Zermatt to Geneva Part 1 Great Continental Railway Journeys

I'm embarking on a new railway adventure that will take me across

the heart of Europe.

I'll be using this, my Bradshaw's Continental Railway Guide, dated 1913,

which opened up an exotic world of foreign travel for the British tourist.

It told travellers where to go,

what to see and how to navigate the thousands of miles of tracks

crisscrossing the continent.

Now, a century later,

I'm using my copy to reveal an era of great optimism and energy,

where technology, industry, science and the arts were flourishing.

I want to rediscover that lost Europe that, in 1913,

couldn't know that its way of life would shortly be swept aside by the

advent of war.

I'm following one of my guidebook's recommended journeys to Switzerland,

a country whose roots date back to 1291.

Renowned for its breathtaking scenery and invigorating air,

it's home to four different languages

united under a single flag.

A traveller in Switzerland a century ago using a Bradshaw's Guide might

be here to climb a mountain, buy a watch, or open a bank account,

just as today.

But in 1913, war loomed.

Would this country's famous neutrality be respected or would its values be

used as a short cut by Germany and France to attack one another?

These were the great political questions as Europe slithered down

the slippery slope to Armageddon.

I start my journey in the south of the country,

high up in the Alps in Zermatt, then

head into the beautiful valleys and

lake shores to visit the Swiss Riviera at Montreux.

From there, I move north-east to the centre of the country and the

capital, Bern.

It's then only a short hop to Biel or Bienne - the heart of watchmaking.

I'll end my journey on the shores of Lake Geneva.

This time, I learn about the conquest of the Alps...

You know, the Matterhorn at that time, it was untouched.

And most people thought it's not climbable.

..Visit the Swiss birthplace of Stravinsky's great work.

It's really primitive music.

A violent piece and a violent reaction.

'And put my faith in St Bernard...'

Michael Portillo's the name.

-OK.

-Last seen somewhere in the Alps.

My first stop will be Zermatt.

According to Bradshaw's, "A village 5,315 feet above sea,

"almost surrounded by lofty peaks and glaciers,

"sometimes described as the very centre of the Alps."

In the 19th century, the British were gripped by a spirit of adventure,

an urge to explore and to prevail.

And many of those lofty peaks were first conquered by teams that included

British climbers who devoted their lives to Alpinism.

When I arrive at Zermatt,

I shall be close to the most recognisable and forbidding of the Alps, the deadly Matterhorn.

It's important to remember that,

until the second half of the 19th century,

this majestic mountain wilderness at the heart of the world's most

densely populated continent remained largely inaccessible.

That began to change with the arrival of the railways.

British mountaineers,

who would have taken 16 days to travel from London to these

dangerous, unclimbed peaks,

could arrive in just three,

and the golden age of mountaineering was born.

The Alpine town of Zermatt, nestling in the Matter Valley,

is the gateway to these magnificent mountains.

Today, it's famous as a ski resort

but at the time of the early mountaineers,

it was a small village of only 400 people.

The Alps really could have been designed to teach man humility.

Surrounded by these mountains, you feel small and insignificant.

These peaks created a craze which

led to an influx of intrepid British adventurers.

And in order to carry them closer to the Matterhorn,

the indomitable Swiss railway engineers built the Gornergrat cog railway.

-Hello, Chris.

-Hello.

-Great to see you.

-Nice to meet you.

I'm Michael.

'I'm meeting Chris, who works for this remarkable railway.'

My Bradshaw's says,

"The railway up from Zermatt to Gornergrat commands the grandest view obtainable

"in the Alps of the world of ice and snow."

So this railway was already built before 1913?

Yes, it was 15 years before.

This is extraordinary because many of the Alps were only climbed for

the first time in the 19th century, yet by the end of the 19th century

the Swiss are able to build railways to the tops of mountains.

Yes. The cog railways were invented in 1860, about.

The first were in America and the Gornergrat Bahn was then 1898.

From the beginning, it was an electric cog wheel and not with

steam, and our grand-grandfathers, they really were

experts and pioneers.

The Gornergrat trains operate on gradients as steep as 20%

using a cog that grips a racked rail running between the tracks.

The traveller in 1913 would have marvelled at the engineering and

been treated on a clear day to an awe-inspiring view across 29 peaks exceeding 4,000 metres.

Is that the Matterhorn appearing there?

That would be the Matterhorn, yes.

4,478 metres above sea level.

The queen of the mountains.

Although I'm a plucky sort of fellow in fine physical condition with

tremendous stamina,

it's a huge relief that the changeable weather scuppers any chance of a summit bid.

I'm meeting Benedikt Perren,

who is directly descended from two of the guides who made the first

ascent of the Matterhorn in 1865.

-Hello, Benedikt.

-Hi, Michael.

-Nice to meet you up here.

-Good to see you and a great place to meet.

Great spot, yes.

Why do you think that the British were such keen mountain climbers

-here in the Alps?

-You know, the British were used to travel

and the British had the money to travel and they realised that there

is a lot of first ascents to do

and they were very keen to reach that goal.

What was so special about the Matterhorn?

You know, the Matterhorn, at that time,

it was untouched and most people in Zermatt thought it's not climbable.

Tell me about the first successful conquest of the Matterhorn.

You know, we had four British climbers,

all four members of British Alpine Club.

This fearless group comprised Edward Whymper who, at 25,

had already made seven unsuccessful attempts, Lord Francis Douglas,

the Reverend Charles Hudson, and the novice of the group, Douglas Hadow.

They were joined by Alpine guides Michel Croz, and Benedikt's relatives,

Peter Taugwalder and his son, also called Peter.

They set off at 5:30 on a brilliant and perfectly cloudless morning and

a day later, after an incident-free climb,

they arrived 200 feet below the summit.

Whymper wanted to be the first on the summit.

He and Michel Croz, their French guide,

the two of them did run up to the summit and the others,

they followed probably 20 minutes later.

Whymper had done what everyone thought was impossible.

He'd conquered the Matterhorn.

Whymper and the two Taugwalders, they stood a bit longer on the summit.

Probably half an hour later,

the three of them did start their way down and they caught up with the

other four very quick.

On the way down, it was Hadow...

..who slipped and started to fall and the rope was not strong enough

and then it...

-How do you say?

-Snapped.

-It snapped, yes.

Four climbers fell down the whole north face.

A momentous tragedy, a terrible loss of life.

Yes, that was a big tragedy.

Out of the party that climbed the mountain,

only Whymper and the two Taugwalders escaped with their lives.

Climbing equipment in the 1860s was rudimentary.

Is this the sort of boot that Hadow had?

Yes, exactly a boot like that.

The only hold you've got is these nails here and that was basically

the reason why he started to slide, you know.

Really, you think Hadow was killed, and the others too,

because of a defective boot?

Yeah, you know, that was one of the main reasons.

Hadow was basically not a very experienced climber.

On the other hand, he was not very well equipped.

Despite your family's involvement in that tragedy,

you have climbed the Matterhorn.

How many times?

Right now, I've been 250 times on the summit.

That's extraordinary. What's it like to be at the top of the Matterhorn?

Great, you know.

You are surrounded by all the big mountains of the Alps and you have a

very good panoramic view and very emotional moments up there.

Even today's climbers treat the Matterhorn with the utmost respect

because, despite many triumphs, about 500 lives have been lost.

And for Whymper, the tragedy cast a shadow over the rest of his life.

He wrote, "Climb if you will but remember that courage and strength

"are naught without prudence and that a momentary negligence

"may destroy the happiness of a lifetime".

I'm heading to safer ground and descending more than 2,500 metres to the valley below.

Wherever I go in Switzerland,

I am astonished by the quality of the railway civil engineering.

We are now passing through the Kipfen Gorge.

The Swiss really managed to tame their mountains.

And when you think that so much of this was done during the 19th century

and that many of these lines have been electrified for more than a

century, it adds to the sense of wonder.

They didn't do this by steam-rolling public opinion.

In this extraordinary democracy,

many of the most important things are settled by referendum.

I'm arriving in the town of Visp

where I'll be able to admire more examples of Swiss railway building.

I'm catching a connection to Martigny,

cultural capital of the French-speaking Canton of Valais.

Bradshaw's tells me that, "Near Martigny

"is the Hospice of the Great St Bernard,

"whose monks assist travellers in the dangers from storm and

"avalanche, aided by their dogs.

"One, called Barry, helped to save 14 persons."

Martigny is at one end of the snowy, perilous,

49-mile Great St Bernard Pass that links Switzerland to Italy.

It's snow-free only for a couple of months in the summer and has been a

treacherous route for travellers throughout history.

SHE SPEAKS IN OWN LANGUAGE

Hello.

'I've come to the Barry Foundation to meet Doris Kundig and the

'descendants of St Bernard's famous Alpine mastiffs.'

Doris, what was the origin of the story of the St Bernard dogs?

The story of the St Bernard started at the Great St Bernard Pass

where, in the 12th century, St Bernard founded a hospice.

The canons up there started to have dogs.

They first were used as working dogs and then soon,

they found out about their ability to smell and to find the orientation.

'The St Bernard's powerful sense of smell and resistance to cold

'meant that over a 150-year period up to 2,000 people,

'from lost children to Napoleon's soldiers,

'were rescued by the heroic dogs,

'and one in particular excelled.'

Tell me about the original dog called Barry.

Well, this is our national hero, as to say.

He lived between 1800 and 1812 at the hospice

and he saved the lives of about 40 people.

-40?

-40, yeah.

So he got very famous because of that because he seemed to be

the one dog that really had the ability to find people,

to rescue people or just to keep them away from danger.

Although today, St Bernards are no longer used in rescues,

the Foundation is keeping alive the original line with its 27 bitches

and eight dogs.

And how do you find working with St Bernards?

What's the character of these dogs?

Well, they are very lazy, they are very gentle,

they are stubborn

but they want to have a contact with people.

And to preserve traditions,

the Foundation always trains one dog in avalanche search and rescue.

In the spirit of adventure, I've offered to be the buried victim.

'Although it's spring here in the Alps,

'there is an annual snowfall of ten metres.'

Thank you.

'And temperatures drop to minus 30.'

Whoa! It's deep snow!

-Hello, Daniel.

-Michael.

-You are welcome.

-And who's this?

-Easy.

-Easy?

Easy. A real St Bernard.

'It takes three years to train a dog.

'Here's hoping she's got something of the Barry about her.'

What do I need to do? Just get in there?

Yes, you go inside.

-Yes.

-Then I give you the toy.

-The toy?

-Yes, the toy, Easy's toy.

-Oh, Easy's toy.

-Yes.

You can also play with it.

One second. So I give you the toy.

Thank you very much indeed.

And I give you a little bit meat

to say thank you to Easy that she will get you out.

You won't forget about me, will you?

Michael Portillo's the name.

-OK.

-Last seen somewhere in the Alps.

'Now, I know this doesn't look very scientific,

'but Easy is only in the first year of her training.'

Vas-y, vas-y, vas-y.

'Time to put that nose to the test.'

Easy! Help! Easy!

'Hm. Easy has some way to go before she reaches Barry's standard.'

Vas-y, vas-y, vas-y.

'That's the toy, but what about me?'

Peter, can you get me out of here, please?

Ah!

HE LAUGHS

Nowadays, St Bernards don't bring brandy with them.

Mm.

But when you've been in an avalanche for a while,

this is exactly what you need.

After all that excitement,

I'm heading away from the high Alps to the Switzerland of the lakes.

For 1913 travellers coming from industrialised countries,

this pure and invigorating air must have been intoxicating.

For the first part of my journey today,

I'll be travelling along what Bradshaw's calls "The magnificent Rhone Valley".

That river flows through Switzerland, entering Lac Leman near Montreux,

exits at Geneva and then abandons Switzerland for France.

Can I help you? Let me pass that up to you.

There we go.

Prochain arret St Mauritz.

Jusqu'a Montreux.

-Tres bien. Merci. Bon voyage.

-Merci, monsieur.

Montreux's dramatic location on the east side of Lake Geneva

helped it in the late 19th century to become a famous holiday resort.

It attracted celebrated residents and visitors, and became a feature

of what was known as the Swiss Riviera.

Few of those eminent visitors could predict that the world order was

about to be torn apart by a Great War and a revolution in Russia.

But in fact, well before that, developments in art -

think of the paintings of Pablo Picasso -

are already shaking the foundations of the pompous old empires.

And in the world of music,

the work of Igor Stravinsky is, in its way, as revolutionary as anything by

Marx or Lenin, and threatened to bring the house down.

In 1910, Stravinsky was a young,

virtually unknown composer but his music for the ballet The Firebird

was an overnight sensation.

Impresario Sergei Diaghilev swiftly commissioned him to write another.

I'm meeting Isabel in Montreux's famous home of music.

Isabel, we are in the beautiful concert hall named after Igor Stravinsky.

Why did Stravinsky come to Montreux?

Well, he first came here in 1910 because his wife was not very healthy and

the temperature here in Montreux was better for her.

What was it that Stravinsky achieved here in Montreux?

Well, he wrote The Rite Of Spring.

During the summer of 1911,

Stravinsky immersed himself in the piece, which appeared fundamentally

at odds with the rest of the musical world.

He finished it on 4th November, 1912,

and premiered it in Paris in 1913.

The story concerns a prehistoric Russian tribe that celebrates

the arrival of spring with a virgin sacrifice.

Both Stravinsky's score and the choreography were so unexpected and

avant-garde that a riot broke out in the audience.

Some considered it an obscene subversion of all music's norms.

It begins with a haunting refrain, played for me by Luca.

HE PLAYS OPENING FROM RITE OF SPRING

-Luca, thank you very much indeed.

-Thank you.

Can you understand why it was so controversial?

Well, it has to do with the harmony, with the dissonance.

But also, it's very violent,

and Stravinsky used a lot of percussionists,

I think four percussionists.

It's really primitive music.

A violent piece and a violent reaction?

Yeah. Yeah, I think the first reactions were quite violent.

Stravinsky's Rite of Spring is now recognised as an important moment in

the development of music in the 20th century.

Every year, the composer features in the repertoire of Montreux's Classical Music Festival,

acknowledging his influence.

APPLAUSE

While Montreux attracted composers and musicians,

early 20th-century tourists were drawn to a lakeside medieval castle.

Chateau de Chillon, standing on the south-east end of the lake,

owes its fame not so much to history as to literature.

Bonjour, Monsieur. Bonjour, Mademoiselle.

In the early 19th century,

the Romantic poets Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley met up in Geneva.

They sailed around the lake and visited the chateau.

As Bradshaw's remarks, the district is well served by steamer.

I'm heading for the castle of Chillon, which, the guidebook

tells me, "..is supposed to date from the ninth century

"but the existing building is probably of the 13th."

With its turrets and situated down on the water's edge,

it is the sort of ultimate fairy tale castle.

And it's appeared so often in literature

that it is the quintessential Romantic monument.

Although Byron visited in 1816,

almost a century before my guidebook,

his fame was such that everywhere he had gone, crowds followed.

On that trip, the castle inspired Byron to write his famous poem

The Prisoner Of Chillon.

I'm meeting guide Deborah Lockwood to find out more about this glamorised castle.

Well, I mean, this is just the most romantic castle.

It could pop out of a fairy tale but it must have been built with a

-serious purpose. What was that?

-A very serious purpose.

Actually, it was built to protect the road that passes right in front of Chillon Castle.

You notice that it's very narrow between the mountain and the lake,

and this road is thousands and thousands of years old.

The castle was owned by the powerful and wealthy Savoy family,

rulers and landowners in the area.

Now, this castle has been notorious as being a prison.

-Why so?

-The Savoys were very authoritarian,

there were lots of enemies, there was crime.

And during the Bernese period, which would have been the 16th century,

it was also used as a prison for witches.

Can we go down to the cells, to the dungeons,

and discuss the famous Prisoner of Chillon?

-Of course we can. Please follow me.

-Take me below.

Now, careful with the steps because they are quite slippery.

'The dungeon that Byron made famous was built in 1256 and the prisoner

'who inspired his poem was locked up here in 1530.'

Now, who was the Prisoner of Chillon?

Well, his name was Francois Bonivard.

He was the son of a small noble family of Savoy who lived near Geneva,

and he was actually a prior who lived and worked in a monastery in Geneva itself.

Like many people of the times,

he was in favour of autonomy and freedom from Geneva,

from the authoritarian rule of the Savoy family,

and his main problem was he talked too much.

Angered by his loose tongue and opposition to their rule,

the Savoy family imprisoned Bonivard in Chillon.

Why was Byron captivated by this story of the Prisoner of Chillon?

Well, I think that, of course,

he was in favour of anything that was democratic,

a brand-new idea at the time, of course, and anyone who had suffered.

Can you imagine anything more appalling than to spend years chained to

that ring and to have all that beauty outside, just beyond your reach?

"In each pillar, there is a ring, And in each ring, there is a chain

"That iron is a cankering thing,

"For in these limbs its teeth remain

"With marks that will not wear away,

"Till I have done with this new day."

Byron's prisoner endured six years of incarceration here,

but in 1536 was finally freed.

'Next time, I will continue my journey through Switzerland,

'when I make my cheesiest ever train journey...'

-I like a food that requires you to drink wine.

-So do I!

'..and salute the bravery of a pioneering Swiss pilot.'

Only when you go up in a small plane like this

do you realise what a formidable obstacle

the Alps would've been a century ago.

GUNSHOT

'Before entering a warzone with the Red Cross.'

A most extraordinary turn of events!