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 > 0:01:24where 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 0:02:14but the Austro-Hungarian emperor's outdated rule was under challenge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 at Ljubljana
0:02:45 > 0:02:49and from there I'll travel the last 60 miles into Italy
0:02:49 > 0:02:52and my final stop, the 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 > 0:03:15HE CHEERS
0:03:15 > 0:03:18- You will hang like this... - I wondered how I would hang!
0:03:21 > 0:03:23And I'll travel along one of the world's
0:03:23 > 0:03:25most impressive feats of railway engineering.
0:03:27 > 0:03:31No tunnel drilling machines, so they had to drill the holes by hand.
0:03:31 > 0:03:33It's a handmade railway line.
0:03:42 > 0:03:43At the time of my guidebook,
0:03:43 > 0:03:47the Habsburgs had already been forced to compromise with Hungary,
0:03:47 > 0:03:50their largest and most rebellious territory.
0:03:50 > 0:03:55For the preceding half-century, Franz Josef had reigned as a dual monarch.
0:03:55 > 0:03:57Hungary had its own parliament in Budapest,
0:03:57 > 0:04:01but the empire's first city was undoubtedly the Austrian capital.
0:04:03 > 0:04:06"Vienna," says Bradshaw's, "is regarded as one of the brightest
0:04:06 > 0:04:10"and healthiest of the large continental cities,
0:04:10 > 0:04:13"with cheerful and courteous inhabitants."
0:04:13 > 0:04:16The number of its citizens had quintupled
0:04:16 > 0:04:18since the middle of the 19th century,
0:04:18 > 0:04:23and its Jewish population had risen 35 times over.
0:04:23 > 0:04:26Whilst its imperial port was perhaps the most hide-bound
0:04:26 > 0:04:31and reactionary in Europe, Vienna had attracted masses of migrants
0:04:31 > 0:04:37who defied tradition with their new music, art and ideas.
0:04:41 > 0:04:44With the formation of the dual monarchy in 1867
0:04:44 > 0:04:49had come new civil rights, enabling minorities to move more freely
0:04:49 > 0:04:52to cities to seek new opportunities.
0:04:56 > 0:04:57Around the date of my Bradshaw's,
0:04:57 > 0:05:01trains were bringing in Jewish, Slav and Czech migrants
0:05:01 > 0:05:03from all corners of the empire.
0:05:19 > 0:05:23Vienna has this most impressive new central railway station,
0:05:23 > 0:05:24the Hauptbahnhof.
0:05:24 > 0:05:29Over the last few years, four billion euros have been invested here,
0:05:29 > 0:05:31and from a single station, you'll be able to travel
0:05:31 > 0:05:34east and west and north and south.
0:05:34 > 0:05:37Bucharest and Budapest and Rome and Berlin,
0:05:37 > 0:05:39from a single station.
0:05:46 > 0:05:48When Edwardian tourists came here,
0:05:48 > 0:05:54they found a city newly rebuild according to the will of the emperor.
0:05:54 > 0:05:59In 1857, Franz Josef had personally ordered that the medieval walls
0:05:59 > 0:06:01be razed to the ground
0:06:01 > 0:06:05to make space for a grand imperial capital with magnificent buildings
0:06:05 > 0:06:09designed by the empire's leading architects.
0:06:25 > 0:06:29This is the Ringstrasse, which Bradshaw's tells me
0:06:29 > 0:06:32is "..a fine, broad thoroughfare.
0:06:32 > 0:06:35"Within this district are most of the principal buildings."
0:06:35 > 0:06:43This is imperial Vienna - the city of pomp and elegance and etiquette,
0:06:43 > 0:06:45of balls and opera.
0:06:45 > 0:06:48But by 1913, there was a different city.
0:06:48 > 0:06:51It was audacious, rebellious and modern.
0:06:57 > 0:07:01The values represented by these edifices of tradition
0:07:01 > 0:07:06and dynastic power were being shaken to their foundations.
0:07:06 > 0:07:09I'm meeting historian Philipp Blom
0:07:09 > 0:07:13outside Austria's National Theatre, built in 1888.
0:07:13 > 0:07:16- Philipp, hello.- Welcome to Vienna. - Thank you.
0:07:16 > 0:07:21How would you describe the state of the Austro-Hungarian Empire by 1913?
0:07:21 > 0:07:23Well, it was a difficult time.
0:07:23 > 0:07:26It was a time when everything was really trying to break apart,
0:07:26 > 0:07:28or threatening to break apart,
0:07:28 > 0:07:31and people were desperately trying to keep it together,
0:07:31 > 0:07:33so the emperor was trying to keep it together,
0:07:33 > 0:07:37but basically, it's a medieval empire in a modern Europe.
0:07:37 > 0:07:39This is a place where facades,
0:07:39 > 0:07:41where appearances are tremendously important
0:07:41 > 0:07:47because only the appearance of unity really makes this one empire.
0:07:49 > 0:07:51At the turn of the 20th century,
0:07:51 > 0:07:57governing 50 million inhabitants from 15 nations was proving impossible.
0:07:57 > 0:08:00With different groups clamouring for equality,
0:08:00 > 0:08:05nationalism was on the rise and the empire's integrity was under threat.
0:08:07 > 0:08:11Philipp is taking me to the Prater Park, mentioned in my guide,
0:08:11 > 0:08:14to ride on the world-famous Prater Wheel.
0:08:15 > 0:08:20It was built by British engineer Walter Bassett in 1897.
0:08:21 > 0:08:24- Our very own sitting room! - Oh, wonderful.
0:08:24 > 0:08:26And soon to be a sitting room in the skies.
0:08:28 > 0:08:30And off we go.
0:08:30 > 0:08:31Wonderful!
0:08:33 > 0:08:35In fact, this Ferris wheel was already here
0:08:35 > 0:08:37- by the end of he empire, wasn't it?- Well, yes.
0:08:37 > 0:08:40Your tourists would have been able to ride on it
0:08:40 > 0:08:43and it was said to be a bit like imperial politics, you know?
0:08:43 > 0:08:47There's always movement and you always end up where you were before.
0:08:47 > 0:08:51Whilst the politics may have been going round in circles,
0:08:51 > 0:08:54Vienna's cultural life, led by its Jewish population,
0:08:54 > 0:08:59was challenging Viennese values and breaking down its social barriers.
0:09:00 > 0:09:06This was an extraordinary period for the arts in Vienna
0:09:06 > 0:09:09and for scientific progress, wasn't it?
0:09:09 > 0:09:12There was an explosion of creativity, that is true.
0:09:12 > 0:09:17And you have got writers like Arthur Schnitzler who really
0:09:17 > 0:09:21observed people's identities and crept into their soul.
0:09:21 > 0:09:24You, of course, had Sigmund Freud who did the same thing
0:09:24 > 0:09:26in a therapeutic context.
0:09:26 > 0:09:30You have painters like Schiele and Klimt.
0:09:30 > 0:09:33So I think, you know, the questioning of everything,
0:09:33 > 0:09:34the questioning of identity
0:09:34 > 0:09:37and tradition in a city that is burgeoning
0:09:37 > 0:09:41and really bursting at the seams, that was something very important
0:09:41 > 0:09:44and that's what we call Viennese Modernism.
0:09:44 > 0:09:47There would be a reaction against modernism.
0:09:47 > 0:09:49Was that associated with anti-Semitism?
0:09:49 > 0:09:53Well, it was, because not everybody likes it when a new world begins.
0:09:53 > 0:09:56A new world beginning means an old world ends.
0:09:58 > 0:10:00This anti-modernism
0:10:00 > 0:10:04especially influenced the city's Austrian middle class,
0:10:04 > 0:10:08among them, a young Adolf Hitler who dreamed of studying art here.
0:10:09 > 0:10:15By 1913, both capital and empire faced an uncertain future.
0:10:23 > 0:10:27I'm heading back onto solid ground, from where I can contemplate
0:10:27 > 0:10:31this iconic landmark which features in one of my favourite movies.
0:10:51 > 0:10:55Ever since I saw that Orson Welles film, The Third Man,
0:10:55 > 0:11:00I've thought of Vienna as the centre of Cold War intrigue.
0:11:00 > 0:11:06But in 1913, it was the setting for a real-life spy drama.
0:11:12 > 0:11:15I'm on the trail of an event that 100 years ago
0:11:15 > 0:11:18sent shock waves around Europe.
0:11:18 > 0:11:22I'm meeting military historian Colonel Christian Ortner
0:11:22 > 0:11:24at Vienna's central post office.
0:11:24 > 0:11:26Hello, Christian. I'm Michael.
0:11:26 > 0:11:28Nice to meet you.
0:11:28 > 0:11:30Christian, I believe that in 1913,
0:11:30 > 0:11:34the Austro-Hungarian army was rocked by a spy scandal.
0:11:34 > 0:11:36How did it come to light?
0:11:36 > 0:11:38Yes, it was really a big catastrophe,
0:11:38 > 0:11:40especially for the Austro-Hungarian army
0:11:40 > 0:11:41because it all started
0:11:41 > 0:11:48when a few letters here in this post office were not collected.
0:11:48 > 0:11:51They were sent back to a tiny, little village
0:11:51 > 0:11:53near the German-Russian border,
0:11:53 > 0:11:57well known to be one of the spy centres of the area.
0:11:57 > 0:11:59And there, the German secret service realised,
0:11:59 > 0:12:01"Hmm, some letters are coming."
0:12:01 > 0:12:04They opened them and money was in it.
0:12:04 > 0:12:06- A lot of money?- A lot of money.
0:12:06 > 0:12:09And then they informed the Austrian military secret service.
0:12:09 > 0:12:13"There could be some problems within your army."
0:12:13 > 0:12:16The envelope full of cash also contained addresses
0:12:16 > 0:12:18linked to Russian intelligence.
0:12:18 > 0:12:21It looked as though the Austro-Hungarian secret service
0:12:21 > 0:12:22had a mole.
0:12:22 > 0:12:25A copy of the letter was sent back to the post office
0:12:25 > 0:12:29and whoever collected it would be exposed as the traitor.
0:12:29 > 0:12:32Three civil detectives were here, waiting,
0:12:32 > 0:12:36and a female worker here had a bell
0:12:36 > 0:12:39and when the letter was collected, she should ring the bell
0:12:39 > 0:12:42and the three detectives realised, oh, that's the man.
0:12:42 > 0:12:44So presumably they followed?
0:12:44 > 0:12:46Yes, they did and this was a very interesting story
0:12:46 > 0:12:50because when following, the man took a taxi.
0:12:50 > 0:12:53This is the decisive point of the whole investigation.
0:12:53 > 0:12:57Detectives had staked out the post office for six weeks.
0:12:57 > 0:13:01If they wanted to catch the traitor, they had to close the net fast.
0:13:05 > 0:13:07Fearing that they'd lost their man,
0:13:07 > 0:13:10the detectives waited for the taxi driver to return to the rank
0:13:10 > 0:13:14and learned that the suspect had gone to a central hotel.
0:13:16 > 0:13:19They also discovered that he'd dropped the sheath
0:13:19 > 0:13:21of a letter opener on the back seat.
0:13:23 > 0:13:27So the detectives have the sheath of a knife
0:13:27 > 0:13:30- and they have an address, a hotel. - Yes.- What do they do?
0:13:30 > 0:13:31Quite interesting.
0:13:31 > 0:13:34They gave the sheath of the knife to the concierge,
0:13:34 > 0:13:38because it was clear that maybe one of the guests was the real owner.
0:13:38 > 0:13:42And, er, they were waiting in the lobby room
0:13:42 > 0:13:47and suddenly a man came down and said this is his sheath.
0:13:47 > 0:13:49It was Colonel Redl,
0:13:49 > 0:13:52a high-ranking officer of the former military secret service.
0:13:52 > 0:13:54My goodness. That must have been a huge shock.
0:13:57 > 0:14:00Colonel Alfred Redl was being blackmailed by the Russians
0:14:00 > 0:14:02over his homosexuality
0:14:02 > 0:14:05and was supplying them with Austrian military secrets.
0:14:07 > 0:14:09Interrogators assembled
0:14:09 > 0:14:13and went up to his hotel room to extract the truth.
0:14:13 > 0:14:16- Did he confess?- Yes, he confessed immediately.
0:14:16 > 0:14:21And later on, he was handed over a pistol and in the morning
0:14:21 > 0:14:24of the 25th of May, they found him dead in his room.
0:14:24 > 0:14:26He had shot himself.
0:14:26 > 0:14:30What was the impact of this scandal on Austro-Hungary?
0:14:30 > 0:14:32This was an enormous scandal
0:14:32 > 0:14:36and I think it was an earthquake to the empire.
0:14:38 > 0:14:42In a bid to repair the damage done to the military's reputation
0:14:42 > 0:14:46and to improve morale, Emperor Franz Josef appointed his nephew
0:14:46 > 0:14:51and heir, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, inspector general of the army.
0:14:51 > 0:14:54It was while visiting troops in the Bosnian capital Sarajevo
0:14:54 > 0:14:58in 1914 that Franz Ferdinand was assassinated
0:14:58 > 0:15:01and Europe was plunged into the First World War.
0:15:06 > 0:15:09Ending my day, I'm drawn to an aspect of this city
0:15:09 > 0:15:13that no early 20th-century tourist would have ignored.
0:15:23 > 0:15:27Vienna's extraordinary musical heritage of Mozart, Schubert
0:15:27 > 0:15:33and Strauss had been central to its culture for over 200 years.
0:15:34 > 0:15:39But in 1913, a new sound caused uproar in the city's concert hall.
0:15:44 > 0:15:48I'm at the stunning National Library to meet Professor Susana Zapke.
0:15:49 > 0:15:51Susana, what are these?
0:15:52 > 0:15:55We have here the newspapers that tell the story
0:15:55 > 0:16:00of the Skandalkonzert on the 31st March, 1913.
0:16:00 > 0:16:04- The Skandalkonzert?- Skandalkonzert, yes. A big event in Vienna.
0:16:13 > 0:16:17The concert was conducted by avant-garde composer
0:16:17 > 0:16:22Arnold Schoenberg, and featured new works by other emerging modernists.
0:16:22 > 0:16:25For the traditional audience, they'd gone too far.
0:16:31 > 0:16:35Did people begin to whistle or to boo or what happened?
0:16:35 > 0:16:39And to laugh and to cry and to gesticulate.
0:16:39 > 0:16:46- There was a moment absolutely of high tension.- Did it come to blows?
0:16:46 > 0:16:49Oh, yes. It came to blows.
0:16:49 > 0:16:54And therefore, in Vienna, we speak not about the Skandalkonzert
0:16:54 > 0:16:57but about the Slapkonzert.
0:16:58 > 0:17:03Operetta composer Oscar Straus - no relation to the waltz king Johann -
0:17:03 > 0:17:07was so offended by Schoenberg's programme that he punched him.
0:17:07 > 0:17:10He later claimed that the sound of the punch
0:17:10 > 0:17:13had been the most harmonious moment of the performance.
0:17:15 > 0:17:18- So it was a clash of the old and the new?- Absolutely.
0:17:18 > 0:17:22They were absolutely aggressive to this new form of music,
0:17:22 > 0:17:24this modernity.
0:17:24 > 0:17:26Which do you prefer to play?
0:17:26 > 0:17:31Straus, but I think if you play music from your heart,
0:17:31 > 0:17:34it doesn't matter which kind of music you play.
0:17:35 > 0:17:37Do you think people in Vienna now accept Schoenberg
0:17:37 > 0:17:40in the way that they accept Straus?
0:17:41 > 0:17:44- No. Not really. - SHE LAUGHS
0:17:44 > 0:17:46- It's still considered rather new? - Yes. Yeah.
0:18:13 > 0:18:18I'm leaving the capital behind and following my guidebook 60 miles
0:18:18 > 0:18:22south-west towards some of Austria's most breathtaking scenery.
0:18:32 > 0:18:34I have, of course, the most enormous admiration
0:18:34 > 0:18:37for British railway engineers,
0:18:37 > 0:18:41but let's face it, they didn't have to cope with the Alps.
0:18:41 > 0:18:45I'm going to take this train through the mighty Semmering Pass.
0:18:45 > 0:18:48And as I make that epic journey, I'm going to be thinking
0:18:48 > 0:18:53about the man who lived for that idea and the many who died for it.
0:18:54 > 0:18:56WHISTLE BLOWS
0:19:00 > 0:19:04The Semmering Pass is Europe's first transalpine railway.
0:19:04 > 0:19:08It forms part of the 300-mile long Vienna to Trieste line
0:19:08 > 0:19:11which was the empire's spinal cord through the mountains.
0:19:13 > 0:19:17I've arranged to meet railway historian Gunter Dinhobl on board.
0:19:18 > 0:19:20- Hello, Gunter.- Hi, Michael.
0:19:20 > 0:19:23- Nice to meet you. - Very good to see you.
0:19:23 > 0:19:25Why was it so important for the Habsburg Empire
0:19:25 > 0:19:27to build this railway line?
0:19:27 > 0:19:32I think the most important thing was to get a good transport connection
0:19:32 > 0:19:36from Vienna, the capital of the empire, to Trieste,
0:19:36 > 0:19:41the main harbour, the main port of the empire,
0:19:41 > 0:19:46and at this time to get the opening of the world.
0:19:46 > 0:19:48The emperor wanted Austria-Hungary's main seaport
0:19:48 > 0:19:50to rival Genoa and Marseilles.
0:19:53 > 0:19:56Plans for a line were discussed as easily as 1837,
0:19:56 > 0:19:59but the treacherous alpine route
0:19:59 > 0:20:01prevented them from becoming a reality.
0:20:03 > 0:20:07So suddenly, Gunter, I feel that the train is beginning to move up
0:20:07 > 0:20:08a steep gradient.
0:20:08 > 0:20:11You can feel it pulling as it goes around the very tight curves
0:20:11 > 0:20:15and, of course, the scenery has become very alpine.
0:20:15 > 0:20:16Beautiful.
0:20:17 > 0:20:18How big a challenge was it
0:20:18 > 0:20:22to build the railway line through the Semmering?
0:20:22 > 0:20:25I was a really huge challenge because in the time before,
0:20:25 > 0:20:31no-one tries to build a railway in such a mountainous area or so steep.
0:20:31 > 0:20:34Who was the brain behind the railway?
0:20:34 > 0:20:36Karl Ghega, who was born in Venice,
0:20:36 > 0:20:40studied mechanical engineering, mathematics,
0:20:40 > 0:20:46also studied architecture and he was designated to be the chief engineer
0:20:46 > 0:20:49for the whole railway line from Vienna to Trieste.
0:20:50 > 0:20:54Karl von Ghega was brought onto the project in 1842.
0:20:54 > 0:20:57He immediately began to survey the area
0:20:57 > 0:21:02and to study systems abroad to try to overcome to alpine obstacle.
0:21:02 > 0:21:06In 1848, construction of the ambitious line began.
0:21:06 > 0:21:12It would involve 22 major bridges, 16 viaducts and 14 tunnels.
0:21:13 > 0:21:16There had been around 15-20,000 people
0:21:16 > 0:21:19working on the 42km long railway line.
0:21:19 > 0:21:23Dynamite didn't exist at that time, no tunnel drilling machines,
0:21:23 > 0:21:26so they had to drill the holes by hand.
0:21:27 > 0:21:32- It's a handmade railway line. - An extraordinary achievement.
0:21:32 > 0:21:38700 men and women died building the line. It took six years to complete.
0:21:38 > 0:21:43And in 1854, the first passenger train puffed over the Semmering Pass.
0:21:45 > 0:21:49Now UNESCO protected, it's as awe-inspiring today
0:21:49 > 0:21:52as it would have been for tourists following my 1913 guide.
0:21:54 > 0:21:57I often say to people, if there's one thing that's more beautiful
0:21:57 > 0:22:01than a green valley, it's a green valley with a railway viaduct in it.
0:22:01 > 0:22:04Indeed. You'll see it on the Semmering.
0:22:13 > 0:22:14Auf Wiedersehen.
0:22:25 > 0:22:30What a beautiful alpine station and wonderful, fresh -
0:22:30 > 0:22:32not to say, cold - air.
0:22:43 > 0:22:45I want to take a close-up look
0:22:45 > 0:22:48at one of the line's most striking structures.
0:22:53 > 0:22:57This is the Kalte Rinne viaduct.
0:22:57 > 0:23:00And what impresses me is that the engineers,
0:23:00 > 0:23:04who were having to do something that had never been done before,
0:23:04 > 0:23:08still had enough passion left to make it beautiful.
0:23:13 > 0:23:17Von Ghega's achievements are widely recognised today,
0:23:17 > 0:23:19and by one man perhaps more than most.
0:23:20 > 0:23:24- Hello. Are you Georg?- Yes, I'm Georg.- Georg, good to see you.
0:23:24 > 0:23:26Michael.
0:23:26 > 0:23:27Ah, thank you.
0:23:29 > 0:23:32Georg Zwickl is such a devotee of the engineer that he moved here
0:23:32 > 0:23:35from Vienna to build a museum in his honour.
0:23:37 > 0:23:41It's perched at the top of the 46m tall Kalte Rinne viaduct.
0:23:47 > 0:23:49Georg, this is fantastic.
0:23:49 > 0:23:54Perfect little museum. What is this house, Georg?
0:23:54 > 0:24:00- In this house always worked two men who looked at the train.- Yeah.
0:24:00 > 0:24:04- So this was built by the railway for some of their workers?- Yes.
0:24:04 > 0:24:10- Do you live close by?- I live here, yes.- Ha! You live in a museum?- Yes.
0:24:10 > 0:24:12A model of the viaduct.
0:24:13 > 0:24:16- That is fantastic.- It's exact.
0:24:16 > 0:24:17It's exact?
0:24:17 > 0:24:18I can believe it.
0:24:19 > 0:24:22Superb. The Kalte Rinne viaduct.
0:24:22 > 0:24:23In all its majesty.
0:24:25 > 0:24:27And here's the house.
0:24:27 > 0:24:28That's where we are.
0:24:31 > 0:24:35Built to the exact scale, this really is a work of precision.
0:24:43 > 0:24:46You have a wonderful view from your house, don't you?
0:24:46 > 0:24:50This is perfect. A train spotter's paradise.
0:24:50 > 0:24:53Greatest model train in Europe.
0:24:53 > 0:24:56The greatest model train in Europe, I believe it.
0:24:59 > 0:25:03The Semmering Pass transformed this landscape forever.
0:25:03 > 0:25:06Soon, the viaducts were joined by villas and hotels,
0:25:06 > 0:25:09built to accommodate the many tourists
0:25:09 > 0:25:12coming to enjoy one of the first alpine resorts.
0:25:19 > 0:25:23Bradshaw's tells me that Semmering is one of the favourite resorts
0:25:23 > 0:25:26both in summer and winter.
0:25:26 > 0:25:29Now I've never done any alpine sports.
0:25:29 > 0:25:31But when it comes to my duty,
0:25:31 > 0:25:33there'll be no slipping or sliding by me.
0:25:40 > 0:25:44At the time of my guidebook, many of the capital's modernist writers
0:25:44 > 0:25:48and artists were coming here to find inspiration for their work
0:25:48 > 0:25:50and get their alpine kicks.
0:25:52 > 0:25:57Off to the snowy peaks before I make my daredevil descent.
0:26:09 > 0:26:13It took men of courage to build the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
0:26:14 > 0:26:18And today, I feel inspired by their example.
0:26:20 > 0:26:21Yay!
0:26:29 > 0:26:32Although skiing didn't become common until the 1930s,
0:26:32 > 0:26:36skating, bobsleighing and tobogganing were all popular
0:26:36 > 0:26:40for the most thrill-seeking of Edwardian tourists.
0:26:58 > 0:27:02As thrilling as it was to get down the mountain like that,
0:27:02 > 0:27:03I think I'll stick to train travel.
0:27:08 > 0:27:09Gruss Gott.
0:27:11 > 0:27:13I'm heading 66 miles south
0:27:13 > 0:27:17towards another popular Edwardian destination.
0:27:23 > 0:27:26My journey from Vienna to the Adriatic continues
0:27:26 > 0:27:30and my next stop will be Graz, which Bradshaw's tells me is
0:27:30 > 0:27:33"..the picturesquely situation capital of Styria,
0:27:33 > 0:27:37"1,135 feet above the sea on the river Mur
0:27:37 > 0:27:41"and one of the healthiest of Austrian towns."
0:27:41 > 0:27:46I really am enjoying this beautiful, snowy alpine scenery.
0:27:46 > 0:27:49And it will be a pleasure to spend the night there.
0:28:01 > 0:28:03Arriving in the evening,
0:28:03 > 0:28:07I'll save my exploration of Austria's second city for the morning.
0:28:34 > 0:28:38I've been drawn to the Hotel Erzherzog Johann
0:28:38 > 0:28:41by an advertisement in my Bradshaw's guide.
0:28:41 > 0:28:45It's first class in the centre of the city in the best position.
0:28:45 > 0:28:48I'm promised "steam and stove heating"
0:28:48 > 0:28:51and the proprietor is Fritz Muller.
0:28:51 > 0:28:55I understand that the Mullers are still the owners today.
0:28:55 > 0:28:59I'm eating in a lovely winter garden
0:28:59 > 0:29:04and I've chosen Bircher muesli with fruit, cold cuts and cheese -
0:29:04 > 0:29:06the sort of breakfast that I think tourists
0:29:06 > 0:29:10and Austrians would have eaten even 100 years ago.
0:29:18 > 0:29:20'Excited to be in a place that I don't know...'
0:29:20 > 0:29:22Gruss Gott!
0:29:22 > 0:29:25'..I'm setting off to explore Graz.'
0:29:43 > 0:29:47Known as a popular retirement town at the time of my guide,
0:29:47 > 0:29:50Graz has since undergone a rejuvenation.
0:29:50 > 0:29:55With six universities, one in five living here now is a student.
0:29:58 > 0:30:02This was also the 2003 European capital of culture,
0:30:02 > 0:30:06which saw the opening of the modern British-designed art gallery.
0:30:16 > 0:30:19But it's the view over the city that Bradshaw's recommends.
0:30:24 > 0:30:29My guidebook promises me a fine view from the Schlossberg,
0:30:29 > 0:30:34that's the fortress mountain at 1,545 feet.
0:30:34 > 0:30:37"Ascent by cable tram."
0:30:37 > 0:30:42and on the south side, I'm promised a beautiful old clock tower.
0:30:42 > 0:30:46Interestingly, when this was opened in 1894,
0:30:46 > 0:30:50it was powered by a steam engine, which was at the top of the mountain,
0:30:50 > 0:30:55and a boiler at the bottom, the two linked by steam pipes.
0:30:55 > 0:30:57Extraordinary!
0:31:23 > 0:31:26BELLS CHIME
0:31:33 > 0:31:36Well, as I hoped, a lovely panorama over Graz,
0:31:36 > 0:31:39with its combination of the Baroque and the ultra-modern.
0:31:46 > 0:31:48- Are you visitors to Graz?- No, no.
0:31:48 > 0:31:50- Ah, you're locals?- We are from Graz. - Ah, excellent!
0:31:50 > 0:31:54But you still come and see the local sights, that's very nice.
0:31:54 > 0:31:58A very striking building there. Have you been in that building?
0:31:58 > 0:32:00Yes. The building, yeah, it's striking.
0:32:00 > 0:32:04Maybe it does not fully fit to the overall view of Graz.
0:32:04 > 0:32:06When you say it doesn't fit, I mean,
0:32:06 > 0:32:09I think Graz wants to be modern, doesn't it?
0:32:09 > 0:32:12- It wants to be known.- At least it is an attempt, let's say,
0:32:12 > 0:32:17but this is subjective, my subjective impression.
0:32:17 > 0:32:20Well, I must say, a very good advertisement for a city
0:32:20 > 0:32:23is to see two local people enjoying it.
0:32:23 > 0:32:24I think so, yeah.
0:32:28 > 0:32:31I'm following my guidebook out of the city.
0:32:31 > 0:32:34Bradshaw's tells me that, in the area surrounding Graz, the heights and
0:32:34 > 0:32:38woods offer innumerable excursions, including Lurloch Grotto.
0:32:43 > 0:32:45From the late 1800s,
0:32:45 > 0:32:49Alpine adventure wasn't restricted to the mountain heights.
0:32:49 > 0:32:54Beneath the ground, cave exploration was also becoming a popular pastime
0:32:54 > 0:33:00and the world's first speleology society formed in France in 1895.
0:33:00 > 0:33:04I'm meeting cave expert Heinrich in the Lurgrotte where,
0:33:04 > 0:33:07over 100 years ago, tragedy was narrowly averted.
0:33:07 > 0:33:11- Heinrich, I'm Michael.- Hi, Michael.
0:33:11 > 0:33:14What an extraordinary cave!
0:33:14 > 0:33:17When was this cave discovered?
0:33:17 > 0:33:20The cave was discovered in 1894.
0:33:20 > 0:33:23It was very hard even to come here
0:33:23 > 0:33:28because there were so many lakes and streams and pools to cross over.
0:33:28 > 0:33:31You make it sound quite dangerous with all that water and so on.
0:33:31 > 0:33:34Were there accidents in the early days?
0:33:34 > 0:33:40There were a lot of accidents. The most famous was in 1894.
0:33:40 > 0:33:46There were two competitive caving clubs who tried to be the first
0:33:46 > 0:33:52to explore the cave and one of them entered the cave secretly.
0:33:52 > 0:33:57It was a very unlucky exploration because a flood took place outside,
0:33:57 > 0:34:03a very big thunderstorm and this thunderstorm flooded the entrance
0:34:03 > 0:34:07of the cave, so they couldn't get out any more.
0:34:08 > 0:34:12The group of seven cavers, including one 15-year-old boy,
0:34:12 > 0:34:13were all amateurs.
0:34:13 > 0:34:15When they failed to return home,
0:34:15 > 0:34:17their families quickly raised the alarm.
0:34:18 > 0:34:20Was there a very big rescue effort, then?
0:34:20 > 0:34:23It was a very big rescue effort.
0:34:23 > 0:34:273,000 people involved in the rescue and many spectators.
0:34:27 > 0:34:31It was a big event in the papers.
0:34:31 > 0:34:35It attracted so much attention that Emperor Franz Josef
0:34:35 > 0:34:37dispatched a military team.
0:34:39 > 0:34:43They took some people from the army, they brought some logs
0:34:43 > 0:34:47and made a blocking of the stream.
0:34:47 > 0:34:52Finally, they had to dig a new tunnel to enable the cavers to escape.
0:34:52 > 0:34:54Despite being trapped for nine days,
0:34:54 > 0:34:57extraordinarily, no-one was seriously hurt.
0:35:01 > 0:35:05Today, there are societies dedicated to cave rescue.
0:35:05 > 0:35:08Henrich is part of one called Hohlenbaren,
0:35:08 > 0:35:12'and they've agreed to let me take part in a rescue training exercise.'
0:35:12 > 0:35:17OK, down here you will see there is a little rope.
0:35:17 > 0:35:20and here we have a kind of break with a special knot.
0:35:20 > 0:35:23- And then you'll let me down gently with this slipknot.- Exactly.
0:35:23 > 0:35:25Very good. OK.
0:35:25 > 0:35:27You will hang like this later.
0:35:27 > 0:35:30THEY LAUGH I wondered how I would hang.
0:35:30 > 0:35:31- OK?- Like this?
0:35:35 > 0:35:37Yeah.
0:35:38 > 0:35:41OK.
0:35:41 > 0:35:44'Hearing water rushing around me,
0:35:44 > 0:35:47'I try to imagine what a terrifying experience it must have been
0:35:47 > 0:35:49'for those trapped here over 100 years ago.'
0:35:51 > 0:35:52Michael, stop.
0:35:52 > 0:35:54Stop.
0:35:54 > 0:35:55Michael, you OK?
0:35:55 > 0:35:57I'm fine.
0:36:01 > 0:36:03Ah.
0:36:03 > 0:36:07- Are you fine, Michael?- I am. Thank you very much, Henrich.
0:36:07 > 0:36:09- Welcome down to Earth! - It's good to be back.
0:36:12 > 0:36:16After such an adventure, I'll head for a night's rest
0:36:16 > 0:36:19before continuing my journey south in the morning.
0:36:33 > 0:36:36Back at Graz Station, my journey resumes
0:36:36 > 0:36:39along Austria-Hungary's imperial rail route.
0:36:43 > 0:36:46I'm travelling through three separate countries that,
0:36:46 > 0:36:49at the time of my guidebook, were all dynastic possessions
0:36:49 > 0:36:52of the House of Habsburg.
0:36:52 > 0:36:56First, I'm heading into Slovenia, bound for its capital, Ljubljana.
0:36:56 > 0:37:00From there, I'll continue into Italy, towards Trieste.
0:37:03 > 0:37:05TRAIN HONKS
0:37:10 > 0:37:13There's only one direct train from Graz to Ljubljana per day,
0:37:13 > 0:37:17so I'm picking up a connection at Zidani Most,
0:37:17 > 0:37:19over the Slovenian border.
0:37:25 > 0:37:27- Thank you.- Thank you very much.
0:37:34 > 0:37:37My Bradshaw's gives my next destination its German name,
0:37:37 > 0:37:41Laibach, but it's now known as Ljubljana.
0:37:41 > 0:37:43It tells me that it's the capital of Carniola.
0:37:43 > 0:37:47Well, it's now the capital of Slovenia.
0:37:47 > 0:37:51And it tells me that the city was greatly injured by an earthquake
0:37:51 > 0:37:55in April, 1895, so I'm expecting to find a city
0:37:55 > 0:38:00in a new country with a different language and rebuilt.
0:38:07 > 0:38:12Under the Austria-Hungarian Empire, those with power and influence tended
0:38:12 > 0:38:15to speak German, while everyone else used their native language.
0:38:17 > 0:38:19- Hello, ladies.- Hello.
0:38:19 > 0:38:21Do you mind if I join you for a moment?
0:38:21 > 0:38:23Thank you very much indeed.
0:38:23 > 0:38:24I wonder if you can help me.
0:38:24 > 0:38:28The Slovenian language, is it like the Croatian language,
0:38:28 > 0:38:31like the Bosnian language, or is it very different?
0:38:31 > 0:38:33It's very similar, but it's not the same.
0:38:33 > 0:38:37I think we understand each other, almost all.
0:38:37 > 0:38:40Are you very proud of your own language?
0:38:40 > 0:38:44Do you feel a very strong sense of ownership of your own language?
0:38:44 > 0:38:46Well, youngsters, I think they are, like...
0:38:47 > 0:38:55..more connected with English than like with their own language.
0:38:55 > 0:38:59- So most people of your generation now speak English?- Yes.
0:39:02 > 0:39:05Although independent since 1991,
0:39:05 > 0:39:09for much of the 20th century, Slovenia was part of Yugoslavia.
0:39:11 > 0:39:14I always feel excitement when I arrive in
0:39:14 > 0:39:18one of the former communist countries, because Slovenia
0:39:18 > 0:39:22has had a pretty rough passage since it left the Austro-Hungarian Empire
0:39:22 > 0:39:24nearly 100 years ago.
0:39:35 > 0:39:39Since the time of my guide, it's been a state, a kingdom,
0:39:39 > 0:39:43three kinds of republic and, finally, an independent nation.
0:39:46 > 0:39:50Throughout the upheaval, Ljubljana has been Slovenia's first city
0:39:50 > 0:39:52and it's stunning.
0:39:59 > 0:40:04I'm meeting historian Peter Krecic at the central Preseren Square
0:40:04 > 0:40:07to discover more about the city as Bradshaw travellers
0:40:07 > 0:40:08would have found it.
0:40:09 > 0:40:12We meet in a really beautiful square,
0:40:12 > 0:40:19but I hear from Bradshaw's Guide that there was an earthquake here in 1895.
0:40:19 > 0:40:21A lot of destruction?
0:40:21 > 0:40:23Yes, quite a lot.
0:40:23 > 0:40:27Maybe more than 50% of the buildings were destroyed
0:40:27 > 0:40:32and it was really a dramatic view when you entered Ljubljana
0:40:32 > 0:40:35immediately after the earthquake.
0:40:37 > 0:40:41On that Easter Sunday, the city was devastated.
0:40:41 > 0:40:43The earthquake was so powerful
0:40:43 > 0:40:47that it was felt in Vienna almost 250 miles away.
0:40:48 > 0:40:53It left many of the 31,000 population homeless, so a plan to salvage
0:40:53 > 0:40:56the city was quickly put in place.
0:40:57 > 0:41:03When it came to beginning to rebuild the city, how was that undertaken?
0:41:03 > 0:41:10In that time, we had a good and capable member of Ljubljana Council.
0:41:10 > 0:41:12His name was Ivan Hribar.
0:41:12 > 0:41:16Later on, he became a mayor of Ljubljana for a decade
0:41:16 > 0:41:20because of his successful reaction after the earthquake.
0:41:20 > 0:41:25"Immediately," he said, "when the earth was still moving,
0:41:25 > 0:41:31"going through the town, I was thinking of what to do."
0:41:31 > 0:41:35He wanted broader streets, new parks, greenery in the town.
0:41:36 > 0:41:40Councillor Ivan Hribar, a passionate nationalist,
0:41:40 > 0:41:44recognised that this could be an opportunity to create
0:41:44 > 0:41:46a contemporary Slovenian capital.
0:41:46 > 0:41:51Reconstruction began in earnest in 1896 and drew architects and planners
0:41:51 > 0:41:54from all over the Empire.
0:41:54 > 0:41:58It was a time of expressionism, architectural expression,
0:41:58 > 0:42:02which is hidden behind, you would say, the classical form.
0:42:04 > 0:42:09What had been a sleepy, Baroque town became an architectural playground.
0:42:09 > 0:42:12The city's interpretation of the Viennese Secession,
0:42:12 > 0:42:18Austria's equivalent of Art Nouveau, adorned the streets and, by 1910,
0:42:18 > 0:42:22over 400 new buildings had been constructed.
0:42:22 > 0:42:26They were intended to embody more than architectural fashion.
0:42:28 > 0:42:31This building was built immediately after the break of the centuries,
0:42:31 > 0:42:34somewhere...1901.
0:42:34 > 0:42:40And, as you see, the national feeling is put on the facade
0:42:40 > 0:42:42in the form of the Slovenian flag.
0:42:42 > 0:42:45You can see the red ground floor,
0:42:45 > 0:42:48then the first floor is in blue
0:42:48 > 0:42:50and the rest of the building is white.
0:42:50 > 0:42:52- An extraordinary building.- Yes.
0:43:03 > 0:43:05At the start of the 20th century,
0:43:05 > 0:43:08nationalism was on the rise across Europe.
0:43:08 > 0:43:12Many Slavic groups in the Empire wanted greater independence
0:43:12 > 0:43:15and Slovenia wanted to be a nation in its own right.
0:43:17 > 0:43:20That passion expressed itself in architecture, literature,
0:43:20 > 0:43:22science and art.
0:43:24 > 0:43:27I'm meeting curator Andrej Smrekar.
0:43:29 > 0:43:32- Andrej? Michael. - Very nice meeting you.
0:43:32 > 0:43:37- Your National Gallery is spectacular, absolutely beautiful.- Thank you.
0:43:38 > 0:43:41The gallery exhibits many works by the Sava Group,
0:43:41 > 0:43:44a collection of Slovenian artists formed in 1906,
0:43:44 > 0:43:48whose work became a plank of Slovenian nationalism.
0:43:51 > 0:43:55Now this painting here, the image emerges perfectly clearly
0:43:55 > 0:43:59and it is a man sowing a field,
0:43:59 > 0:44:02taking the seed from a basket on his left hip
0:44:02 > 0:44:05and presumably casting it with his right hand.
0:44:05 > 0:44:08And in the background?
0:44:08 > 0:44:11- And in the background is a hayrack. - Ah, yes.
0:44:11 > 0:44:17The hayrack was identified as piece of architecture
0:44:17 > 0:44:21that you could find only in parts of Slovenia.
0:44:21 > 0:44:25That's what makes the sower Slovene.
0:44:25 > 0:44:28The public, or at least the critics, saw that at once, did they?
0:44:28 > 0:44:32- Immediately saw the Slovene significance?- Yes.
0:44:32 > 0:44:36The painting is by Ivan Grohar, a Sava Group member.
0:44:36 > 0:44:39Those artists exhibited across the Empire
0:44:39 > 0:44:41at the start of the 20th century,
0:44:41 > 0:44:45reaching a broad audience with their scenes of Slovenian life,
0:44:45 > 0:44:48fuelling national pride and sentiment.
0:44:48 > 0:44:53Why do you think that this image is so powerful for Slovenian people?
0:44:53 > 0:44:55That's... That's us.
0:44:55 > 0:45:00Because, from the start, the peasant was understood
0:45:00 > 0:45:04as the essence of Slovenian identity.
0:45:04 > 0:45:07Aristocracy was, in the 19th century,
0:45:07 > 0:45:10perceived as foreign, as other.
0:45:10 > 0:45:15The peasant represented the millennial struggle against
0:45:15 > 0:45:16German domination.
0:45:16 > 0:45:19That's what makes him so iconic.
0:45:20 > 0:45:25The picture is saying, "This peasant is of the same stuff as the Earth."
0:45:25 > 0:45:27I see that.
0:45:27 > 0:45:31These images were part of Slovenia's national awakening,
0:45:31 > 0:45:35strengthening national identity and the desire for independence.
0:45:35 > 0:45:39This painting features on Slovenian coins even today.
0:45:39 > 0:45:42Has it become the most important painting in Slovenian history?
0:45:42 > 0:45:48I think so. I think it kept its centrality for the whole century.
0:45:48 > 0:45:52- It's extraordinary, isn't it? The power of that is amazing.- Yes.
0:45:58 > 0:46:01With all this talk of Slovenian patriotism,
0:46:01 > 0:46:04I'm anxious to absorb the national spirit.
0:46:06 > 0:46:12TRADITIONAL SLOVENIAN MUSIC
0:46:20 > 0:46:24So the Snopc o'tecca seems like a good place to pause.
0:46:28 > 0:46:30- Hello!- Hello.
0:46:30 > 0:46:33- This is a very nice shop.- Thank you.
0:46:33 > 0:46:38- I was hoping to drink something typically Slovenian, please.- OK.
0:46:38 > 0:46:39What do you recommend?
0:46:39 > 0:46:42- We have 80 different spirits. - No!- Yeah.
0:46:42 > 0:46:46I think pear, apple and plum are the most typical ones.
0:46:46 > 0:46:49Actually, the apple sounds quite nice.
0:46:49 > 0:46:54Yes, this one is aged in oak barrels, that's why it has
0:46:54 > 0:46:55this nice colour.
0:46:55 > 0:46:57Very nice. What's it called?
0:46:57 > 0:46:58Golden Spirit.
0:46:58 > 0:47:01Golden... Say that in Slovene for me.
0:47:01 > 0:47:04- Zlato Zganje.- Oh, lovely, Zlato Zganje!
0:47:07 > 0:47:09Wow. That is strong...
0:47:09 > 0:47:11and very nice!
0:47:11 > 0:47:16All the schnapps are fruit-based and made using traditional techniques.
0:47:16 > 0:47:21This revival of artisan distilling has become popular in recent years.
0:47:21 > 0:47:25- Want to cheers with us?- Yes, cheers! - Na zdravje, we say na zdravje!
0:47:25 > 0:47:27- Na zdravje!- Na zdravje!- Cheers.
0:47:29 > 0:47:31Here, do you want to try my...?
0:47:31 > 0:47:34- This is apple. You want to try mine? - Yeah, I'd love to.
0:47:35 > 0:47:37Mmmm!
0:47:37 > 0:47:39Very nice to see you. Cheers.
0:47:39 > 0:47:42- Na zdravje.- Na zdravje, na zdravje, na zdravje.
0:47:48 > 0:47:50My time in Ljubljana is almost up,
0:47:50 > 0:47:53so I'm turning in before I embark on my final day
0:47:53 > 0:47:55across the old Empire.
0:48:15 > 0:48:18I'm heading back to the station for the last leg of my journey...
0:48:19 > 0:48:22TRAIN HONKS
0:48:22 > 0:48:24..although it's a bit more complicated than it was
0:48:24 > 0:48:25at the time of my guidebook.
0:48:27 > 0:48:31According to the timetables in my Bradshaw's Guide, 100 years ago
0:48:31 > 0:48:35you could travel from Ljubljana to Trieste by train
0:48:35 > 0:48:37in about three hours and ten minutes.
0:48:37 > 0:48:41Today the journey takes rather longer and just now there are all sorts
0:48:41 > 0:48:45of problems with the lines and there's a replacement bus service.
0:48:45 > 0:48:47I don't fancy one of those,
0:48:47 > 0:48:50so I've found a freight train that's going my way.
0:48:52 > 0:48:54Good morning. I'm Michael.
0:48:54 > 0:48:55Oh. Hello, I'm Zoron.
0:48:55 > 0:48:57- Zoron, good to see you. - Thank you.
0:48:57 > 0:49:00- May I sit here? - Yeah, yeah.- Wonderful.
0:49:04 > 0:49:07TRAIN HONKS
0:49:10 > 0:49:12What is the cargo on the train today?
0:49:12 > 0:49:17It's containers, all is containers from Austria,
0:49:17 > 0:49:23for all Austria to the Adriatic Sea and then go on board.
0:49:23 > 0:49:30540 metres long and 1,500 tonnes.
0:49:30 > 0:49:33- Wow. That's a big train, isn't it?- Yeah.
0:49:37 > 0:49:41Here is the route built by the Austro-Hungarian Empire
0:49:41 > 0:49:43to carry goods to Trieste.
0:49:46 > 0:49:50But this train is heading to Koper, Slovenia's only seaport,
0:49:50 > 0:49:53about 13 miles outside Trieste.
0:49:55 > 0:49:57TRAIN HONKS
0:49:59 > 0:50:02BRAKES SQUEAL
0:50:02 > 0:50:05Thanks, it was a great ride. Bye-bye, now.
0:50:08 > 0:50:10Thanks.
0:50:10 > 0:50:14I'm picking up my final connection for Trieste at Villa Opicina,
0:50:14 > 0:50:16just over the Italian border.
0:50:29 > 0:50:32A traveller using my Bradshaw's Guide 100 years ago could have travelled
0:50:32 > 0:50:37on a tram on this route, because it began service in 1902.
0:50:37 > 0:50:41And it's unusual, possibly unique, because at this point,
0:50:41 > 0:50:45it's a conventional tram, but as we begin the very sharp decent into the
0:50:45 > 0:50:50city of Trieste, a rope system takes over, balancing the tram
0:50:50 > 0:50:54that's coming up the gradient with another that's descending.
0:51:03 > 0:51:07Outside the city, a so-called shield wagon is added to the tram.
0:51:11 > 0:51:14So now we're at the top of the gradient
0:51:14 > 0:51:19and it is an incredibly steep gradient and the tram has engaged
0:51:19 > 0:51:22with this cable, which is running along wheels, and as we go down,
0:51:22 > 0:51:25we must be balanced by a tram that is now coming up,
0:51:25 > 0:51:28but I am amazed by how steep this hill is.
0:51:31 > 0:51:35Fantastico questo tram, no? E' unico, no?
0:51:35 > 0:51:37E' unico, si.
0:51:38 > 0:51:43It operates like a funicular, but its application to a tram is unique.
0:51:43 > 0:51:48It enables the vehicles to get up and down the 27% gradient.
0:51:49 > 0:51:53So now we've disengaged from the cable, we've left our auxiliary
0:51:53 > 0:51:57vehicle behind, we now will move on to the tracks where there is no cable
0:51:57 > 0:52:00and we'll continue as an ordinary tram.
0:52:07 > 0:52:09We're in the city of Trieste,
0:52:09 > 0:52:13which Bradshaw's tells me was the "Tergeste of the Romans,
0:52:13 > 0:52:17"the principal seaport of Austria, situated on a gulf
0:52:17 > 0:52:19"at the northeast end of the Adriatic,
0:52:19 > 0:52:21"a thriving commercial place."
0:52:21 > 0:52:25Indeed, it's difficult to overstate the importance of Trieste,
0:52:25 > 0:52:30the place where Austria's imports and exports flowed, and the Adriatic,
0:52:30 > 0:52:33the sea on which its dreadnoughts and battleships
0:52:33 > 0:52:36could project the Empire's power.
0:52:49 > 0:52:51At the time of my guidebook,
0:52:51 > 0:52:55Trieste had become Austria-Hungary's economic hub.
0:52:55 > 0:52:59During the second half of the 19th century, its population doubled
0:52:59 > 0:53:04as migrants flowed in to find work building ships or heaving cargo.
0:53:07 > 0:53:12By 1913, over six million tonnes of goods, including tropical fruit,
0:53:12 > 0:53:17coal and cotton, were being moved by rail from ships through the port
0:53:17 > 0:53:19and out to the rest of the Empire.
0:53:28 > 0:53:31Today, cargo is brought into Trieste's new port.
0:53:31 > 0:53:34One of the vital goods at the time of my guidebook
0:53:34 > 0:53:36is still a major import today.
0:53:39 > 0:53:41Alessandro, hi, I'm Michael.
0:53:41 > 0:53:44- Hi, Michael, it's nice to meet you. - Good to see you.
0:53:45 > 0:53:50Alessandro's family has been roasting coffee for 130 years.
0:53:55 > 0:53:58- This is an extraordinary display of coffee here.- Yeah.
0:53:58 > 0:54:02And how does coffee rank as a commodity?
0:54:02 > 0:54:07Coffee is the third commodity in the world after gold and petrol,
0:54:07 > 0:54:09so it's very important.
0:54:09 > 0:54:13And today Trieste is one of the most important ports of delivery
0:54:13 > 0:54:15for coffee in Italy and in Europe.
0:54:18 > 0:54:20Just as at the time of my guidebook,
0:54:20 > 0:54:25Trieste has a key role in the global coffee market.
0:54:25 > 0:54:28Around two million bags of raw beans are processed
0:54:28 > 0:54:30through the port each year.
0:54:30 > 0:54:33But before they're used, they must be roasted.
0:54:36 > 0:54:40So, Michael, let me introduce you to Massimo.
0:54:40 > 0:54:44- Massimo is one of my roasters. - Massimo, Michael.- Nice to meet you.
0:54:45 > 0:54:49That is not what I expected, because I always think of coffee beans
0:54:49 > 0:54:52as being very, very dark brown.
0:54:52 > 0:54:55And it has very little smell at the moment.
0:54:55 > 0:55:01Yes, because the cellular matrix of the coffee is completely sealed.
0:55:01 > 0:55:05- But when we roast it, it releases the flavour compounds.- Lovely.
0:55:05 > 0:55:09- And that's the process we're about to begin now.- Yeah, exactly.
0:55:09 > 0:55:11Whoa, that's heavy!
0:55:13 > 0:55:14Each sack weighs 60 kilos
0:55:14 > 0:55:18and they are passed through the roaster two at a time.
0:55:18 > 0:55:21In order to retain their flavour, the beans must be roasted
0:55:21 > 0:55:26at temperatures of up to 220 Celsius and the way that heat
0:55:26 > 0:55:28is produced makes a big difference.
0:55:29 > 0:55:33The way we roast the coffee is by wood fire flame only.
0:55:33 > 0:55:35Why do you use wood?
0:55:35 > 0:55:38We use wood because it produces a different kind of heat.
0:55:38 > 0:55:43The burning of gas generally produces humidity,
0:55:43 > 0:55:47while the heat produced by wood is very dry.
0:55:47 > 0:55:50So your family would have been using this method
0:55:50 > 0:55:53- 100 years ago.- Yes, absolutely.
0:55:56 > 0:55:57In the early 20th century,
0:55:57 > 0:56:01over 80% of Trieste coffee was bound for Vienna,
0:56:01 > 0:56:05where the coffee culture was a vital part of daily life.
0:56:06 > 0:56:10Now the coffee is being completely transformed. It's this wonderful
0:56:10 > 0:56:14- dark colour and a fantastic aroma. - Yeah, it is true.
0:56:17 > 0:56:19The machinery may be modern,
0:56:19 > 0:56:23but the technique and the skill are centuries old.
0:56:46 > 0:56:48The national drink of Italy!
0:57:09 > 0:57:14I've travelled from Vienna on railway lines that helped to bind together
0:57:14 > 0:57:18the old Habsburg Empire during its last years.
0:57:18 > 0:57:23And that has enabled me to see Trieste for what it once was,
0:57:23 > 0:57:27the gateway and shop window of Austria-Hungary,
0:57:27 > 0:57:30an Empire that has now dissolved.
0:57:30 > 0:57:35The rise of art and architecture in Slovenia was typical
0:57:35 > 0:57:38of the nationalist movements that helped to loosen the bonds
0:57:38 > 0:57:43of the Empire so that today, movement along the old tracks
0:57:43 > 0:57:48is complicated by the existence of new national frontiers.
0:57:51 > 0:57:55Next time, I'll learn how violence hit the streets of Florence
0:57:55 > 0:57:58after the Futurists arrived by train.
0:57:58 > 0:57:59There was no friendly discussion.
0:57:59 > 0:58:03They arrived here to defend Futurism with their fists.
0:58:05 > 0:58:08- Ah-ha!- Release tagialelle!
0:58:08 > 0:58:12I'll taste dishes that titillated Edwardian taste buds.
0:58:12 > 0:58:14That is amazing!
0:58:14 > 0:58:15And I'll get to experience
0:58:15 > 0:58:18the Italian's century-long need for speed.