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I'm embarking on a new railway adventure | 0:00:03 | 0:00:06 | |
that will take me across the heart of Europe. | 0:00:06 | 0:00:09 | |
I'll be using this, my Bradshaw's Continental Railway Guide, | 0:00:11 | 0:00:15 | |
dated 1913, which opened up an exotic world of foreign travel | 0:00:15 | 0:00:20 | |
for the British tourist. | 0:00:20 | 0:00:22 | |
It told travellers where to go, what to see and how to navigate | 0:00:22 | 0:00:26 | |
the thousands of miles of tracks crisscrossing the continent. | 0:00:26 | 0:00:31 | |
Now, a century later, I'm using my copy to reveal an era | 0:00:31 | 0:00:34 | |
of great optimism and energy, where technology, industry, | 0:00:34 | 0:00:39 | |
science and the arts were flourishing. | 0:00:39 | 0:00:41 | |
I want to rediscover that lost Europe that in 1913 couldn't know | 0:00:42 | 0:00:48 | |
that its way of life would shortly be swept aside by the advent of war. | 0:00:48 | 0:00:52 | |
I'm continuing my journey | 0:01:08 | 0:01:10 | |
through three countries which, at the time of my guidebook, | 0:01:10 | 0:01:13 | |
were part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. | 0:01:13 | 0:01:16 | |
I started in the imperial capital Vienna, | 0:01:19 | 0:01:22 | |
and headed south through the mountains to the Semmering Pass. | 0:01:22 | 0:01:25 | |
Today I'm beginning in Austria's second city Graz, | 0:01:26 | 0:01:30 | |
before crossing the border to Slovenia | 0:01:30 | 0:01:33 | |
and her capital, Ljubljana. | 0:01:33 | 0:01:35 | |
I'll end my journey in the Italian port of Trieste. | 0:01:35 | 0:01:39 | |
Along the way, I'll delve into the history of caving... | 0:01:45 | 0:01:48 | |
-You will hang like this. -I wondered how I would hang! | 0:01:50 | 0:01:53 | |
..explore Slovenia's patriotic past... | 0:01:56 | 0:02:00 | |
-It's extraordinary, isn't it? The power of that is amazing. -Yes. | 0:02:00 | 0:02:04 | |
..and absorb the national spirit. | 0:02:04 | 0:02:08 | |
-Want to try mine? -Yeah, I'd love to. | 0:02:08 | 0:02:11 | |
Mmm! | 0:02:11 | 0:02:13 | |
THEY TOAST | 0:02:13 | 0:02:16 | |
This morning, I'm exploring Graz. | 0:02:20 | 0:02:23 | |
Known as a popular retirement town at the time of my guide, | 0:02:23 | 0:02:27 | |
the city has since undergone a rejuvenation. | 0:02:27 | 0:02:30 | |
With six universities, one in five living in Graz today is a student. | 0:02:30 | 0:02:36 | |
This was also the 2003 European capital of culture, | 0:02:37 | 0:02:42 | |
which saw the opening of the modern British-designed art gallery. | 0:02:42 | 0:02:46 | |
But it's the view over the city that Bradshaw's recommends. | 0:02:55 | 0:02:59 | |
My guidebook promises me a fine view from the Schlossberg, | 0:03:04 | 0:03:09 | |
that's the fortress mountain at 1,545 feet. | 0:03:09 | 0:03:14 | |
"Ascent by cable tram." | 0:03:14 | 0:03:17 | |
and on the south side, I'm promised a beautiful old clock tower. | 0:03:17 | 0:03:21 | |
Interestingly, when this was opened in 1894, | 0:03:21 | 0:03:25 | |
it was powered by a steam engine, which was at the top of the mountain, | 0:03:25 | 0:03:30 | |
and a boiler at the bottom, the two linked by steam pipes. | 0:03:30 | 0:03:35 | |
Extraordinary! | 0:03:35 | 0:03:36 | |
BELLS CHIME | 0:04:02 | 0:04:06 | |
Well, as I hoped, a lovely panorama over Graz, | 0:04:12 | 0:04:16 | |
with its combination of the Baroque and the ultra-modern. | 0:04:16 | 0:04:19 | |
I'm following my guidebook out of the city. | 0:04:29 | 0:04:32 | |
Bradshaw's tells me that, in the area surrounding Graz, the heights and | 0:04:32 | 0:04:36 | |
woods offer innumerable excursions, including Lurloch Grotto. | 0:04:36 | 0:04:40 | |
From the late 1800s, | 0:04:44 | 0:04:46 | |
Alpine adventure wasn't restricted to the mountain heights. | 0:04:46 | 0:04:50 | |
Beneath the ground, cave exploration was also becoming a popular pastime | 0:04:50 | 0:04:56 | |
and the world's first speleology society formed in France in 1895. | 0:04:56 | 0:05:01 | |
I'm meeting cave expert Heinrich in the Lurgrotte where, | 0:05:01 | 0:05:05 | |
over 100 years ago, tragedy was narrowly averted. | 0:05:05 | 0:05:09 | |
-Heinrich, I'm Michael. -Hi, Michael. | 0:05:09 | 0:05:12 | |
What an extraordinary cave! | 0:05:12 | 0:05:15 | |
When was this cave discovered? | 0:05:15 | 0:05:18 | |
The cave was discovered in 1894. | 0:05:18 | 0:05:21 | |
It was very hard even to come here | 0:05:21 | 0:05:24 | |
because there were so many lakes and streams and pools to cross over. | 0:05:24 | 0:05:29 | |
You make it sound quite dangerous with all that water and so on. | 0:05:29 | 0:05:33 | |
Were there accidents in the early days? | 0:05:33 | 0:05:36 | |
There were a lot of accidents. The most famous was in 1894. | 0:05:36 | 0:05:41 | |
There were two competitive caving clubs who tried to be the first | 0:05:41 | 0:05:47 | |
to explore the cave and one of them entered the cave secretly. | 0:05:47 | 0:05:53 | |
It was a very unlucky exploration because a flood took place outside, | 0:05:53 | 0:05:58 | |
a very big thunderstorm and this thunderstorm flooded the entrance | 0:05:58 | 0:06:04 | |
of the cave, so they couldn't get out any more. | 0:06:04 | 0:06:08 | |
The group of seven cavers, including one 15-year-old boy, | 0:06:09 | 0:06:13 | |
were all amateurs. | 0:06:13 | 0:06:15 | |
When they failed to return home, | 0:06:15 | 0:06:16 | |
their families quickly raised the alarm. | 0:06:16 | 0:06:19 | |
Was there a very big rescue effort, then? | 0:06:20 | 0:06:22 | |
It was a very big rescue effort. | 0:06:22 | 0:06:24 | |
3,000 people involved in the rescue and many spectators. | 0:06:24 | 0:06:29 | |
It was a big event in the papers. | 0:06:29 | 0:06:33 | |
It attracted so much attention that Emperor Franz Josef | 0:06:33 | 0:06:36 | |
dispatched a military team. | 0:06:36 | 0:06:38 | |
They took some people from the army, they brought some logs | 0:06:40 | 0:06:44 | |
and made a blocking of the stream. | 0:06:44 | 0:06:48 | |
Finally, they had to dig a new tunnel to enable the cavers to escape. | 0:06:48 | 0:06:53 | |
Despite being trapped for nine days, | 0:06:53 | 0:06:55 | |
extraordinarily, no-one was seriously hurt. | 0:06:55 | 0:06:58 | |
Today, there are societies dedicated to cave rescue. | 0:07:02 | 0:07:06 | |
Henrich is part of one called Hohlenbaren, | 0:07:06 | 0:07:09 | |
'and they've agreed to let me take part in a rescue training exercise.' | 0:07:09 | 0:07:14 | |
OK, down here you will see there is a little rope. | 0:07:14 | 0:07:18 | |
and here we have a kind of break with a special knot. | 0:07:18 | 0:07:21 | |
-And then you'll let me down gently with this slipknot. -Exactly. | 0:07:21 | 0:07:24 | |
Very good. OK. | 0:07:24 | 0:07:26 | |
You will hang like this later. | 0:07:26 | 0:07:28 | |
THEY LAUGH I wondered how I would hang. | 0:07:28 | 0:07:31 | |
-OK? -Like this? | 0:07:31 | 0:07:33 | |
Yeah. | 0:07:37 | 0:07:38 | |
OK. | 0:07:40 | 0:07:42 | |
'Hearing water rushing around me, | 0:07:42 | 0:07:45 | |
'I try to imagine what a terrifying experience it must have been | 0:07:45 | 0:07:48 | |
'for those trapped here over 100 years ago.' | 0:07:48 | 0:07:50 | |
Michael, stop. | 0:07:52 | 0:07:54 | |
Stop. | 0:07:54 | 0:07:55 | |
Michael, you OK? | 0:07:55 | 0:07:57 | |
I'm fine. | 0:07:57 | 0:07:59 | |
Ah. | 0:08:02 | 0:08:05 | |
-Are you fine, Michael? -I am. Thank you very much, Henrich. | 0:08:05 | 0:08:08 | |
-Welcome down to Earth! -It's good to be back. | 0:08:08 | 0:08:11 | |
After such an adventure, I'll head for a night's rest | 0:08:14 | 0:08:17 | |
before continuing my journey south in the morning. | 0:08:17 | 0:08:20 | |
Back at Graz Station, my journey resumes | 0:08:35 | 0:08:38 | |
along Austria-Hungary's imperial rail route. | 0:08:38 | 0:08:41 | |
Today I'm leaving Austria for Slovenia. | 0:08:43 | 0:08:47 | |
I'll pick up a connection over the Slovenian border at Zidani Most, | 0:08:50 | 0:08:55 | |
as there's only direct train per day from Graz to Ljubljana. | 0:08:55 | 0:08:59 | |
-Thank you. -Thank you very much. | 0:09:11 | 0:09:13 | |
My Bradshaw's gives my next destination its German name, | 0:09:19 | 0:09:23 | |
Laibach, but it's now known as Ljubljana. | 0:09:23 | 0:09:26 | |
It tells me that it's the capital of Carniola. | 0:09:26 | 0:09:29 | |
Well, it's now the capital of Slovenia. | 0:09:29 | 0:09:33 | |
And it tells me that the city was greatly injured by an earthquake | 0:09:33 | 0:09:37 | |
in April, 1895, so I'm expecting to find a city | 0:09:37 | 0:09:41 | |
in a new country with a different language and rebuilt. | 0:09:41 | 0:09:45 | |
Under the Austria-Hungarian Empire, those with power and influence tended | 0:09:53 | 0:09:57 | |
to speak German, while everyone else used their native language. | 0:09:57 | 0:10:01 | |
-Hello, ladies. -Hello. | 0:10:03 | 0:10:05 | |
Do you mind if I join you for a moment? | 0:10:05 | 0:10:07 | |
Thank you very much indeed. | 0:10:07 | 0:10:08 | |
I wonder if you can help me. | 0:10:08 | 0:10:10 | |
The Slovenian language, is it like the Croatian language, | 0:10:10 | 0:10:14 | |
like the Bosnian language, or is it very different? | 0:10:14 | 0:10:17 | |
It's very similar, but it's not the same. | 0:10:17 | 0:10:19 | |
I think we understand each other, almost all. | 0:10:19 | 0:10:23 | |
Are you very proud of your own language? | 0:10:23 | 0:10:26 | |
Do you feel a very strong sense of ownership of your own language? | 0:10:26 | 0:10:29 | |
Well, youngsters, I think they are, like... | 0:10:29 | 0:10:32 | |
..more connected with English than like with their own language. | 0:10:33 | 0:10:41 | |
-So most people of your generation now speak English? -Yes. | 0:10:41 | 0:10:45 | |
Although independent since 1991, | 0:10:48 | 0:10:51 | |
for much of the 20th century, Slovenia was part of Yugoslavia. | 0:10:51 | 0:10:55 | |
I always feel excitement when I arrive in | 0:10:57 | 0:11:00 | |
one of the former communist countries, because Slovenia | 0:11:00 | 0:11:04 | |
has had a pretty rough passage since it left the Austro-Hungarian Empire | 0:11:04 | 0:11:08 | |
nearly 100 years ago. | 0:11:08 | 0:11:10 | |
Since the time of my guide, it's been a state, a kingdom, | 0:11:21 | 0:11:25 | |
three kinds of republic and, finally, an independent nation. | 0:11:25 | 0:11:29 | |
Throughout the upheaval, Ljubljana has been Slovenia's first city | 0:11:32 | 0:11:36 | |
and it's stunning. | 0:11:36 | 0:11:37 | |
I'm meeting historian Peter Krecic at the central Preseren Square | 0:11:45 | 0:11:50 | |
to discover more about the city as Bradshaw travellers | 0:11:50 | 0:11:53 | |
would have found it. | 0:11:53 | 0:11:54 | |
We meet in a really beautiful square, | 0:11:55 | 0:11:58 | |
but I hear from Bradshaw's Guide | 0:11:58 | 0:12:02 | |
that there was an earthquake here in 1895. | 0:12:02 | 0:12:05 | |
A lot of destruction? | 0:12:05 | 0:12:07 | |
Yes, quite a lot. | 0:12:07 | 0:12:09 | |
Maybe more than 50% of the buildings were destroyed | 0:12:09 | 0:12:13 | |
and it was really a dramatic view when you entered Ljubljana | 0:12:13 | 0:12:19 | |
immediately after the earthquake. | 0:12:19 | 0:12:21 | |
On that Easter Sunday, the city was devastated. | 0:12:23 | 0:12:27 | |
The earthquake was so powerful | 0:12:27 | 0:12:29 | |
that it was felt in Vienna almost 250 miles away. | 0:12:29 | 0:12:32 | |
It left many of the 31,000 population homeless, | 0:12:34 | 0:12:38 | |
so a plan to salvage the city was quickly put in place. | 0:12:38 | 0:12:42 | |
When it came to beginning to rebuild the city, how was that undertaken? | 0:12:43 | 0:12:49 | |
In that time, we had a good and capable member of Ljubljana Council. | 0:12:49 | 0:12:56 | |
His name was Ivan Hribar. | 0:12:56 | 0:12:58 | |
Later on, he became a mayor of Ljubljana for a decade | 0:12:58 | 0:13:02 | |
because of his successful reaction after the earthquake. | 0:13:02 | 0:13:06 | |
"Immediately," he said, "when the earth was still moving, | 0:13:06 | 0:13:11 | |
"going through the town, I was thinking of what to do." | 0:13:11 | 0:13:17 | |
He wanted broader streets, new parks, greenery in the town. | 0:13:17 | 0:13:21 | |
Councillor Ivan Hribar, a passionate nationalist, | 0:13:22 | 0:13:26 | |
recognised that this could be an opportunity to create | 0:13:26 | 0:13:30 | |
a contemporary Slovenian capital. | 0:13:30 | 0:13:31 | |
What had been a sleepy Baroque town became an architectural playground. | 0:13:34 | 0:13:39 | |
The city's interpretation of the Viennese Secession, | 0:13:39 | 0:13:42 | |
Austria's equivalent of Art Nouveau, adorned the streets and, by 1910, | 0:13:42 | 0:13:48 | |
over 400 new buildings had been constructed. | 0:13:48 | 0:13:52 | |
They were intended to embody more than architectural fashion. | 0:13:52 | 0:13:56 | |
This building was built immediately after the break of the centuries, | 0:13:58 | 0:14:01 | |
somewhere...1901. | 0:14:01 | 0:14:04 | |
And, as you see, the national feeling is put on the facade | 0:14:04 | 0:14:10 | |
in the form of the Slovenian flag. | 0:14:10 | 0:14:12 | |
You can see the red ground floor, | 0:14:12 | 0:14:15 | |
then the first floor is in blue | 0:14:15 | 0:14:18 | |
and the rest of the building is white. | 0:14:18 | 0:14:20 | |
-An extraordinary building. -Yes. | 0:14:20 | 0:14:22 | |
At the start of the 20th century, | 0:14:33 | 0:14:35 | |
nationalism was on the rise across Europe. | 0:14:35 | 0:14:38 | |
Many Slavic groups in the Empire wanted greater independence | 0:14:38 | 0:14:42 | |
and Slovenia wanted to be a nation in its own right. | 0:14:42 | 0:14:45 | |
That passion expressed itself in architecture, literature, | 0:14:47 | 0:14:50 | |
science and art. | 0:14:50 | 0:14:52 | |
I'm meeting curator Andrej Smrekar. | 0:14:54 | 0:14:57 | |
-Andrej? Michael. -Very nice meeting you. | 0:14:59 | 0:15:02 | |
-Your National Gallery is spectacular, absolutely beautiful. -Thank you. | 0:15:02 | 0:15:07 | |
The gallery exhibits many works by the Sava Group, | 0:15:08 | 0:15:11 | |
a collection of Slovenian artists formed in 1906, | 0:15:11 | 0:15:14 | |
whose work became a plank of Slovenian nationalism. | 0:15:14 | 0:15:18 | |
Now this painting here, the image emerges perfectly clearly | 0:15:21 | 0:15:25 | |
and it is a man sowing a field, | 0:15:25 | 0:15:29 | |
taking the seed from a basket on his left hip | 0:15:29 | 0:15:32 | |
and presumably casting it with his right hand. | 0:15:32 | 0:15:35 | |
And in the background? | 0:15:35 | 0:15:38 | |
And in the background is a hayrack. | 0:15:38 | 0:15:40 | |
The painting is by Ivan Grohar, a Sava Group member. | 0:15:42 | 0:15:46 | |
Those artists exhibited across the Empire | 0:15:46 | 0:15:48 | |
at the start of the 20th century, | 0:15:48 | 0:15:51 | |
reaching a broad audience with their scenes of Slovenian life, | 0:15:51 | 0:15:54 | |
fuelling national pride and sentiment. | 0:15:54 | 0:15:57 | |
Why do you think that this image is so powerful for Slovenian people? | 0:15:57 | 0:16:02 | |
That's... That's us. | 0:16:02 | 0:16:04 | |
Because, from the start, the peasant was understood | 0:16:04 | 0:16:10 | |
as the essence of Slovenian identity. | 0:16:10 | 0:16:14 | |
Aristocracy was, in the 19th century, | 0:16:14 | 0:16:17 | |
perceived as foreign, as other. | 0:16:17 | 0:16:20 | |
The peasant represented the millennial struggle against | 0:16:20 | 0:16:24 | |
German domination. | 0:16:24 | 0:16:26 | |
That's what makes him so iconic. | 0:16:26 | 0:16:28 | |
The picture is saying, "This peasant is of the same stuff as the Earth." | 0:16:29 | 0:16:34 | |
I see that. | 0:16:34 | 0:16:36 | |
These images were part of Slovenia's national awakening, | 0:16:36 | 0:16:40 | |
strengthening national identity and the desire for independence. | 0:16:40 | 0:16:45 | |
This painting features on Slovenian coins even today. | 0:16:45 | 0:16:48 | |
Has it become the most important painting in Slovenian history? | 0:16:48 | 0:16:52 | |
I think so. I think it kept its centrality for the whole century. | 0:16:52 | 0:16:58 | |
-It's extraordinary, isn't it? The power of that is amazing. -Yes. | 0:16:58 | 0:17:01 | |
With all this talk of Slovenian patriotism, | 0:17:08 | 0:17:11 | |
I'm anxious to absorb the national spirit. | 0:17:11 | 0:17:14 | |
TRADITIONAL SLOVENIAN MUSIC | 0:17:16 | 0:17:22 | |
So the Snopc o'tecca seems like a good place to pause. | 0:17:30 | 0:17:34 | |
-Hello! -Hello. | 0:17:38 | 0:17:40 | |
-This is a very nice shop. -Thank you. | 0:17:40 | 0:17:43 | |
-I was hoping to drink something typically Slovenian, please. -OK. | 0:17:43 | 0:17:48 | |
What do you recommend? | 0:17:48 | 0:17:49 | |
-We have 80 different spirits. -No! -Yeah. | 0:17:49 | 0:17:52 | |
I think pear, apple and plum are the most typical ones. | 0:17:52 | 0:17:55 | |
Actually, the apple sounds quite nice. | 0:17:55 | 0:17:58 | |
All the schnapps are fruit-based and made using traditional techniques. | 0:17:58 | 0:18:03 | |
This revival of artisan distilling has become popular in recent years. | 0:18:03 | 0:18:08 | |
-Want to cheers with us? -Yes, cheers! -Na zdravje, we say na zdravje! | 0:18:08 | 0:18:12 | |
-Na zdravje! -Na zdravje! -Cheers. | 0:18:12 | 0:18:14 | |
Here, do you want to try my...? | 0:18:16 | 0:18:18 | |
-This is apple. You want to try mine? -Yeah, I'd love to. | 0:18:18 | 0:18:21 | |
Mmmm! | 0:18:23 | 0:18:24 | |
Very nice to see you. Cheers. | 0:18:24 | 0:18:26 | |
-Na zdravje. -Na zdravje, na zdravje, na zdravje. | 0:18:26 | 0:18:29 | |
My time in Ljubljana is almost up, | 0:18:35 | 0:18:38 | |
so I'm turning in before I embark on my final day | 0:18:38 | 0:18:41 | |
across the old Empire. | 0:18:41 | 0:18:43 | |
I'm heading back to the station for the last leg of my journey... | 0:19:03 | 0:19:06 | |
TRAIN HONKS | 0:19:07 | 0:19:09 | |
..although it's a bit more complicated than it was | 0:19:09 | 0:19:12 | |
at the time of my guidebook. | 0:19:12 | 0:19:13 | |
According to the timetables in my Bradshaw's Guide, 100 years ago | 0:19:14 | 0:19:19 | |
you could travel from Ljubljana to Trieste by train | 0:19:19 | 0:19:22 | |
in about three hours and ten minutes. | 0:19:22 | 0:19:25 | |
Today the journey takes rather longer, | 0:19:25 | 0:19:27 | |
and just now there are all sorts of problems with the lines | 0:19:27 | 0:19:30 | |
and there's a replacement bus service. | 0:19:30 | 0:19:33 | |
I don't fancy one of those, | 0:19:33 | 0:19:34 | |
so I've found a freight train that's going my way. | 0:19:34 | 0:19:37 | |
Good morning. I'm Michael. | 0:19:40 | 0:19:41 | |
Oh. Hello, I'm Zoron. | 0:19:41 | 0:19:43 | |
-Zoron, good to see you. -Thank you. | 0:19:43 | 0:19:45 | |
-May I sit here? -Yeah, yeah. -Wonderful. | 0:19:45 | 0:19:47 | |
TRAIN HONKS | 0:19:52 | 0:19:55 | |
What is the cargo on the train today? | 0:19:57 | 0:20:00 | |
It's containers, all is containers from Austria, | 0:20:00 | 0:20:05 | |
for all Austria to the Adriatic Sea and then go on board. | 0:20:05 | 0:20:10 | |
540 metres long and 1,500 tonnes. | 0:20:10 | 0:20:18 | |
-Wow. That's a big train, isn't it? -Yeah. | 0:20:18 | 0:20:21 | |
Here is the route built by the Austro-Hungarian Empire | 0:20:25 | 0:20:29 | |
to carry goods to Trieste. | 0:20:29 | 0:20:30 | |
But this train is heading to Koper, Slovenia's only seaport, | 0:20:33 | 0:20:38 | |
about 13 miles outside Trieste. | 0:20:38 | 0:20:40 | |
TRAIN HONKS | 0:20:42 | 0:20:45 | |
BRAKES SQUEAL | 0:20:47 | 0:20:50 | |
Thanks, it was a great ride. Bye-bye, now. | 0:20:50 | 0:20:52 | |
Thanks. | 0:20:55 | 0:20:58 | |
I'm picking up my final connection for Trieste at Villa Opicina, | 0:20:58 | 0:21:02 | |
just over the Italian border. | 0:21:02 | 0:21:04 | |
A traveller using my Bradshaw's Guide 100 years ago could have travelled | 0:21:17 | 0:21:20 | |
on a tram on this route, because it began service in 1902. | 0:21:20 | 0:21:25 | |
And it's unusual, possibly unique, because at this point, | 0:21:25 | 0:21:28 | |
it's a conventional tram, but as we begin the very sharp descent into | 0:21:28 | 0:21:32 | |
the city of Trieste, a rope system takes over, balancing the tram | 0:21:32 | 0:21:37 | |
that's coming up the gradient with another that's descending. | 0:21:37 | 0:21:41 | |
Outside the city, a so-called shield wagon is added to the tram. | 0:21:50 | 0:21:55 | |
So now we're at the top of the gradient | 0:21:59 | 0:22:02 | |
and it is an incredibly steep gradient and the tram has engaged | 0:22:02 | 0:22:06 | |
with this cable, which is running along wheels, and as we go down, | 0:22:06 | 0:22:09 | |
we must be balanced by a tram that is now coming up, | 0:22:09 | 0:22:13 | |
but I am amazed by how steep this hill is. | 0:22:13 | 0:22:16 | |
Fantastico questo tram, no? E' unico, no? | 0:22:19 | 0:22:23 | |
E' unico, si. | 0:22:23 | 0:22:24 | |
It operates like a funicular, but its application to a tram is unique. | 0:22:26 | 0:22:32 | |
The cable system enables the vehicles | 0:22:32 | 0:22:34 | |
to get up and down the 27% gradient | 0:22:34 | 0:22:38 | |
before they continue as ordinary trams through the town. | 0:22:38 | 0:22:41 | |
We're in the city of Trieste, | 0:22:43 | 0:22:45 | |
which Bradshaw's tells me was the "Tergeste of the Romans, | 0:22:45 | 0:22:48 | |
"the principal seaport of Austria, situated on a gulf | 0:22:48 | 0:22:52 | |
"at the northeast end of the Adriatic, | 0:22:52 | 0:22:55 | |
"a thriving commercial place." | 0:22:55 | 0:22:57 | |
Indeed, it's difficult to overstate the importance of Trieste, | 0:22:57 | 0:23:00 | |
the place where Austria's imports and exports flowed, and the Adriatic, | 0:23:00 | 0:23:05 | |
the sea on which its dreadnoughts and battleships | 0:23:05 | 0:23:09 | |
could project the Empire's power. | 0:23:09 | 0:23:11 | |
At the time of my guidebook, | 0:23:25 | 0:23:27 | |
Trieste had become Austria-Hungary's economic hub. | 0:23:27 | 0:23:30 | |
During the second half of the 19th century, its population doubled | 0:23:30 | 0:23:34 | |
as migrants flowed in to find work building ships or heaving cargo. | 0:23:34 | 0:23:39 | |
By 1913, over six million tonnes of goods, including tropical fruit, | 0:23:42 | 0:23:47 | |
coal and cotton, were being moved by rail from ships through the port | 0:23:47 | 0:23:52 | |
and out to the rest of the Empire. | 0:23:52 | 0:23:54 | |
Today, cargo is brought into Trieste's new port. | 0:24:03 | 0:24:06 | |
One of the vital goods at the time of my guidebook | 0:24:06 | 0:24:09 | |
is still a major import today. | 0:24:09 | 0:24:11 | |
Alessandro, hi, I'm Michael. | 0:24:14 | 0:24:17 | |
-Hi, Michael, it's nice to meet you. -Good to see you. | 0:24:17 | 0:24:19 | |
Alessandro's family has been roasting coffee for 130 years. | 0:24:21 | 0:24:25 | |
-This is an extraordinary display of coffee here. -Yeah. | 0:24:30 | 0:24:34 | |
And how does coffee rank as a commodity? | 0:24:34 | 0:24:37 | |
Coffee is the third commodity in the world after gold and petrol, | 0:24:37 | 0:24:42 | |
so it's very important. | 0:24:42 | 0:24:44 | |
And today Trieste is one of the most important ports of delivery | 0:24:44 | 0:24:48 | |
for coffee in Italy and in Europe. | 0:24:48 | 0:24:50 | |
Just as at the time of my guidebook, | 0:24:53 | 0:24:55 | |
Trieste has a key role in the global coffee market. | 0:24:55 | 0:25:00 | |
Around two million bags of raw beans are processed | 0:25:00 | 0:25:03 | |
through the port each year. | 0:25:03 | 0:25:05 | |
But before they're used, they must be roasted. | 0:25:05 | 0:25:08 | |
So, Michael, let me introduce you to Massimo. | 0:25:12 | 0:25:15 | |
-Massimo is one of my roasters. -Massimo, Michael. -Nice to meet you. | 0:25:15 | 0:25:19 | |
That is not what I expected, because I always think of coffee beans | 0:25:20 | 0:25:24 | |
as being very, very dark brown. | 0:25:24 | 0:25:27 | |
And it has very little smell at the moment. | 0:25:27 | 0:25:30 | |
Yes, because the cellular matrix of the coffee is completely sealed. | 0:25:30 | 0:25:36 | |
-But when we roast it, it releases the flavour compounds. -Lovely. | 0:25:36 | 0:25:40 | |
-And that's the process we're about to begin now. -Yeah, exactly. | 0:25:40 | 0:25:44 | |
Whoa, that's heavy! | 0:25:44 | 0:25:46 | |
Each sack weighs 60 kilos | 0:25:48 | 0:25:51 | |
and they are passed through the roaster two at a time. | 0:25:51 | 0:25:54 | |
In order to retain their flavour, the beans must be roasted | 0:25:54 | 0:25:58 | |
at temperatures of up to 220 Celsius | 0:25:58 | 0:26:01 | |
in a wood-fired furnace. | 0:26:01 | 0:26:03 | |
In the early 20th century, | 0:26:05 | 0:26:07 | |
over 80% of Trieste coffee was bound for Vienna, | 0:26:07 | 0:26:11 | |
where the coffee culture was a vital part of daily life. | 0:26:11 | 0:26:15 | |
Now the coffee is being completely transformed. It's this wonderful | 0:26:17 | 0:26:20 | |
-dark colour and a fantastic aroma. -Yeah, it is true. | 0:26:20 | 0:26:24 | |
The machinery may be modern, | 0:26:28 | 0:26:30 | |
but the technique and the skill are centuries old. | 0:26:30 | 0:26:33 | |
The national drink of Italy! | 0:26:56 | 0:26:58 | |
I've travelled from Vienna on railway lines | 0:27:19 | 0:27:23 | |
that helped to bind together the old Habsburg Empire | 0:27:23 | 0:27:26 | |
during its last years. | 0:27:26 | 0:27:29 | |
And that has enabled me to see Trieste for what it once was, | 0:27:29 | 0:27:33 | |
the gateway and shop window of Austria-Hungary, | 0:27:33 | 0:27:37 | |
an Empire that has now dissolved. | 0:27:37 | 0:27:40 | |
The rise of art and architecture in Slovenia was typical | 0:27:40 | 0:27:44 | |
of the nationalist movements that helped to loosen the bonds | 0:27:44 | 0:27:49 | |
of the Empire so that today, movement along the old tracks | 0:27:49 | 0:27:53 | |
is complicated by the existence of new national frontiers. | 0:27:53 | 0:27:58 | |
Next time, I'll find out how one of Italy's best loved | 0:28:01 | 0:28:06 | |
tourist attractions was saved from collapse. | 0:28:06 | 0:28:09 | |
They were very concerned that it was about to fall over, | 0:28:09 | 0:28:13 | |
and it actually was. | 0:28:13 | 0:28:14 | |
I'll attempt to carve out my place in Italy's artistic history. | 0:28:14 | 0:28:20 | |
Michelangelo, eat your heart out! | 0:28:20 | 0:28:22 | |
And I'll catch a spot of impromptu opera. | 0:28:22 | 0:28:25 | |
TENOR HOLDS LONG NOTE | 0:28:25 | 0:28:28 | |
Bravo. APPLAUSE | 0:28:28 | 0:28:30 |