Transylvania to the Black Sea Part 1 Great Continental Railway Journeys


Transylvania to the Black Sea Part 1

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I'm embarking on a new railway adventure

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that will take me across the heart of Europe.

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

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dated 1913, which opened up an exotic world of foreign travel

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for the British tourist.

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It told travellers where to go,

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what to see and how to navigate

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the thousands of miles of tracks to cross the continent.

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Now, a century later, I'm using my copy

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to reveal an era of great optimism and energy,

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but also of high tension.

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I want to rediscover that lost Europe that in 1913

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couldn't have known that its way of life would shortly be swept aside

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by the advent of war.

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This journey takes me to the most eastern reaches of Europe.

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Although one of its youngest nations,

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recognised as a kingdom only in 1881,

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Romania's situation and natural resources

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attracted the attention of the great powers

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in the years before the First World War.

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"Romania is a modern kingdom,

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"formerly a Turkish principality," says my Bradshaw's Guide.

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That kingdom was only about 30 years old.

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1913 brought important territorial gains for Romania

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as the old Turkish Ottoman Empire crumbled.

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But Romania was still the slow train of Europe.

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It had a backward agricultural economy

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with some astonishing touches of modernity.

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Today, I feel as though I'm visiting a new country again

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because, less than 30 years ago, the old communist dictator Ceausescu

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was killed, setting Romania free.

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And, like my equivalent traveller of a century ago,

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I'm prepared for some surprises.

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My route will begin in the Transylvanian town of Brasov.

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I take in vampires and castles,

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before visiting a fairy-tale palace in Sinaia.

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I strike oil in Ploiseti

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and uncover a moving story in the capital, Bucharest,

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before ending my trip on the Black Sea in the port of Constanta.

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'Along the way, I experience a rare and beautiful wilderness...'

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Wake up. Did you sleep well?

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I feel really very privileged to see this magnificent animal in the wild.

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Thank you very much.

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'..marvel at some 100-year-old technology...

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That enormous roof just swishes aside. It's wonderful.

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'..and find a kindred spirit in...Dracula!'

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"I found the Count lying on the sofa

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"reading an English Bradshaw's Guide."

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Everybody needed a Bradshaw's Guide,

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even if you were a bloodsucking vampire.

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My first stop will be Brasov.

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Bradshaw's tells me, "It's a finely situated and important commercial town."

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It's in Transylvania

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which, a century ago, was still part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

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In the Middle Ages, a bold warrior battled against the Ottoman Turks.

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With a name like Vlad the Impaler,

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he might find a place in any heart.

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Brasov is the gateway to Transylvania.

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It's surrounded by the Carpathian Mountains

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at the meeting point of the three ancient principalities

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of Transylvania, Wallachia and Moldavia.

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Bradshaw's draws my attention to the enormous parish church

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of the 14th to 16th century

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and the town hall with its tower 190ft tall.

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I'm in eastern Europe and it doesn't feel like it.

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The town was colonised by Saxons, so the architecture is Germanic.

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It was protected against the Ottoman Turks by fortifications

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and Transylvania was never Islamic.

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In Christian Church terms, it was Western rather than Orthodox.

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Brasov is a sort of gateway

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between Occidental and Oriental Europe.

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The immaculately well-preserved old town

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has made Brasov one of the most visited places in Romania.

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Here's a tip. Bradshaw's says that "From the mountain,

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"which is now called the Timpa,

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"3,153ft high on the west side of the town,

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"is a very fine view."

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That's where I'm headed.

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I'm following my guidebook up to a point.

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In 1913, reaching the peak would have entailed

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a one-hour hike up the slope,

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but that's because this splendid cable car hadn't yet been built.

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What's so striking from up here is an immense contrast.

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In the old town, the beautiful tawny roofs.

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On the outskirts, the hideous white tower blocks of the communist era.

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It is a tale of two cities.

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I'm leaving Brasov and taking a regional train

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further into the Carpathians.

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HE SPEAKS ROMANIAN

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THEY CONVERSE

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There was a storm overnight and because of that, the mountains today

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are spectacularly clear and they just seem to come out of nowhere.

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Set in a natural amphitheatre on a dramatic hilltop,

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I find the magnificent Bran Castle.

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It was built in the 14th century to defend Transylvania

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from repeated Ottoman invasion.

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By the time of my guidebook, it had become the inspiration

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for one of the most popular of all Gothic novels,

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Bram Stoker's Dracula.

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THUNDERCLAP

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In the shadow of this menacing fortification,

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I'm meeting my guide, Mattei.

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-Hello, Mattei.

-Hello, Michael.

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Do you know, all my life I've wanted to see this castle

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and I am not disappointed. It is marvellous.

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Had Bram Stoker ever seen it?

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Well, Bram Stoker, as far as we know,

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he never visited Transylvania or Romania,

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but he had lots of information at the Royal Library in London

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and the British Museum.

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What were Stoker's sources for his book?

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Well, at the very beginning,

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he had an idea to publish a book about a monster.

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He used the name Count Wampyr at the beginning. It was a novel.

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He didn't have the huge success, though.

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Then he realised that the most important ingredient about the monster,

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it's obviously the name.

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And he discovered the legend of Vlad the Impaler,

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better known as Dracula.

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When he found out what Dracula means.

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In Romanian, it's "Dracul", the devil.

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"Dracula", the devil's son.

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With a name like Dracula, you don't have to be a good writer.

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First published in 1897, the book and subsequent films

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became hugely popular throughout the world,

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except in Romania.

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Under communism, the book was banned,

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as was any reference to the supernatural.

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Today, the fictional associations of Bran Castle

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are an important attraction to visitors like me.

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Well, here we are in Count Dracula's library.

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Yes, and I have a copy of Bram Stoker's Dracula

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and there is a line over here that I guess you will be interested in.

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"The lamps were also lit in the study or library

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"and I found the Count lying on the sofa reading,

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"of all things in the world,

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"an English Bradshaw's Guide."

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I knew about this passage,

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but do you know why he was consulting an English Bradshaw's Guide?

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He had a plan to send from Whitby to London King's Cross Station

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50 Transylvanian coffins with Transylvanian earth inside

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for him to be able to survive

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and he's looked inside the English Bradshaw's Guide

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to find a schedule of the trains.

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You see, in the 19th century, everybody needed a Bradshaw's,

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even if you were a bloodsucking vampire.

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Yes, I guess you are right.

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I've escaped unscathed and journey on

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on a form of transport which would have been familiar

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to the 1913 traveller.

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Still a common sight in Transylvania.

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My guidebook says of the Carpathian Mountains,

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"Snow-clad granite peaks,

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"mountain gorges,

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"ranges of forest,

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"delightful valleys with numerous beautiful small lakes

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"combine their charms in this romantic country."

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In all my travels, I never saw a place less changed

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from the Bradshaw description.

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It is so unspoiled and achingly beautiful.

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It's a land defined by tradition and regional customs.

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Shepherds' villages perch on remote slopes.

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I've come to Magura to meet wildlife guide Dan Marin,

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whose family has lived in these mountains for generations.

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These villages in the Carpathian Mountains,

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they seem to be sheltered from the passage of time.

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Yes, they are. They are quite isolated

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and the villagers have been somehow forced

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to stick to a certain way of life.

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And what do they live off here?

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Most of the families in the village own a small number of sheep,

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one or two cows.

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It's a sort of an annual cycle with this way of life.

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There's no artificial fertilisers that people use here.

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No pesticides.

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So it's really good quality.

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So you do have, really, a very natural environment?

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Romania has become one of the cleanest countries in the whole of Europe.

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One of the results of this traditional way of managing the land

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is a huge variety of wild flowers, especially orchids.

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We have 41 different species of orchids

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growing in hundreds or thousands on the meadows around here.

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Many wild flower species long since lost to the rest of Europe

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still flourish here, thanks to small-scale farming.

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Dan is taking me to meet a local shepherd, Ioan.

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At 70 years old, he continues to tend his flock of sheep.

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Ah, that's where he sleeps.

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That is one of the typical shepherds' huts.

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Oh, my goodness. That's tiny.

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Do you fit in there?

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He does fit in there. He does fit in there.

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'In summer, the shepherds wheel these portable huts

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'up to the high pasture and stay in them for up to five months.'

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Wake up! Morning!

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It's morning!

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Hello.

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Did you sleep well?

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The shepherd must stand ready to protect his precious flock

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of 20 sheep from wolves and bears.

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Aaah!

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Beautiful creature.

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And in the summer how high up will you go?

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1,300, 1,400 metres.

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Even up to the top, that's about 1,800 metres.

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When Ioan's not up in the high pasture,

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he must maintain his land and, of course,

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it is done in the traditional manner,

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by hand

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with a scythe.

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-No, no, no.

-Like that?

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Is that good?

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'I sense that Ioan's not impressed with my technique.'

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Ah, OK. Now, that is effective.

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OK, let me try that method.

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-Try to keep it to the...

-To the ground.

-..to the ground.

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Better?

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No?

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He just keeps shaking his head.

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No?

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I'm not sure that I'd last long out here. It's a hard life.

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But the lack of mechanisation

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results in a wonderfully unspoiled environment,

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one of this continent's last wildernesses.

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This, the most extensive tract of unbroken forest in Central Europe,

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is the habitat of one of the world's largest carnivores.

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Dan takes me to a forest hide, where, if I'm lucky,

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I may see a wild brown bear.

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In between the town that we have just left

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and this side of the Fagaras Mountains

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there are no human settlements.

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There is no tourists.

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It's a perfect place for different wild animals,

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especially wolves and bears.

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It's dusk,

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when both wolves and bears approach in search of food.

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Look.

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What luck.

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What a beautiful specimen.

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Romania has the largest number of bears and wolves

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in the whole of Europe.

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6,000 bears and about 3,000 wolves

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compared to, for instance, 20 bears in France.

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I feel really very privileged

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because, you know, at one time, Europe was covered in bears

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but now, really, you have to come to somewhere like Romania, that

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has maintained its wilderness,

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to see this magnificent animal in the wild.

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Thank you very much.

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This morning, I'm taking one of Romania's regional trains

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along a well-travelled route.

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My next stop will be Sinaia,

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which the guidebook tells me is "an attractive spot

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"in the Carpathians with villas and hotels

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"where the King has a palace."

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I believe the royal residence is about 3,000ft above sea level,

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so I'm going up in the world.

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Built in 1883, Sinaia Station was on the route of the Orient Express.

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Amongst the distinguished passengers who alighted here

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were guests of Romania's king.

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For it's here that he built a magnificent royal palace,

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Peles Castle.

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I'm meeting Daniela Voitescu, who will be my guide.

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Daniela, it is a fantastic castle.

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Who built it?

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Well, this fairy-tale castle was built by the first Romanian king,

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Carol I, a German one,

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who came to Romania in 1866.

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The Romanian people decided Romania needed a king

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and he was the only one who had accepted it

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and the country became a monarchy.

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Why did he build this fairy-tale castle?

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He has chosen this place because of the view through the mountains.

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The royal family used to live here only in summer time

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and it was built for many guests.

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And almost all the crowned heads from Europe at that time

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have been invited here on holiday.

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King Carol wanted a palace to impress his peers and courtiers.

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The new monarch was keen to show that under his rule,

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newly independent Romania was a powerful, progressive

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and modern kingdom.

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Peles Castle was to be a showcase for the latest technology.

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This castle was one of the first private residences in Europe

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to have central heating.

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This is the original boiler.

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And then the central heating was by means of radiators, was it?

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Yes, which are still working.

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This is extraordinary.

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I mean, clearly King Carol had very advanced ideas.

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He was absolutely at the forefront of modern technology.

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What else did he put into the palace?

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Well, modern bathrooms.

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I mean, running water, hot and cold.

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An electric elevator and a central vacuum cleaner

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which is still working.

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That I have to see!

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With 160 rooms, including 80 bedrooms, to service,

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the housemaids could attach a new-fangled cleaning contraption

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to a central suction system.

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This 100-year-old vacuum cleaner is today used with modern fittings

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and remains surprisingly effective.

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Look at that!

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'But I don't want to get sucked into housework.

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'There's more to explore in this castle of surprises.'

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Daniela, this is really a spectacular room.

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Tell me about this.

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This is the main hall of the castle.

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The skylight was the King's idea,

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which can be opened and it slides electrically.

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And when it was inaugurated more than 100 years ago,

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it was already an electric roof?

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Yes. The castle had electricity since 1884.

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He was very proud to gather with the guests here

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to push the button himself.

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-Does it still work?

-Yes.

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HE LAUGHS

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Oh, that's beautiful.

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That enormous roof just swishes aside.

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And allows in the daylight.

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It's wonderful.

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I'm now swapping the unspoilt beauty of the Carpathians

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for a taste of Romanian industry.

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I'm bound for Ploiesti.

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It's one of Romania's most important industrial cities.

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And it doesn't take long to spot why.

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Oil.

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I'm surprised to discover that Romania

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has been refining oil since 1857.

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It was the first country in the world to have its crude oil output

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officially recorded.

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In that year, the world's first oil refinery

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was built at Ploiesti and I'm visiting one of its successors,

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the Vega plant, to meet the project manager.

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So oil production goes back a long way in Romania.

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How long has this refinery been here?

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-This refinery was born in 1905.

-That is amazing.

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More than a century ago, and that is older than the guide book I'm using.

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What is the main product from this refinery?

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The main product from our refinery is bitumen.

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Made from petroleum, bitumen is most commonly used for surfacing roads.

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-I spend a lot of my life waiting for a train.

-Yeah?

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The raw material arrives by rail from Vega's sister refinery

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and is unloaded here before being processed.

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From here, we unload the raw material, we pump through the tanks.

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-Put this nozzle on?

-Yes, yes. Yes, please.

-Match these up.

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-And turn?

-Yes.

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-You must open the valve.

-Open the valve.

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MACHINE STARTS

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OK, done.

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The bitumen enters the plant to begin a process of oxidation,

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which will make it rubbery and more durable.

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The final product is loaded into road tankers.

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-Is the loading arm in position?

-'OK.'

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We're going to start loading, thank you.

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-Right, how do we start?

-OK. OK.

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Michael, to push here on the red button

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to start the loading.

0:27:570:27:59

-OK, Michael. You can see also on the truck with that smoke.

-A result!

0:27:590:28:05

The result of the loading, yes, exactly.

0:28:050:28:08

So, long before Bram Stoker wrote his medieval vampire yarn,

0:28:110:28:16

this surprisingly modern country had struck oil.

0:28:160:28:19

'Next time, a Romanian hero is brought to life,

0:28:260:28:29

'by a maestro.'

0:28:290:28:31

George Enescu, a Stradivarius,

0:28:310:28:33

it's overwhelming.

0:28:330:28:35

'I meet a defender of the nation's heritage...'

0:28:350:28:38

You are the man who saved this church and so many other buildings.

0:28:380:28:41

'..before testing my head for heights.'

0:28:410:28:44

Whoa, this is scary!

0:28:440:28:46

I've got the shakes.

0:28:460:28:47

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