidebook
0:24:09 > 0:24:11is still a major import today.
0:24:14 > 0:24:17Alessandro, hi, I'm Michael.
0:24:17 > 0:24:19- Hi, Michael, it's nice to meet you. - Good to see you.
0:24:21 > 0:24:25Alessandro's family has been roasting coffee for 130 years.
0:24:30 > 0:24:34- This is an extraordinary display of coffee here.- Yeah.
0:24:34 > 0:24:37And how does coffee rank as a commodity?
0:24:37 > 0:24:42Coffee is the third commodity in the world after gold and petrol,
0:24:42 > 0:24:44so it's very important.
0:24:44 > 0:24:48And today Trieste is one of the most important ports of delivery
0:24:48 > 0:24:50for coffee in Italy and in Europe.
0:24:53 > 0:24:55Just as at the time of my guidebook,
0:24:55 > 0:25:00Trieste has a key role in the global coffee market.
0:25:00 > 0:25:03Around two million bags of raw beans are processed
0:25:03 > 0:25:05through the port each year.
0:25:05 > 0:25:08But before they're used, they must be roasted.
0:25:12 > 0:25:15So, Michael, let me introduce you to Massimo.
0:25:15 > 0:25:19- Massimo is one of my roasters. - Massimo, Michael.- Nice to meet you.
0:25:20 > 0:25:24That is not what I expected, because I always think of coffee beans
0:25:24 > 0:25:27as being very, very dark brown.
0:25:27 > 0:25:30And it has very little smell at the moment.
0:25:30 > 0:25:36Yes, because the cellular matrix of the coffee is completely sealed.
0:25:36 > 0:25:40- But when we roast it, it releases the flavour compounds.- Lovely.
0:25:40 > 0:25:44- And that's the process we're about to begin now.- Yeah, exactly.
0:25:44 > 0:25:46Whoa, that's heavy!
0:25:48 > 0:25:51Each sack weighs 60 kilos
0:25:51 > 0:25:54and they are passed through the roaster two at a time.
0:25:54 > 0:25:58In order to retain their flavour, the beans must be roasted
0:25:58 > 0:26:01at temperatures of up to 220 Celsius
0:26:01 > 0:26:03in a wood-fired furnace.
0:26:05 > 0:26:07In the early 20th century,
0:26:07 > 0:26:11over 80% of Trieste coffee was bound for Vienna,
0:26:11 > 0:26:15where the coffee culture was a vital part of daily life.
0:26:17 > 0:26:20Now the coffee is being completely transformed. It's this wonderful
0:26:20 > 0:26:24- dark colour and a fantastic aroma. - Yeah, it is true.
0:26:28 > 0:26:30The machinery may be modern,
0:26:30 > 0:26:33but the technique and the skill are centuries old.
0:26:56 > 0:26:58The national drink of Italy!
0:27:19 > 0:27:23I've travelled from Vienna on railway lines
0:27:23 > 0:27:26that helped to bind together the old Habsburg Empire
0:27:26 > 0:27:29during its last years.
0:27:29 > 0:27:33And that has enabled me to see Trieste for what it once was,
0:27:33 > 0:27:37the gateway and shop window of Austria-Hungary,
0:27:37 > 0:27:40an Empire that has now dissolved.
0:27:40 > 0:27:44The rise of art and architecture in Slovenia was typical
0:27:44 > 0:27:49of the nationalist movements that helped to loosen the bonds
0:27:49 > 0:27:53of the Empire so that today, movement along the old tracks
0:27:53 > 0:27:58is complicated by the existence of new national frontiers.
0:28:01 > 0:28:06Next time, I'll find out how one of Italy's best loved
0:28:06 > 0:28:09tourist attractions was saved from collapse.
0:28:09 > 0:28:13They were very concerned that it was about to fall over,
0:28:13 > 0:28:14and it actually was.
0:28:14 > 0:28:20I'll attempt to carve out my place in Italy's artistic history.
0:28:20 > 0:28:22Michelangelo, eat your heart out!
0:28:22 > 0:28:25And I'll catch a spot of impromptu opera.
0:28:25 > 0:28:28TENOR HOLDS LONG NOTE
0:28:28 > 0:28:30Bravo. APPLAUSE