Browse content similar to Transylvania to the Black Sea Part 1. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!
Line | From | To | |
---|---|---|---|
I'm embarking on a new railway adventure | 0:00:03 | 0:00:07 | |
that will take me across the heart of Europe. | 0:00:07 | 0:00:10 | |
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, | 0:00:22 | 0:00:24 | |
what to see and how to navigate | 0:00:24 | 0:00:27 | |
the thousands of miles of tracks to cross the continent. | 0:00:27 | 0:00:30 | |
Now, a century later, I'm using my copy | 0:00:32 | 0:00:35 | |
to reveal an era of great optimism and energy, | 0:00:35 | 0:00:39 | |
but also of high tension. | 0:00:39 | 0:00:41 | |
I want to rediscover that lost Europe that in 1913 | 0:00:42 | 0:00:46 | |
couldn't have known that its way of life would shortly be swept aside | 0:00:46 | 0:00:51 | |
by the advent of war. | 0:00:51 | 0:00:53 | |
This journey takes me to the most eastern reaches of Europe. | 0:01:09 | 0:01:14 | |
Although one of its youngest nations, | 0:01:14 | 0:01:16 | |
recognised as a kingdom only in 1881, | 0:01:16 | 0:01:19 | |
Romania's situation and natural resources | 0:01:19 | 0:01:22 | |
attracted the attention of the great powers | 0:01:22 | 0:01:25 | |
in the years before the First World War. | 0:01:25 | 0:01:28 | |
"Romania is a modern kingdom, | 0:01:34 | 0:01:36 | |
"formerly a Turkish principality," says my Bradshaw's Guide. | 0:01:36 | 0:01:40 | |
That kingdom was only about 30 years old. | 0:01:40 | 0:01:44 | |
1913 brought important territorial gains for Romania | 0:01:44 | 0:01:49 | |
as the old Turkish Ottoman Empire crumbled. | 0:01:49 | 0:01:53 | |
But Romania was still the slow train of Europe. | 0:01:53 | 0:01:57 | |
It had a backward agricultural economy | 0:01:57 | 0:01:59 | |
with some astonishing touches of modernity. | 0:01:59 | 0:02:03 | |
Today, I feel as though I'm visiting a new country again | 0:02:03 | 0:02:07 | |
because, less than 30 years ago, the old communist dictator Ceausescu | 0:02:07 | 0:02:11 | |
was killed, setting Romania free. | 0:02:11 | 0:02:14 | |
And, like my equivalent traveller of a century ago, | 0:02:14 | 0:02:17 | |
I'm prepared for some surprises. | 0:02:17 | 0:02:20 | |
My route will begin in the Transylvanian town of Brasov. | 0:02:30 | 0:02:34 | |
I take in vampires and castles, | 0:02:34 | 0:02:37 | |
before visiting a fairy-tale palace in Sinaia. | 0:02:37 | 0:02:41 | |
I strike oil in Ploiseti | 0:02:41 | 0:02:43 | |
and uncover a moving story in the capital, Bucharest, | 0:02:43 | 0:02:47 | |
before ending my trip on the Black Sea in the port of Constanta. | 0:02:47 | 0:02:51 | |
'Along the way, I experience a rare and beautiful wilderness...' | 0:02:54 | 0:02:59 | |
Wake up. Did you sleep well? | 0:03:00 | 0:03:03 | |
I feel really very privileged to see this magnificent animal in the wild. | 0:03:03 | 0:03:08 | |
Thank you very much. | 0:03:08 | 0:03:09 | |
'..marvel at some 100-year-old technology... | 0:03:09 | 0:03:13 | |
That enormous roof just swishes aside. It's wonderful. | 0:03:13 | 0:03:18 | |
'..and find a kindred spirit in...Dracula!' | 0:03:20 | 0:03:24 | |
"I found the Count lying on the sofa | 0:03:24 | 0:03:27 | |
"reading an English Bradshaw's Guide." | 0:03:27 | 0:03:30 | |
Everybody needed a Bradshaw's Guide, | 0:03:30 | 0:03:32 | |
even if you were a bloodsucking vampire. | 0:03:32 | 0:03:35 | |
My first stop will be Brasov. | 0:03:52 | 0:03:54 | |
Bradshaw's tells me, "It's a finely situated and important commercial town." | 0:03:54 | 0:03:59 | |
It's in Transylvania | 0:03:59 | 0:04:01 | |
which, a century ago, was still part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. | 0:04:01 | 0:04:06 | |
In the Middle Ages, a bold warrior battled against the Ottoman Turks. | 0:04:06 | 0:04:12 | |
With a name like Vlad the Impaler, | 0:04:12 | 0:04:15 | |
he might find a place in any heart. | 0:04:15 | 0:04:18 | |
Brasov is the gateway to Transylvania. | 0:04:31 | 0:04:34 | |
It's surrounded by the Carpathian Mountains | 0:04:35 | 0:04:38 | |
at the meeting point of the three ancient principalities | 0:04:38 | 0:04:42 | |
of Transylvania, Wallachia and Moldavia. | 0:04:42 | 0:04:45 | |
Bradshaw's draws my attention to the enormous parish church | 0:04:53 | 0:04:57 | |
of the 14th to 16th century | 0:04:57 | 0:05:00 | |
and the town hall with its tower 190ft tall. | 0:05:00 | 0:05:05 | |
I'm in eastern Europe and it doesn't feel like it. | 0:05:05 | 0:05:09 | |
The town was colonised by Saxons, so the architecture is Germanic. | 0:05:09 | 0:05:14 | |
It was protected against the Ottoman Turks by fortifications | 0:05:14 | 0:05:18 | |
and Transylvania was never Islamic. | 0:05:18 | 0:05:22 | |
In Christian Church terms, it was Western rather than Orthodox. | 0:05:22 | 0:05:26 | |
Brasov is a sort of gateway | 0:05:26 | 0:05:29 | |
between Occidental and Oriental Europe. | 0:05:29 | 0:05:32 | |
The immaculately well-preserved old town | 0:05:42 | 0:05:44 | |
has made Brasov one of the most visited places in Romania. | 0:05:44 | 0:05:48 | |
Here's a tip. Bradshaw's says that "From the mountain, | 0:05:58 | 0:06:01 | |
"which is now called the Timpa, | 0:06:01 | 0:06:03 | |
"3,153ft high on the west side of the town, | 0:06:03 | 0:06:07 | |
"is a very fine view." | 0:06:07 | 0:06:09 | |
That's where I'm headed. | 0:06:09 | 0:06:11 | |
I'm following my guidebook up to a point. | 0:06:14 | 0:06:16 | |
In 1913, reaching the peak would have entailed | 0:06:18 | 0:06:21 | |
a one-hour hike up the slope, | 0:06:21 | 0:06:23 | |
but that's because this splendid cable car hadn't yet been built. | 0:06:23 | 0:06:27 | |
What's so striking from up here is an immense contrast. | 0:06:51 | 0:06:55 | |
In the old town, the beautiful tawny roofs. | 0:06:55 | 0:06:59 | |
On the outskirts, the hideous white tower blocks of the communist era. | 0:06:59 | 0:07:05 | |
It is a tale of two cities. | 0:07:05 | 0:07:07 | |
I'm leaving Brasov and taking a regional train | 0:07:16 | 0:07:20 | |
further into the Carpathians. | 0:07:20 | 0:07:22 | |
HE SPEAKS ROMANIAN | 0:07:37 | 0:07:41 | |
THEY CONVERSE | 0:07:46 | 0:07:47 | |
There was a storm overnight and because of that, the mountains today | 0:07:52 | 0:07:55 | |
are spectacularly clear and they just seem to come out of nowhere. | 0:07:55 | 0:07:59 | |
Set in a natural amphitheatre on a dramatic hilltop, | 0:08:22 | 0:08:26 | |
I find the magnificent Bran Castle. | 0:08:26 | 0:08:29 | |
It was built in the 14th century to defend Transylvania | 0:08:29 | 0:08:33 | |
from repeated Ottoman invasion. | 0:08:33 | 0:08:36 | |
By the time of my guidebook, it had become the inspiration | 0:08:36 | 0:08:39 | |
for one of the most popular of all Gothic novels, | 0:08:39 | 0:08:43 | |
Bram Stoker's Dracula. | 0:08:43 | 0:08:44 | |
THUNDERCLAP | 0:08:48 | 0:08:50 | |
In the shadow of this menacing fortification, | 0:08:54 | 0:08:57 | |
I'm meeting my guide, Mattei. | 0:08:57 | 0:09:00 | |
-Hello, Mattei. -Hello, Michael. | 0:09:02 | 0:09:04 | |
Do you know, all my life I've wanted to see this castle | 0:09:04 | 0:09:07 | |
and I am not disappointed. It is marvellous. | 0:09:07 | 0:09:10 | |
Had Bram Stoker ever seen it? | 0:09:10 | 0:09:12 | |
Well, Bram Stoker, as far as we know, | 0:09:12 | 0:09:14 | |
he never visited Transylvania or Romania, | 0:09:14 | 0:09:17 | |
but he had lots of information at the Royal Library in London | 0:09:17 | 0:09:21 | |
and the British Museum. | 0:09:21 | 0:09:23 | |
What were Stoker's sources for his book? | 0:09:23 | 0:09:26 | |
Well, at the very beginning, | 0:09:26 | 0:09:27 | |
he had an idea to publish a book about a monster. | 0:09:27 | 0:09:30 | |
He used the name Count Wampyr at the beginning. It was a novel. | 0:09:30 | 0:09:34 | |
He didn't have the huge success, though. | 0:09:34 | 0:09:36 | |
Then he realised that the most important ingredient about the monster, | 0:09:36 | 0:09:40 | |
it's obviously the name. | 0:09:40 | 0:09:42 | |
And he discovered the legend of Vlad the Impaler, | 0:09:42 | 0:09:46 | |
better known as Dracula. | 0:09:46 | 0:09:49 | |
When he found out what Dracula means. | 0:09:49 | 0:09:52 | |
In Romanian, it's "Dracul", the devil. | 0:09:52 | 0:09:54 | |
"Dracula", the devil's son. | 0:09:54 | 0:09:56 | |
With a name like Dracula, you don't have to be a good writer. | 0:09:56 | 0:09:59 | |
First published in 1897, the book and subsequent films | 0:10:02 | 0:10:07 | |
became hugely popular throughout the world, | 0:10:07 | 0:10:10 | |
except in Romania. | 0:10:10 | 0:10:12 | |
Under communism, the book was banned, | 0:10:13 | 0:10:16 | |
as was any reference to the supernatural. | 0:10:16 | 0:10:19 | |
Today, the fictional associations of Bran Castle | 0:10:20 | 0:10:24 | |
are an important attraction to visitors like me. | 0:10:24 | 0:10:27 | |
Well, here we are in Count Dracula's library. | 0:10:34 | 0:10:39 | |
Yes, and I have a copy of Bram Stoker's Dracula | 0:10:39 | 0:10:43 | |
and there is a line over here that I guess you will be interested in. | 0:10:43 | 0:10:48 | |
"The lamps were also lit in the study or library | 0:10:48 | 0:10:52 | |
"and I found the Count lying on the sofa reading, | 0:10:52 | 0:10:56 | |
"of all things in the world, | 0:10:56 | 0:10:58 | |
"an English Bradshaw's Guide." | 0:10:58 | 0:11:00 | |
I knew about this passage, | 0:11:02 | 0:11:04 | |
but do you know why he was consulting an English Bradshaw's Guide? | 0:11:04 | 0:11:08 | |
He had a plan to send from Whitby to London King's Cross Station | 0:11:08 | 0:11:15 | |
50 Transylvanian coffins with Transylvanian earth inside | 0:11:15 | 0:11:20 | |
for him to be able to survive | 0:11:20 | 0:11:22 | |
and he's looked inside the English Bradshaw's Guide | 0:11:22 | 0:11:26 | |
to find a schedule of the trains. | 0:11:26 | 0:11:29 | |
You see, in the 19th century, everybody needed a Bradshaw's, | 0:11:29 | 0:11:33 | |
even if you were a bloodsucking vampire. | 0:11:33 | 0:11:36 | |
Yes, I guess you are right. | 0:11:37 | 0:11:39 | |
I've escaped unscathed and journey on | 0:11:42 | 0:11:46 | |
on a form of transport which would have been familiar | 0:11:46 | 0:11:49 | |
to the 1913 traveller. | 0:11:49 | 0:11:51 | |
Still a common sight in Transylvania. | 0:11:51 | 0:11:53 | |
My guidebook says of the Carpathian Mountains, | 0:12:15 | 0:12:18 | |
"Snow-clad granite peaks, | 0:12:18 | 0:12:21 | |
"mountain gorges, | 0:12:21 | 0:12:22 | |
"ranges of forest, | 0:12:22 | 0:12:24 | |
"delightful valleys with numerous beautiful small lakes | 0:12:24 | 0:12:28 | |
"combine their charms in this romantic country." | 0:12:28 | 0:12:31 | |
In all my travels, I never saw a place less changed | 0:12:31 | 0:12:35 | |
from the Bradshaw description. | 0:12:35 | 0:12:37 | |
It is so unspoiled and achingly beautiful. | 0:12:37 | 0:12:41 | |
It's a land defined by tradition and regional customs. | 0:13:01 | 0:13:05 | |
Shepherds' villages perch on remote slopes. | 0:13:11 | 0:13:14 | |
I've come to Magura to meet wildlife guide Dan Marin, | 0:13:16 | 0:13:20 | |
whose family has lived in these mountains for generations. | 0:13:20 | 0:13:23 | |
These villages in the Carpathian Mountains, | 0:13:29 | 0:13:32 | |
they seem to be sheltered from the passage of time. | 0:13:32 | 0:13:35 | |
Yes, they are. They are quite isolated | 0:13:35 | 0:13:37 | |
and the villagers have been somehow forced | 0:13:37 | 0:13:39 | |
to stick to a certain way of life. | 0:13:39 | 0:13:42 | |
And what do they live off here? | 0:13:42 | 0:13:44 | |
Most of the families in the village own a small number of sheep, | 0:13:44 | 0:13:47 | |
one or two cows. | 0:13:47 | 0:13:49 | |
It's a sort of an annual cycle with this way of life. | 0:13:49 | 0:13:53 | |
There's no artificial fertilisers that people use here. | 0:13:53 | 0:13:57 | |
No pesticides. | 0:13:57 | 0:13:59 | |
So it's really good quality. | 0:13:59 | 0:14:01 | |
So you do have, really, a very natural environment? | 0:14:01 | 0:14:04 | |
Romania has become one of the cleanest countries in the whole of Europe. | 0:14:04 | 0:14:08 | |
One of the results of this traditional way of managing the land | 0:14:08 | 0:14:12 | |
is a huge variety of wild flowers, especially orchids. | 0:14:12 | 0:14:17 | |
We have 41 different species of orchids | 0:14:17 | 0:14:21 | |
growing in hundreds or thousands on the meadows around here. | 0:14:21 | 0:14:25 | |
Many wild flower species long since lost to the rest of Europe | 0:14:28 | 0:14:32 | |
still flourish here, thanks to small-scale farming. | 0:14:32 | 0:14:35 | |
Dan is taking me to meet a local shepherd, Ioan. | 0:14:39 | 0:14:42 | |
At 70 years old, he continues to tend his flock of sheep. | 0:14:43 | 0:14:47 | |
Ah, that's where he sleeps. | 0:14:50 | 0:14:52 | |
That is one of the typical shepherds' huts. | 0:14:52 | 0:14:54 | |
Oh, my goodness. That's tiny. | 0:14:54 | 0:14:57 | |
Do you fit in there? | 0:14:57 | 0:14:59 | |
He does fit in there. He does fit in there. | 0:14:59 | 0:15:02 | |
'In summer, the shepherds wheel these portable huts | 0:15:02 | 0:15:05 | |
'up to the high pasture and stay in them for up to five months.' | 0:15:05 | 0:15:09 | |
Wake up! Morning! | 0:15:11 | 0:15:12 | |
It's morning! | 0:15:14 | 0:15:16 | |
Hello. | 0:15:16 | 0:15:17 | |
Did you sleep well? | 0:15:18 | 0:15:20 | |
The shepherd must stand ready to protect his precious flock | 0:15:27 | 0:15:30 | |
of 20 sheep from wolves and bears. | 0:15:30 | 0:15:33 | |
Aaah! | 0:15:43 | 0:15:45 | |
Beautiful creature. | 0:15:46 | 0:15:48 | |
And in the summer how high up will you go? | 0:15:48 | 0:15:50 | |
1,300, 1,400 metres. | 0:15:55 | 0:15:57 | |
Even up to the top, that's about 1,800 metres. | 0:15:58 | 0:16:01 | |
When Ioan's not up in the high pasture, | 0:16:03 | 0:16:06 | |
he must maintain his land and, of course, | 0:16:06 | 0:16:09 | |
it is done in the traditional manner, | 0:16:09 | 0:16:12 | |
by hand | 0:16:12 | 0:16:13 | |
with a scythe. | 0:16:13 | 0:16:15 | |
-No, no, no. -Like that? | 0:16:17 | 0:16:19 | |
Is that good? | 0:16:27 | 0:16:29 | |
'I sense that Ioan's not impressed with my technique.' | 0:16:31 | 0:16:34 | |
Ah, OK. Now, that is effective. | 0:16:36 | 0:16:39 | |
OK, let me try that method. | 0:16:39 | 0:16:41 | |
-Try to keep it to the... -To the ground. -..to the ground. | 0:16:41 | 0:16:44 | |
Better? | 0:16:44 | 0:16:46 | |
No? | 0:16:46 | 0:16:47 | |
He just keeps shaking his head. | 0:16:48 | 0:16:50 | |
No? | 0:16:55 | 0:16:57 | |
I'm not sure that I'd last long out here. It's a hard life. | 0:17:00 | 0:17:04 | |
But the lack of mechanisation | 0:17:04 | 0:17:07 | |
results in a wonderfully unspoiled environment, | 0:17:07 | 0:17:10 | |
one of this continent's last wildernesses. | 0:17:10 | 0:17:13 | |
This, the most extensive tract of unbroken forest in Central Europe, | 0:17:16 | 0:17:21 | |
is the habitat of one of the world's largest carnivores. | 0:17:21 | 0:17:25 | |
Dan takes me to a forest hide, where, if I'm lucky, | 0:17:26 | 0:17:30 | |
I may see a wild brown bear. | 0:17:30 | 0:17:33 | |
In between the town that we have just left | 0:17:38 | 0:17:41 | |
and this side of the Fagaras Mountains | 0:17:41 | 0:17:43 | |
there are no human settlements. | 0:17:43 | 0:17:45 | |
There is no tourists. | 0:17:45 | 0:17:46 | |
It's a perfect place for different wild animals, | 0:17:46 | 0:17:49 | |
especially wolves and bears. | 0:17:49 | 0:17:51 | |
It's dusk, | 0:17:54 | 0:17:55 | |
when both wolves and bears approach in search of food. | 0:17:55 | 0:17:59 | |
Look. | 0:18:07 | 0:18:09 | |
What luck. | 0:18:09 | 0:18:10 | |
What a beautiful specimen. | 0:18:11 | 0:18:13 | |
Romania has the largest number of bears and wolves | 0:18:33 | 0:18:37 | |
in the whole of Europe. | 0:18:37 | 0:18:38 | |
6,000 bears and about 3,000 wolves | 0:18:38 | 0:18:43 | |
compared to, for instance, 20 bears in France. | 0:18:43 | 0:18:46 | |
I feel really very privileged | 0:18:58 | 0:19:00 | |
because, you know, at one time, Europe was covered in bears | 0:19:00 | 0:19:03 | |
but now, really, you have to come to somewhere like Romania, that | 0:19:03 | 0:19:07 | |
has maintained its wilderness, | 0:19:07 | 0:19:10 | |
to see this magnificent animal in the wild. | 0:19:10 | 0:19:13 | |
Thank you very much. | 0:19:13 | 0:19:14 | |
This morning, I'm taking one of Romania's regional trains | 0:19:41 | 0:19:45 | |
along a well-travelled route. | 0:19:45 | 0:19:47 | |
My next stop will be Sinaia, | 0:19:57 | 0:19:59 | |
which the guidebook tells me is "an attractive spot | 0:19:59 | 0:20:02 | |
"in the Carpathians with villas and hotels | 0:20:02 | 0:20:06 | |
"where the King has a palace." | 0:20:06 | 0:20:08 | |
I believe the royal residence is about 3,000ft above sea level, | 0:20:08 | 0:20:11 | |
so I'm going up in the world. | 0:20:11 | 0:20:14 | |
Built in 1883, Sinaia Station was on the route of the Orient Express. | 0:20:35 | 0:20:41 | |
Amongst the distinguished passengers who alighted here | 0:20:41 | 0:20:44 | |
were guests of Romania's king. | 0:20:44 | 0:20:46 | |
For it's here that he built a magnificent royal palace, | 0:20:49 | 0:20:53 | |
Peles Castle. | 0:20:53 | 0:20:55 | |
I'm meeting Daniela Voitescu, who will be my guide. | 0:20:59 | 0:21:02 | |
Daniela, it is a fantastic castle. | 0:21:09 | 0:21:12 | |
Who built it? | 0:21:12 | 0:21:14 | |
Well, this fairy-tale castle was built by the first Romanian king, | 0:21:14 | 0:21:20 | |
Carol I, a German one, | 0:21:20 | 0:21:24 | |
who came to Romania in 1866. | 0:21:24 | 0:21:28 | |
The Romanian people decided Romania needed a king | 0:21:28 | 0:21:32 | |
and he was the only one who had accepted it | 0:21:32 | 0:21:35 | |
and the country became a monarchy. | 0:21:35 | 0:21:38 | |
Why did he build this fairy-tale castle? | 0:21:38 | 0:21:42 | |
He has chosen this place because of the view through the mountains. | 0:21:42 | 0:21:49 | |
The royal family used to live here only in summer time | 0:21:49 | 0:21:54 | |
and it was built for many guests. | 0:21:54 | 0:21:58 | |
And almost all the crowned heads from Europe at that time | 0:21:58 | 0:22:03 | |
have been invited here on holiday. | 0:22:03 | 0:22:05 | |
King Carol wanted a palace to impress his peers and courtiers. | 0:22:13 | 0:22:17 | |
The new monarch was keen to show that under his rule, | 0:22:19 | 0:22:22 | |
newly independent Romania was a powerful, progressive | 0:22:22 | 0:22:26 | |
and modern kingdom. | 0:22:26 | 0:22:28 | |
Peles Castle was to be a showcase for the latest technology. | 0:22:29 | 0:22:34 | |
This castle was one of the first private residences in Europe | 0:22:35 | 0:22:41 | |
to have central heating. | 0:22:41 | 0:22:43 | |
This is the original boiler. | 0:22:43 | 0:22:46 | |
And then the central heating was by means of radiators, was it? | 0:22:46 | 0:22:50 | |
Yes, which are still working. | 0:22:50 | 0:22:52 | |
This is extraordinary. | 0:22:53 | 0:22:55 | |
I mean, clearly King Carol had very advanced ideas. | 0:22:55 | 0:22:58 | |
He was absolutely at the forefront of modern technology. | 0:22:58 | 0:23:01 | |
What else did he put into the palace? | 0:23:01 | 0:23:03 | |
Well, modern bathrooms. | 0:23:03 | 0:23:06 | |
I mean, running water, hot and cold. | 0:23:06 | 0:23:11 | |
An electric elevator and a central vacuum cleaner | 0:23:11 | 0:23:16 | |
which is still working. | 0:23:16 | 0:23:18 | |
That I have to see! | 0:23:18 | 0:23:19 | |
With 160 rooms, including 80 bedrooms, to service, | 0:23:23 | 0:23:26 | |
the housemaids could attach a new-fangled cleaning contraption | 0:23:26 | 0:23:31 | |
to a central suction system. | 0:23:31 | 0:23:33 | |
This 100-year-old vacuum cleaner is today used with modern fittings | 0:23:40 | 0:23:45 | |
and remains surprisingly effective. | 0:23:45 | 0:23:47 | |
Look at that! | 0:23:49 | 0:23:51 | |
'But I don't want to get sucked into housework. | 0:23:51 | 0:23:54 | |
'There's more to explore in this castle of surprises.' | 0:23:54 | 0:23:57 | |
Daniela, this is really a spectacular room. | 0:24:13 | 0:24:16 | |
Tell me about this. | 0:24:16 | 0:24:17 | |
This is the main hall of the castle. | 0:24:17 | 0:24:21 | |
The skylight was the King's idea, | 0:24:21 | 0:24:24 | |
which can be opened and it slides electrically. | 0:24:24 | 0:24:28 | |
And when it was inaugurated more than 100 years ago, | 0:24:28 | 0:24:32 | |
it was already an electric roof? | 0:24:32 | 0:24:34 | |
Yes. The castle had electricity since 1884. | 0:24:34 | 0:24:40 | |
He was very proud to gather with the guests here | 0:24:40 | 0:24:44 | |
to push the button himself. | 0:24:44 | 0:24:47 | |
-Does it still work? -Yes. | 0:24:47 | 0:24:49 | |
HE LAUGHS | 0:24:51 | 0:24:53 | |
Oh, that's beautiful. | 0:24:53 | 0:24:54 | |
That enormous roof just swishes aside. | 0:24:56 | 0:25:00 | |
And allows in the daylight. | 0:25:02 | 0:25:04 | |
It's wonderful. | 0:25:04 | 0:25:05 | |
I'm now swapping the unspoilt beauty of the Carpathians | 0:25:26 | 0:25:30 | |
for a taste of Romanian industry. | 0:25:30 | 0:25:32 | |
I'm bound for Ploiesti. | 0:25:40 | 0:25:42 | |
It's one of Romania's most important industrial cities. | 0:25:42 | 0:25:45 | |
And it doesn't take long to spot why. | 0:25:45 | 0:25:48 | |
Oil. | 0:25:50 | 0:25:51 | |
I'm surprised to discover that Romania | 0:25:53 | 0:25:55 | |
has been refining oil since 1857. | 0:25:55 | 0:25:58 | |
It was the first country in the world to have its crude oil output | 0:26:00 | 0:26:04 | |
officially recorded. | 0:26:04 | 0:26:06 | |
In that year, the world's first oil refinery | 0:26:06 | 0:26:10 | |
was built at Ploiesti and I'm visiting one of its successors, | 0:26:10 | 0:26:14 | |
the Vega plant, to meet the project manager. | 0:26:14 | 0:26:18 | |
So oil production goes back a long way in Romania. | 0:26:20 | 0:26:24 | |
How long has this refinery been here? | 0:26:24 | 0:26:26 | |
-This refinery was born in 1905. -That is amazing. | 0:26:26 | 0:26:31 | |
More than a century ago, and that is older than the guide book I'm using. | 0:26:31 | 0:26:34 | |
What is the main product from this refinery? | 0:26:34 | 0:26:37 | |
The main product from our refinery is bitumen. | 0:26:37 | 0:26:39 | |
Made from petroleum, bitumen is most commonly used for surfacing roads. | 0:26:41 | 0:26:46 | |
-I spend a lot of my life waiting for a train. -Yeah? | 0:26:49 | 0:26:51 | |
The raw material arrives by rail from Vega's sister refinery | 0:26:53 | 0:26:58 | |
and is unloaded here before being processed. | 0:26:58 | 0:27:00 | |
From here, we unload the raw material, we pump through the tanks. | 0:27:06 | 0:27:09 | |
-Put this nozzle on? -Yes, yes. Yes, please. -Match these up. | 0:27:11 | 0:27:15 | |
-And turn? -Yes. | 0:27:17 | 0:27:20 | |
-You must open the valve. -Open the valve. | 0:27:20 | 0:27:23 | |
MACHINE STARTS | 0:27:23 | 0:27:25 | |
OK, done. | 0:27:30 | 0:27:32 | |
The bitumen enters the plant to begin a process of oxidation, | 0:27:32 | 0:27:36 | |
which will make it rubbery and more durable. | 0:27:36 | 0:27:39 | |
The final product is loaded into road tankers. | 0:27:40 | 0:27:43 | |
-Is the loading arm in position? -'OK.' | 0:27:45 | 0:27:48 | |
We're going to start loading, thank you. | 0:27:49 | 0:27:52 | |
-Right, how do we start? -OK. OK. | 0:27:52 | 0:27:54 | |
Michael, to push here on the red button | 0:27:54 | 0:27:57 | |
to start the loading. | 0:27:57 | 0:27:59 | |
-OK, Michael. You can see also on the truck with that smoke. -A result! | 0:27:59 | 0:28:05 | |
The result of the loading, yes, exactly. | 0:28:05 | 0:28:08 | |
So, long before Bram Stoker wrote his medieval vampire yarn, | 0:28:11 | 0:28:16 | |
this surprisingly modern country had struck oil. | 0:28:16 | 0:28:19 | |
'Next time, a Romanian hero is brought to life, | 0:28:26 | 0:28:29 | |
'by a maestro.' | 0:28:29 | 0:28:31 | |
George Enescu, a Stradivarius, | 0:28:31 | 0:28:33 | |
it's overwhelming. | 0:28:33 | 0:28:35 | |
'I meet a defender of the nation's heritage...' | 0:28:35 | 0:28:38 | |
You are the man who saved this church and so many other buildings. | 0:28:38 | 0:28:41 | |
'..before testing my head for heights.' | 0:28:41 | 0:28:44 | |
Whoa, this is scary! | 0:28:44 | 0:28:46 | |
I've got the shakes. | 0:28:46 | 0:28:47 |