Pennod 3 Ar y Lein

-Hello! Ich bin jetzt in Deutschland

-- I'm now in Germany.

-888

-888

-888

-I'm travelling around the world

-along the 52-degree latitude line.

-I've crossed from the Netherlands

-to Germany.

-My journey has taken me

-from Llandovery...

-..through England

-and the Netherlands...

-..and I'm now in one of Europe's

-largest countries.

-Munster is the first town you

-come to after crossing the border.

-It's full of magnificent

-old buildings.

-It's busy, the shops are great.

-There are 55,000 students here,

-100,000 bikes...

-..and they come at you

-from all directions!

-You need eyes

-in the back of your head!

-Other than that, it's nice!

-Munster is a lively academic town

-similar to Oxford or Cambridge.

-All those students and bikes

-may account for that.

-The standard of living

-is quite high here.

-Even designer "hunde"

-have to spend a penny!

-But you need more than pennies

-to live here.

-Buildings damaged during the War

-have been skilfully restored.

-The shops are posh and expensive.

-Yes, another cathedral!

-Munster may be a good introduction

-to Germany.

-But I headed east to a town I'd

-never heard of before - Bad Pyrmont.

-"Bad" means "spa".

-There are indeed

-some special springs here.

-The water cures

-all kinds of ailments.

-This has been a popular destination

-for centuries.

-Especially if you're old and feeble.

-You approach the bar

-and decide which water you want.

-Everyone has their own mug!

-THEY SPEAK GERMAN

-It's good for my eyes,

-heart and joints.

-THEY SPEAK GERMAN

-My German O-level came in handy!

-Looking good for 70, isn't she?

-Good stuff, this water!

-THEY SPEAK GERMAN

-Mind you, some of the waters

-tasted awful!

-Bars are great places

-for making new friends.

-Bethan - yes, Bethan!

-Beth-an! Bethan!

-HE SPEAKS GERMAN

-It's Welsh!

-Why did he look at me like that

-when I said I was Welsh?!

-There are lovely gardens here.

-This sculpture illustrates life

-from beginning to end.

-The focus is on pampering

-the body, within and without.

-This leisure centre is wonderful.

-But be warned - if you have

-a sensitive nature, look away now!

-This is not nice!

-Travelling around the world

-is hard work.

-But being kneaded like this

-by a man lessens the pain!

-Oh, nice!

-Danke!

-I'm not saying anything!

-A Welshman, almost

-as clean and fresh as me...

-..had invited me to his home.

-Alan Williams came here

-with the Army in '64.

-He met and married a local girl.

-Finding his house was easy.

-Life is good here, isn't it?

-Oh yes. It's nice and peaceful.

-How does it compare with Anglesey?

-How does it compare with Anglesey?

-

-Well, Anglesey is peaceful, too.

-Depends where you are!

-Anglesey's a nice place, too.

-I got the feeling that Bad Pyrmont

-is full of old people.

-I saw lots of people

-with walking frames.

-There are young people here.

-They may have bad backs.

-Have house prices gone up?

-No, not here.

-Not much.

-Not like at home.

-Well, I may come and live here.

-We're sitting here enjoying a cuppa

-and marzipan biscuits.

-I won't move back to Anglesey.

-No?

-THEY SPEAK GERMAN

-Welsh for ever!

-You're a Welshman who lives here.

-I don't blame him -

-it's a lovely area.

-With that water to keep you

-young and healthy...

-..who'd want to retire to Anglesey?

-Off I went again, through

-truly beautiful countryside...

-..that inspired the Brothers Grimm

-many centuries ago.

-A rat run.

-Where will it take me?

-This area abounds with fairy tales

-and magical legends.

-You all know the story

-of the Pied Piper.

-Yes, I'm in Hameln.

-The Piper is seen everywhere.

-The buildings are pretty,

-but the Piper's story is milked...

-..to make sure we tourists

-get our money's worth.

-Here at the Hochzeithaus...

-..the Rattenfanger-Glockenspiel

-plays three times a day.

-Gosh, look who it is!

-This is what happens

-if you don't pay your bills!

-They even have a real

-full-time Pied Piper in tights!

-This is Michael Boyer.

-You wouldn't think he was American!

-HE SPEAKS GERMAN

-He came here with the Army, too.

-He fell in love, learned

-the clarinet and became a celeb.

-He can't even go for a pint

-without making the local paper!

-A song to send you on your way.

-# CLARINET #

-I'm sure he'll carry on

-enchanting children for years.

-But he didn't get rid

-of all the rats.

-They turn up everywhere.

-These are made from bread.

-On we go, across the border that no

-longer exists, to eastern Germany.

-This is Magdeburg.

-The influence of Communism can still

-be seen in its architecture.

-Things have changed for the better

-but there aren't enough jobs.

-Young people tend to move away.

-Residents of the former East Germany

-pay an extra 5% tax...

-..to help regenerate the region,

-but this takes time.

-Many of us associate Magdeburg

-with Hitler.

-This is one of the places

-where he was buried.

-Not that people here

-were aware of it.

-But there's more to this town.

-After German reunification...

-..efforts have been made to create

-a lively, thriving city...

-..where you can buy anything.

-This square has always been called

-Old Market Square...

-..though there was no market here

-during the Communist era.

-SHE SPEAKS GERMAN

-Irmgard Urbahn

-remembers the period well.

-They only received exotic items

-like bananas at Christmas...

-..and they had to queue for hours,

-she says.

-It's so different

-after the fall of the Berlin Wall.

-At first, they had trouble coming

-to terms with extended choice.

-They'd never had to choose before.

-It affected every aspect

-of their lives.

-This frau with her shovel

-commemorates the rubble women...

-..who cleared up after Magdeburg was

-bombed to smithereens in the War.

-And this is a famous son

-of Magdeburg, Otto von Guericke...

-..the man who discovered vacuum.

-He was the first to demonstrate...

-..that it was possible to remove air

-from a space.

-Philosophers had argued

-that it was impossible.

-He used eight horses

-to try to pull a huge sphere apart.

-They failed, proving how strong

-a vacuum can be.

-HE SPEAKS GERMAN

-They re-create the experiment

-at the museum.

-Air is pumped out of this sphere...

-..then weights are used

-to test the vacuum's strength.

-No horses, but the point is proved.

-HE SPEAKS GERMAN

-Imagine the shock it must have

-caused in Otto von Guericke's day.

-THEY SPEAK GERMAN

-Since the reunification of West

-and East Germany in the late '80s...

-..money has flowed

-into places like Magdeburg.

-The Jahrtausendturm -

-Millennium Tower...

-..is the world's

-biggest wooden tower.

-An exhibition records mankind's

-history and development...

-..over the past 6,000 years.

-Each of the tower's six floors

-represents 1,000 years.

-To get this pendulum

-to work properly...

-..the 52 degree latitude

-had to be factored into the sums.

-It will take time for the

-former East Germany to catch up.

-It will also take time...

-..for the West to accept that the

-two countries are now united.

-888

-888

-I travel on and arrive in Guben...

-..the last town

-before crossing into Poland.

-It's a small, rather poor town

-but we had our warmest welcome yet.

-The people of eastern Germany

-are always ready to help...

-..and they're so grateful

-for what they have.

-It seems that those who have the

-least are the most willing to share.

-Guben was a German town but,

-overnight, after World War II...

-..everyone who lived

-that side of the river...

-..were ordered to leave their homes

-because it was now part of Poland.

-The River Neisse now splits

-the town between two countries...

-..with two languages.

-This is Guben, that's Gubin.

-Until 1972, there was no contact

-at all between Guben and Gubin.

-Things have changed.

-Now, everyone can go back and forth

-as they wish.

-"Trennen und verbinden,"

-as they say...

-.."the river separates

-and also connects us."

-I must now cross the river

-into Poland as I follow the line.

-I have to show my passport this time

-- the European Community ends here.

-For now, anyway.

-I head for Zielona Gora.

-I change my Euros for zlotys and

-take in the town, which is pretty.

-It's one of the few towns on the

-line not scarred by World War II.

-These buildings are old

-but the paint is new.

-It's a busy industrial city...

-..producing the best wine

-and vodka in Poland...

-..and wool, carpets,

-furniture and train wagons.

-There was a lot of kissing going on!

-There's an exhibition...

-..of the work of one of Poland's

-most famous painters...

-..Marian Kruczek.

-Kruczek became prominent

-during the '60s and '70s.

-He was quite a character,

-very fond of drink and women...

-..and died young,

-apparently as a consequence.

-But he did a lot of very interesting

-and unusual work before he died.

-Most of his works are extremely

-detailed, and some are way out.

-He liked using everyday objects

-and he was keen on sexual symbolism.

-I couldn't always see it, myself!

-After centuries of oppression by

-Germany and Russia on either side...

-..Poland is a poor country that

-is quickly becoming regenerated.

-People don't have much money but

-they're always impeccably dressed.

-The girls, anyway!

-In Poland, there's a big difference

-between a circle and a triangle!

-For your information,

-a circle means "Ladies"!

-So what are those circles?

-You can't do that in Snowdonia!

-Beyond the town,

-it was like going back in time.

-The old Polish way of life.

-They have tractors,

-but horses are still important.

-Small, winding roads were a nice

-change after the German autobahns.

-I'd been warned about the roads,

-but they weren't that bad.

-And I wasn't in any hurry.

-This ferry is powered

-solely by the current.

-Very clever!

-Though I hadn't expected it

-to take a week!

-Back on dry land at last, I headed

-for one of Poland's major towns...

-..Lodz.

-I arrived at Lodz in no time.

-Though it starts with an L,

-it's pronounced "Ooj", not "Lodz"!

-Because of their history,

-the Poles are very proud people.

-The national flag

-is displayed everywhere.

-I never saw anything like it

-in Germany or the Netherlands.

-The atmosphere is that of a small

-town - people are very sociable.

-It's nice to see a country

-honouring its talented sons.

-Artur Rubenstein was one of them.

-Look what big hands he's got!

-This is Piotrkovska Street,

-almost four kilometres long.

-A rickshaw provides the ideal way

-of travelling along it.

-Apparently there are 105 pubs

-hiding behind these buildings.

-I bet the rickshaws come in handy

-at closing time!

-There's a very successful

-film school here...

-..so the town is also known

-as "Holly-Lodz"!

-They even have a gallery of stars

-on the pavement.

-Mr Bednarek from the film school

-showed them to me.

-Yes, Roman Polanski

-is a former student.

-HE SPEAKS POLISH

-Part of Lodz's history is involved

-with a very different star.

-Jews played a very prominent role

-in the town's economic growth.

-This is the biggest Jewish cemetery

-in Europe - over 40 hectares.

-Some of the tombs indicate how much

-wealth there was here years ago.

-The Poznanski family tomb.

-They were business people...

-..who built some of Lodz's

-most striking buildings.

-They lived a grand life...

-..and built an equally grand tomb

-for the afterlife.

-There's gold mosaic on the ceiling

-and marble everywhere.

-World War II changed everything.

-In the old Jewish Quarter,

-there was a ghetto...

-..where 230,000 of Lodz's Jews

-were confined during World War II.

-This is the old police station,

-where they were tortured...

-..and forced to leave their

-possessions and family assets.

-These possessions were stored across

-the road in the Catholic church.

-From this old railway station...

-..the Jews of Lodz were transported

-to Hitler's gas chambers.

-They had to strip

-before boarding the train.

-Their clothes

-were taken back to Lodz.

-The remaining Jews mended them...

-..and they were given

-to poor German families.

-Some mothers recognised the clothes

-of family members.

-Standing here

-is a very unpleasant experience.

-77,000 of Lodz's Jews,

-including children and old people...

-..were taken along these very tracks

-to the Chelmno concentration camp.

-Of that 77,000,

-only five managed to escape.

-Two managed to survive the War.

-Just one is alive today.

-He lives in Israel.

-Two years after the first train...

-..73,000 of Lodz's Jews were taken

-on another train, in that direction.

-No-one knows what happened to them.

-They were taken

-to Auschwitz-Birkenau.

-Of the 230,000 Jews

-who used to live in Lodz...

-..only 877 remained alive

-at the end of the War.

-Here's one line I'd rather forget.

-The line now takes me

-to Biala Podlaska...

-..on Poland's eastern border.

-This lovely, old-fashioned town

-is famous in the equestrian world.

-If you want an Arab horse,

-head for the Stadnina Koni stud.

-People flock here from afar to buy

-the world's best Arab horses.

-There's something more interesting

-than a horse in a field beyond.

-Another border -

-this is where Poland ends...

-..so this is the last Pole!

-Belarus is over there, and the

-Ukraine is in that direction.

-This marks the border with the West.

-Soon, this will also mark

-the boundary of the European Union.

-I feel privileged

-to have come this far...

-..and seen what I've seen.

-In a few years,

-what I've seen may be gone.

-I selfishly want these places

-to stay as they are.

-But Poland is catching up

-with the rest of Europe.

-After centuries of suffering,

-they deserve it.

-Next week I'll be in Kiev

-in the Ukraine.

-And I'll have my first taste

-of Russia.

-S4C subtitles by

-TROSOL Cyf.