0:00:38 > 0:00:41I'm approaching the city of Gdansk from the Baltic Sea.
0:00:41 > 0:00:48This unremarkable stretch of waterway has seen two seismic events in recent history.
0:00:48 > 0:00:54On September 1st 1939, World War II began over there on Westerplatte,
0:00:54 > 0:00:59when the German warship Schleswig-Holstein opened fire on the Polish garrison.
0:00:59 > 0:01:05They held out very gamely, but within a matter of weeks, all of Poland was overrun.
0:01:08 > 0:01:12By the end of the war, the Poles had lost 20% of their population,
0:01:12 > 0:01:16a higher proportion than any other European country.
0:01:16 > 0:01:20Even when the Nazis were finally driven out of Poland by Stalin's Red Army,
0:01:20 > 0:01:22things didn't really get much better.
0:01:22 > 0:01:26The Poles merely exchanged one tyranny for another.
0:01:26 > 0:01:32So it went on through the '40s, '50s, '60s and '70s, until something quite remarkable happened
0:01:32 > 0:01:38here at the Gdansk shipyards, not 10 minutes by small boat from where World War II began.
0:01:38 > 0:01:42CHANTING
0:01:44 > 0:01:48An electrician called Lech Walesa led a series of strikes
0:01:48 > 0:01:51that were the beginning of the end of Communism in Europe.
0:01:56 > 0:01:58Under the agreement that followed,
0:01:58 > 0:02:03free trade unions became legal for the first time in any of the Soviet bloc countries.
0:02:04 > 0:02:07The famous gates of what was then the Lenin Shipyard
0:02:07 > 0:02:11are still decorated as they were in the days of defiance,
0:02:11 > 0:02:19with the name of Walesa's union, Solidarity, and his inspiration, the Polish Pope John Paul II.
0:02:20 > 0:02:25Lech Walesa helped maintain a fleet of electronic buggies like this one,
0:02:25 > 0:02:28a job which kept him in contact with workers all over the yard.
0:02:30 > 0:02:36The shipyards themselves, shorn of their socialist subsidies, later went bust.
0:02:36 > 0:02:41They were bailed out, but the workforce today is a shadow of what it once was.
0:02:45 > 0:02:50'I ask the manager if there's still a sense of pride about what happened here.'
0:02:52 > 0:02:56What do the workforce here today think about Lech Walesa?
0:02:56 > 0:02:58Well, they are very proud,
0:02:58 > 0:03:01knowing that Mr Walesa was for a long time
0:03:01 > 0:03:05employed here in Gdansk shipyard
0:03:05 > 0:03:11and he was trying to help afterwards while being a president of Poland, for example.
0:03:11 > 0:03:18And they still have good links, knowing some friendships were still maintained.
0:03:18 > 0:03:21Do they regard him as a good president?
0:03:21 > 0:03:23- Definitely, yes.- Yeah, yeah.
0:03:23 > 0:03:29Gdansk, reduced to rubble in the war, has been restored to its former glories,
0:03:29 > 0:03:33and ex-President Walesa has been granted a grace and favour office
0:03:33 > 0:03:36in this imposing former royal residence.
0:03:38 > 0:03:41It's here that he's agreed to see me.
0:03:43 > 0:03:47Few living Europeans are as illustrious as Lech Walesa.
0:03:47 > 0:03:53Married to Danuta, eight children, loves computers, has a Nobel Prize, an airport named after him,
0:03:53 > 0:04:00a daughter doing well in Poland's Celebrity Come Dancing, is serious and hates small talk.
0:04:00 > 0:04:04Mr President, what is the best thing about your life now?
0:04:07 > 0:04:14TRANSLATION: The best things are good food, good wine and women.
0:04:14 > 0:04:17But I must remember that I am 63.
0:04:17 > 0:04:19So I have to watch myself.
0:04:21 > 0:04:26Well, I'd like to say I'm 63 and much inspired!
0:04:30 > 0:04:38Remember what Churchill said, "The things we like are either immoral or bad for us."
0:04:38 > 0:04:45Comparing Poland then and now, what has improved?
0:04:51 > 0:04:56It depends how you look at it, how you look at the benefits.
0:04:56 > 0:05:01For me, the main benefits are freedom and democracy,
0:05:01 > 0:05:06that people can travel freely,
0:05:06 > 0:05:08that you can go to church.
0:05:08 > 0:05:09That I can be president.
0:05:09 > 0:05:11Anyone can become president.
0:05:16 > 0:05:22I think that these things are worth dying for, but there are other people.
0:05:22 > 0:05:25For them, the important thing is jobs...
0:05:28 > 0:05:31..how much money they have.
0:05:31 > 0:05:33They see the benefit in a different light from me.
0:05:43 > 0:05:46Trade made Gdansk rich.
0:05:46 > 0:05:50It shows in the harmonious grace of its Dutch-influenced squares.
0:05:50 > 0:05:57Down by the canal, the largest medieval crane in Europe still stands, but no longer lifts.
0:06:00 > 0:06:03An hour's drive away and I'm at another waterfront.
0:06:08 > 0:06:14This is Elblag, equally war-battered but less well restored than Gdansk.
0:06:14 > 0:06:20It's the starting point for what is to be a most remarkable journey on the Elblag-Ostroda Canal.
0:06:33 > 0:06:36Our boat is called Labedz, the Swan.
0:06:36 > 0:06:40It's functional rather than elegant and Ugly Duckling might have been better.
0:06:44 > 0:06:50Either would be quite suitable as we make our way through a nature reserve of marsh and woodland
0:06:50 > 0:06:51that's a haven for birdwatchers.
0:06:53 > 0:06:55Oh. He's found one.
0:07:10 > 0:07:16The canal opened in 1872, just before the railway that took away most of its trade.
0:07:17 > 0:07:22It has to cope with a rise of 360 feet from one end to the other.
0:07:24 > 0:07:27The engineers solved the problem in a most spectacular way.
0:07:35 > 0:07:39As we enter the lock, the Swan slides into an underwater cradle.
0:07:45 > 0:07:48In an engine-room built beside the canal,
0:07:48 > 0:07:52mighty wheels are slowly powered into action which turn a drive wheel,
0:07:52 > 0:07:56which turns a cable, which will slowly draw the boat,
0:07:56 > 0:08:01secure in its watery hammock, out of the water and up the hill.
0:08:13 > 0:08:15This is pretty remarkable
0:08:15 > 0:08:19because we've been dragged out of the canal onto dry land.
0:08:19 > 0:08:23It's not a lock system, it's a slipway system.
0:08:23 > 0:08:27Basically, the boat has to be raised 100 metres in the course of the canal
0:08:27 > 0:08:31and this is one of these locks and I've never seen anything quite like this,
0:08:31 > 0:08:36so instead of just being in a water lock, you are actually taken out of the water and up the hill.
0:09:19 > 0:09:25What amazes me is that no one bats an eyelid at the sight of a boat going up a hill.
0:09:25 > 0:09:28Well, it has been doing this for a 140 years, I suppose.
0:09:54 > 0:09:57Once over the hill, we're eased gently back into the water.
0:10:04 > 0:10:09This whole wonderful Heath Robinson process will happen four more times before they reach Ostroda.
0:10:11 > 0:10:16Amazing. We've come over the hill, the rails have led us up and we're now back in the water again.
0:10:16 > 0:10:18We have ceased to be a railway.
0:10:18 > 0:10:21We're now a boat again.
0:10:21 > 0:10:22Extraordinary!
0:10:25 > 0:10:29Really delightful, if cumbersome machinery.
0:10:29 > 0:10:31Raised above the countryside.
0:10:36 > 0:10:40I'm not going all the way to the end as I have to be back in Elblag
0:10:40 > 0:10:42for a professional engagement.
0:10:42 > 0:10:45With a top cabaret!
0:10:45 > 0:10:50Well, this could be another career break. I've been asked by a group called Ani Mru Mru.
0:10:50 > 0:10:55They are a Polish group. They're very popular, very successful. Ani Mru Mru means, "Shh!"
0:10:55 > 0:10:58Don't worry, or something like that, which I quite like.
0:10:58 > 0:11:03Anyway, they know of Python. They know I'm in town and asked me to come and do a small part.
0:11:03 > 0:11:04I'll do my best.
0:11:10 > 0:11:14I'm rushed to wardrobe to discuss my costume with one of the stars.
0:11:14 > 0:11:17What do you think? Shorts?
0:11:17 > 0:11:22- Yes, it's very nice.- Yeah, I knew they would come in useful somewhere on my trip to Poland.
0:11:22 > 0:11:25- Yeah, they're very nice, those. - OK. And what with the...
0:11:25 > 0:11:29- From Milan or...- From Milan, yes, especially with that...
0:11:29 > 0:11:32- Jean-Paul Gaultier. - Jean-Paul Gaultier.
0:11:32 > 0:11:34It's like a codpiece coming out of your hip.
0:11:34 > 0:11:39- Yeah, it looks like it. - Kooky? Yeah, kind of weird, anyway.
0:11:39 > 0:11:46When you do these shows, is the humour satirical? I mean, what makes the audience laugh?
0:11:46 > 0:11:48You never know. It's like...
0:11:48 > 0:11:52- Well, you know Monty Python, you must have seen it.- Yeah, I know it.
0:11:52 > 0:11:56Lots of people in Poland know you cos of Monty Python.
0:11:57 > 0:11:59I'm now joining a Polish group.
0:11:59 > 0:12:04So there, Cleese, Idle, Jones and the other one!
0:12:06 > 0:12:09I've been given the role of a five-year-old boy,
0:12:09 > 0:12:12a big test for any method actor.
0:12:12 > 0:12:14Oh dear!
0:12:15 > 0:12:18I still can't decide.
0:12:18 > 0:12:20That's too grown up, that's too silly.
0:12:22 > 0:12:25I suppose silly's what it's all about.
0:12:28 > 0:12:29Oh dear!
0:12:29 > 0:12:31Maybe... I don't know.
0:12:31 > 0:12:34HE SPEAKS IN POLISH
0:12:47 > 0:12:53Anyway, darlings, if you'd just give me a moment. Give me a moment.
0:12:53 > 0:12:58Just give me a moment. Yes.
0:12:58 > 0:12:59I'm ready.
0:13:03 > 0:13:08The sketch is a satire on pop stars who use sweet little children in their act.
0:13:08 > 0:13:12HE SINGS IN POLISH
0:13:20 > 0:13:24I've modelled my performance on the theme of over-excitement...
0:13:27 > 0:13:30..and incontinence.
0:13:35 > 0:13:37Fortunately, I don't know the Polish for "get off!"
0:13:56 > 0:13:57Michael Palin!
0:13:57 > 0:14:02CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:14:17 > 0:14:20I hung around in Elblag for a while, but the phone didn't ring.
0:14:20 > 0:14:22So I'm off to Warsaw.
0:14:25 > 0:14:29Warsaw, the Polish capital, will be the mid-point of my journey,
0:14:29 > 0:14:34before carrying on to Poznan, then south to Krakow and the Slovakian border.
0:14:44 > 0:14:47Warsaw suffered dreadfully in World War II.
0:14:47 > 0:14:54In his fury at the uprising of 1944, Hitler ordered the city removed from the map.
0:14:54 > 0:14:58Over 800,000 citizens died or disappeared.
0:14:58 > 0:15:02After the war, Poland's capital was rebuilt by the Communists.
0:15:17 > 0:15:22'Stalin gave this Palace of Culture to the Poles to show how much they meant to the USSR.'
0:15:22 > 0:15:24Did you want it?
0:15:24 > 0:15:28Apparently, he gave us a choice - "You either get a Metro system or a palace of culture."
0:15:28 > 0:15:33We said, "Oh, can we have the Metro, please"? He said, "OK, I'll give you the palace."
0:15:33 > 0:15:34That's how it started.
0:15:34 > 0:15:37'Perverse. My guide is Polish journalist, Monica Richardson.'
0:15:37 > 0:15:43It sort of plonks itself down right in the middle of the city like some alien creature.
0:15:43 > 0:15:45Like a scar. Absolutely.
0:15:45 > 0:15:49It does cut the city right in half.
0:15:49 > 0:15:56When you look out at your city from here, do you find it a little grey?
0:15:56 > 0:15:58Do you think it's a beautiful city?
0:15:58 > 0:16:03No, it's not a beautiful city. But it's a working city. I have a lot of respect for it.
0:16:03 > 0:16:07It's a good, down to earth city of people who have busy lives.
0:16:07 > 0:16:11Yes. You get a great view of the city without having to see the Palace of Culture.
0:16:11 > 0:16:15- I suppose in that way, it's kind of...- It's a blessing in disguise.
0:16:15 > 0:16:19- It's better being in it than being out there looking at it. - Absolutely. It's an awful place.
0:16:19 > 0:16:23Well, it's got a certain grandeur.
0:16:23 > 0:16:28An edifice like this brings to mind some form of architectural imperialism,
0:16:28 > 0:16:32plonked down to dominate the subjugated people.
0:16:32 > 0:16:37Very true, but it's become a symbol of Warsaw, whether we're happy about this or not,
0:16:37 > 0:16:40just like the fact that Warsaw is such an old new city.
0:16:40 > 0:16:43An old new city? Yes, that's a good way of seeing it.
0:16:43 > 0:16:47Kind of like an Eiffel Tower in a sense, it's on all the postcards.
0:16:47 > 0:16:49Love it or loathe it.
0:16:50 > 0:16:52This is the Congress Hall.
0:16:52 > 0:16:57This is where the Communist Party would have its congresses every so many years,
0:16:57 > 0:17:02just to explain to people why things hadn't turned out quite as beautifully as they were going to.
0:17:02 > 0:17:05All of the delegates would be sitting here from all over Poland
0:17:05 > 0:17:10and the leaders would be up the top there, talking for hours on end,
0:17:10 > 0:17:15with people sort of dozing away as it's all televised live for days and days.
0:17:15 > 0:17:19The irony is that people like Bob Dylan have come and performed here now.
0:17:19 > 0:17:22I'm sure they knew nothing about the history of this place.
0:17:22 > 0:17:25It reflects the history. Of course, a few days ago,
0:17:25 > 0:17:32Miss World took place on the same stage that the fiery communist leaders were giving their rhetoric.
0:17:32 > 0:17:34- How bizarre! - What would Stalin make of that?
0:17:34 > 0:17:38- I'm sure he's turning in his grave. - Oh, that would make a sound.
0:17:38 > 0:17:43That would be a sort of 10.6 on the Richter scale - Stalin turning in his grave.
0:17:43 > 0:17:47- NEWSREEL: - Left in the wake of the onrushing Reds is the ruined city of Warsaw,
0:17:47 > 0:17:51scene of an indescribable five-year reign of terror.
0:17:51 > 0:17:55But at last, the exiled population, those still alive,
0:17:55 > 0:17:58are able to return to the shells of their former homes.
0:17:58 > 0:18:01For once more, the Polish flag flies over Warsaw.
0:18:05 > 0:18:09It's remarkable that this was rebuilt after the war.
0:18:09 > 0:18:14- It was complete rubble. - This has been built in my lifetime, rather than 300 years ago.
0:18:14 > 0:18:20Yes, it was rebuilt to the exact specifications of the way it had been in the 18th century,
0:18:20 > 0:18:22rather than directly after the war.
0:18:22 > 0:18:26For some reason, the architects decided that the 18th century
0:18:26 > 0:18:30was when the old town in Warsaw was at its biggest glory, the highest glory.
0:18:30 > 0:18:34That's how they did it. But in a sense, it's completely artificial.
0:18:34 > 0:18:38But it was supposed to be very beautiful, wasn't it? People compared it with Paris.
0:18:38 > 0:18:40- Yes.- Around here is really lovely.
0:18:40 > 0:18:44Actually, it's a testimony to the amazing efforts of those people
0:18:44 > 0:18:50who, in 1945-46, decided to actually keep this the capital of Poland.
0:18:50 > 0:18:54It wasn't, if you think about it, all that obvious at all.
0:18:54 > 0:18:5685% of it was in rubble.
0:18:56 > 0:18:59Do you think that places like this, these squares,
0:18:59 > 0:19:02that have been beautifully restored,
0:19:02 > 0:19:08is that sort of helping to remind Poland of a past, a golden past?
0:19:08 > 0:19:13After all, there was a time when Poland was a big player in Europe,
0:19:13 > 0:19:15much bigger than Russia or Germany.
0:19:15 > 0:19:17Do people hark back to that?
0:19:17 > 0:19:22No. I think I can see where you're coming from asking that question,
0:19:22 > 0:19:28but no, I don't think we've got any illusions of grandeur past or present or future dreams of it.
0:19:28 > 0:19:32I think we just want to be taken seriously,
0:19:32 > 0:19:35as a nation that's a force in Europe,
0:19:35 > 0:19:38as a nation that's got a fantastic history to it,
0:19:38 > 0:19:42as a brave nation that however has something to offer here and now,
0:19:42 > 0:19:46rather than being a martyr for generations and generations.
0:19:49 > 0:19:52Plenty of Poles have come to work in the UK.
0:19:52 > 0:19:56But I'm off to meet an Englishman who's happier working in Poland.
0:19:56 > 0:19:58He's a cockney called Kevin Aiston.
0:19:58 > 0:20:03He came here 15 years ago, without a visa, doing whatever jobs he could find
0:20:03 > 0:20:05and picking up the language along the way.
0:20:05 > 0:20:09He's ended up in the Polish fire brigade.
0:20:09 > 0:20:14When I got the hang of the Polish language and I felt confident enough,
0:20:14 > 0:20:19I knocked on the doors of the Polish fire brigade and said, "Hi, I want to be a fireman, can I?"
0:20:19 > 0:20:22I passed all the tests and everything and they said, "Come on in."
0:20:22 > 0:20:24I'm a section leader in the Polish fire brigade.
0:20:24 > 0:20:30You're saying lightly that, "Oh, I learned the language," but it must have been very, very difficult.
0:20:30 > 0:20:32I find it a very difficult language indeed.
0:20:32 > 0:20:38Polish actually is amongst five of the most difficult languages in the world.
0:20:38 > 0:20:39I don't know how I've done it.
0:20:39 > 0:20:42- How do you do it? Did you do it from books?- No books.
0:20:42 > 0:20:47At one point, Michael, I wouldn't even like to think about it,
0:20:47 > 0:20:50cos I'm sure I've drunk a car learning this Polish language,
0:20:50 > 0:20:54but the best way to learn Polish really is buy a beer, buy a Polish guy a beer,
0:20:54 > 0:20:56sit down and chat with him.
0:20:56 > 0:21:00How similar are the Poles to the English? Or how different?
0:21:00 > 0:21:03They're very different. I wouldn't say similar.
0:21:03 > 0:21:06They're not similar at all. They're very, very opposite, I'd say.
0:21:06 > 0:21:11But they're opposites which attract. The Poles like the English, the English like the Poles.
0:21:11 > 0:21:16The Poles, for example, they're very gallant, if you're talking about women.
0:21:16 > 0:21:19They kiss women on the hand for hello and goodbye.
0:21:19 > 0:21:23English guy does this, "Hi, how are you?" It's a little bit cold.
0:21:23 > 0:21:27The Poles are very hospitable - if you go to their house, they will empty out the fridge
0:21:27 > 0:21:31and knock on the neighbour's door to get their fridge emptied to entertain you.
0:21:31 > 0:21:36What about your love life here, if it's not a rude question? Are the girls easy to meet?
0:21:36 > 0:21:40Yes. Yes, I did. When I came out here, I was 21.
0:21:40 > 0:21:4321, 22.
0:21:43 > 0:21:44Not married.
0:21:44 > 0:21:47The Polish women are really beautiful.
0:21:47 > 0:21:49They really are.
0:21:49 > 0:21:51Also, very hospitable.
0:21:51 > 0:21:52They love English.
0:21:52 > 0:21:56They love the Englishman as well, not only their language.
0:21:56 > 0:22:00But I'm married so I can't say too much now.
0:22:00 > 0:22:03I'm sure my wife is going to watch this.
0:22:03 > 0:22:04I'm married to a Polish woman.
0:22:04 > 0:22:08We're building a house now in the forest, which is coming on very nicely.
0:22:08 > 0:22:11I would not be able to do that in Great Britain, I'm sure of it.
0:22:11 > 0:22:15And we have a lovely daughter whose name actually by the way is Chelsea.
0:22:15 > 0:22:20So there's a nice piece of English heritage still being implanted in Poland
0:22:20 > 0:22:23and it's being raised in Poland so...
0:22:23 > 0:22:28I've still got Great Britain close to my heart and everything, even though I'm a long way away.
0:22:28 > 0:22:32But I would say this one thing for the Poles that are in my country
0:22:32 > 0:22:36is that I hope that Great Britain treats them as well as Poland has treated me here.
0:22:36 > 0:22:39That's the best that I could ever wish them, really.
0:22:39 > 0:22:41There's something I've always wanted to do.
0:22:41 > 0:22:44- Michael.- I don't like these gates, they look very serious.
0:22:44 > 0:22:47- This one is quite serious. - It's a long way down from here.
0:22:47 > 0:22:50It certainly looks a lot further from here.
0:22:50 > 0:22:52But we're going to get you down there safely.
0:22:52 > 0:22:58What you've got to on this fire pole is first...
0:22:58 > 0:23:01throw that into your shoulder.
0:23:01 > 0:23:06Here, here. Do not hold it with your hands, because you'll burn them going down.
0:23:06 > 0:23:09Do it with your sleeves, one leg, two legs.
0:23:09 > 0:23:11And you go. Got it?
0:23:12 > 0:23:14- You nearly went then.- Nearly.
0:23:14 > 0:23:16I'll go after you.
0:23:16 > 0:23:18So, in like that. Woah!
0:23:18 > 0:23:20No arms. One leg. Then the other.
0:23:20 > 0:23:23And then you go down. Let gravity take over.
0:23:23 > 0:23:26That's brilliant. Whoa!
0:23:26 > 0:23:29- Not so bad, eh?- Ah!
0:23:29 > 0:23:31It's like sandpaper.
0:23:31 > 0:23:33Now let go of the pole, Michael.
0:23:33 > 0:23:37Let go of the pole? Oh, I don't take it with me?
0:23:37 > 0:23:39How was that? Deux points?
0:23:39 > 0:23:42Absolute Mont Blanc.
0:23:42 > 0:23:44So simple.
0:23:44 > 0:23:46'I can't wait to try it again.'
0:23:46 > 0:23:50LOUD BEEPING
0:23:50 > 0:23:52'This could be my chance.'
0:24:07 > 0:24:09Wait!
0:24:09 > 0:24:10Hang on!
0:24:18 > 0:24:23I eventually catch up with Kevin at Polish Television, where he's something of a star.
0:24:23 > 0:24:26He says he can get me on a top morning TV show.
0:24:26 > 0:24:28This could be the break I've been waiting for.
0:24:28 > 0:24:31THEY SPEAK IN POLISH
0:24:45 > 0:24:47'He thinks it would be a good wheeze
0:24:47 > 0:24:50'to test my Polish pronunciation on camera.'
0:24:50 > 0:24:54THEY SPEAK IN POLISH
0:24:54 > 0:24:58We're going to be on after an item about ladies' hairdressing.
0:25:04 > 0:25:09Back in make-up, I asked Kevin how on earth he got into all this.
0:25:09 > 0:25:12I signed a contract for three episodes.
0:25:12 > 0:25:16- What of? A comedy show?- Yeah.
0:25:16 > 0:25:18That was four years ago.
0:25:18 > 0:25:22On Friday, we're recording the 100th episode.
0:25:22 > 0:25:24Amazing. You do stage stuff as well?
0:25:24 > 0:25:26Stand-up comedy as well.
0:25:26 > 0:25:29In Polish, to a Polish audience?
0:25:29 > 0:25:33Yes, my hero in Great Britain, heroes - are Jimmy Jones...
0:25:33 > 0:25:35Jimmy Jones. Roy Chubby Brown?
0:25:35 > 0:25:39No, Lee Evans. I love Lee Evans.
0:25:40 > 0:25:42- Shall we go, Michael? - We're done, OK.
0:25:58 > 0:26:00Hello, Michael Palin.
0:26:05 > 0:26:09This is my honour, really. I never thought I can shake your hand.
0:26:09 > 0:26:12You've created my sense of humour, really.
0:26:12 > 0:26:14Is that a good thing?
0:26:14 > 0:26:15That's your fault!
0:26:15 > 0:26:18THEY SPEAK IN POLISH
0:26:18 > 0:26:20Thank you for being here with us.
0:26:20 > 0:26:22HE SPEAKS IN POLISH
0:26:22 > 0:26:24We're going to try and do some Polish.
0:26:26 > 0:26:29MICHAEL SPEAKS IN POLISH
0:26:29 > 0:26:30Very good.
0:26:30 > 0:26:35MICHAEL SPEAKS IN POLISH
0:26:39 > 0:26:42That's a difficult one.
0:26:42 > 0:26:44MICHAEL SPEAKS IN POLISH
0:26:44 > 0:26:45Very good!
0:26:47 > 0:26:49It's your handwriting that's so bad.
0:26:49 > 0:26:51MICHAEL SPEAKS IN POLISH
0:26:51 > 0:26:53Very good, almost, almost.
0:26:55 > 0:26:58This is going to be one of your favourites.
0:26:58 > 0:27:04I'll show this to the camera first. We've got this.
0:27:04 > 0:27:05What is that, Michael?
0:27:05 > 0:27:08MICHAEL SPEAKS IN POLISH
0:27:08 > 0:27:12- Close. - THEY SPEAK IN POLISH
0:27:12 > 0:27:16Can he just say goodbye to the viewers?
0:27:16 > 0:27:18- Of course.- Right here.
0:27:18 > 0:27:21THEY SPEAK IN POLISH
0:27:22 > 0:27:24- Thank you.- Thank you, Michael.
0:27:28 > 0:27:30Now it's just back to normal life.
0:27:31 > 0:27:34My moment of glory is over.
0:27:34 > 0:27:36Polish Television conquered.
0:27:36 > 0:27:38Tomorrow, the world.
0:27:41 > 0:27:47The world in this case being the Great European Plain, where Poland was forged over 1,000 years ago.
0:27:47 > 0:27:54It grew strong and successful until the Russians, the Austrians and then the Germans swallowed up their land.
0:27:54 > 0:27:56It's only now, in the new Europe,
0:27:56 > 0:28:00that Poland is regaining its stability, confidence and its history.
0:28:04 > 0:28:07Poznan is another picture postcard piece of restoration.
0:28:14 > 0:28:18Its Old Square, where past meets the present,
0:28:18 > 0:28:23is the perfect place to watch the world go by and sort out the mobile phone offers.
0:28:24 > 0:28:28No, no. The thing is, I was on your two for one
0:28:28 > 0:28:31and I now want to change to the four for three,
0:28:31 > 0:28:35which is tariff five.
0:28:35 > 0:28:42So four for three on tariff five and I'm going on to Krakow, southern Poland,
0:28:42 > 0:28:49so I believe that changes to the special offer then,
0:28:49 > 0:28:51which is like...
0:28:51 > 0:28:55I only want it for a week there. I don't want it for the full three months. I see.
0:28:55 > 0:28:58That would be ... Oh, do you?
0:28:58 > 0:29:02That's interesting. That's interesting. OK. Right.
0:29:02 > 0:29:05So this is the ten for one.
0:29:05 > 0:29:06That's wonderful.
0:29:06 > 0:29:11That's only in this part? Right.
0:29:11 > 0:29:14That's in where? That's in Moscow.
0:29:14 > 0:29:17No, I'm not going to Moscow.
0:29:17 > 0:29:20But that's a fantastic rate.
0:29:20 > 0:29:22Ten for one. I think I might go to Moscow.
0:29:22 > 0:29:24I'll have a word with the director, anyway.
0:29:28 > 0:29:31'The highlight here is the midday display on the town hall clock.
0:29:31 > 0:29:36'It commemorates a legend by which two rams, or is it goats,
0:29:36 > 0:29:38'locked horns outside the town hall,
0:29:38 > 0:29:42'alerting everyone to the fact that it was on fire at the time.
0:29:42 > 0:29:45'This is something not to be missed.'
0:29:45 > 0:29:47BELL TOLLS
0:29:47 > 0:29:51Sorry, I've got to stop now, the two rams are coming out.
0:29:51 > 0:29:53CLOCK CHIMES
0:29:57 > 0:29:59TRUMPET PLAYS
0:30:17 > 0:30:22Butting completed, the rams or goats, retire till midday tomorrow.
0:30:24 > 0:30:27I wouldn't say the place was gripped with excitement,
0:30:27 > 0:30:29but it's given everyone something to do apart from shopping.
0:30:29 > 0:30:32I've got a terrific deal from Japanese Telecom.
0:30:39 > 0:30:41Posnan Central Station.
0:30:41 > 0:30:46The 8.58 to Wolsztyn prepares to leave, with a very new driver.
0:30:46 > 0:30:52This is it, this is the mighty, oily beast that I shall be driving, and I've got the outfit.
0:30:52 > 0:30:57I might look a bit like a gents' hairdressser but this is actually the PKP drivers' jacket.
0:30:57 > 0:31:01PKP meaning Polish Regional Railways.
0:31:01 > 0:31:03The great thing is, this is a scheduled service.
0:31:03 > 0:31:05There will be passengers on board.
0:31:05 > 0:31:08They haven't been told that
0:31:08 > 0:31:12a member of a comedy troupe from England is actually going to be driving. Probably just as well.
0:31:12 > 0:31:16Anyway, I can't wait to get on, so here we go. See you later.
0:31:16 > 0:31:20Englishman Bob Wyatt was one of the inspirations behind a very bold
0:31:20 > 0:31:24operation, an Anglo-Polish engine driving school.
0:31:24 > 0:31:26- Morning.- Michael.
0:31:27 > 0:31:30OK, great. Thank you. So...
0:31:32 > 0:31:35- So, Michael, are you going to drive to Wolsztyn?- So I'm told.
0:31:35 > 0:31:37If you'd let me drive to Wolsztyn.
0:31:38 > 0:31:43It seems a dangerously big thing for me to be in charge of, so... OK.
0:31:49 > 0:31:56I can also be a fireman if I want to but I've been allowed to practise getting the coal on.
0:32:00 > 0:32:02That's why you have to practise!
0:32:10 > 0:32:16It's 8.58, and as the commuters pour into Posnan, it's time to go.
0:32:16 > 0:32:21Regulator goes down. There's always a gap between the regulator moving and the train moving off.
0:32:29 > 0:32:31There we are, the crowd swarming into Posnan.
0:32:34 > 0:32:36Now, I'd better just concentrate.
0:32:48 > 0:32:50This isn't Thomas The Tank Engine.
0:32:50 > 0:32:53- This is the real thing on a real railway... - WHISTLE BLOWS
0:32:55 > 0:32:57..with real passengers.
0:33:00 > 0:33:04Once we're clear of the main line, Janos puts me into the driving seat.
0:33:04 > 0:33:06Is that a station ahead?
0:33:06 > 0:33:09Lift the break. Lift the break.
0:33:11 > 0:33:14TRAIN WHISTLE BLOWS
0:33:14 > 0:33:17STEAM HISSES
0:33:19 > 0:33:23All right, it's not Grand Central, but it's my first station.
0:33:23 > 0:33:25I'm rather proud of it.
0:33:28 > 0:33:31Beautiful.
0:33:43 > 0:33:45This is just stopping!
0:33:45 > 0:33:47Stopping!
0:33:47 > 0:33:49Starting's the bit I like.
0:33:58 > 0:33:59There we go. Ooh!
0:34:07 > 0:34:10WORDS DROWNED OUT BY ENGINE
0:34:17 > 0:34:22OK... No, no, Michael.
0:34:22 > 0:34:26There we are.
0:34:26 > 0:34:30TRAIN WHISTLE BLOWS
0:34:34 > 0:34:38- I'm beginning to get the hang of it. - TOOTS WHISTLE
0:36:13 > 0:36:16Phew! We're in the depot of Wolsztyn.
0:36:16 > 0:36:19We're back and almost on time.
0:36:19 > 0:36:22I think we're about two minutes late.
0:36:22 > 0:36:25Once you get over the actual fear of being on the footplate
0:36:25 > 0:36:28of this enormous hurtling bit of mass of metal,
0:36:28 > 0:36:33once you get over that it's very exhilarating.
0:36:33 > 0:36:36But normally now we just press buttons and things happen.
0:36:36 > 0:36:38On this you have to pull a lever which presses a flange,
0:36:38 > 0:36:43which pulls another valve which turns some wheels, and it's really hard physical work.
0:36:43 > 0:36:45So, I've great respect for these guys.
0:36:45 > 0:36:51I suppose they are a bit dodos like this, but it was a great run, and I do apologise to any passengers
0:36:51 > 0:36:53who had heart attacks. We'll refund the money.
0:36:53 > 0:36:57I'm just going to help out greasing down the old beast.
0:37:02 > 0:37:06I always wanted to be an engine driver and now my dream's come true.
0:37:06 > 0:37:10It'll be a real anti-climax being a TV presenter again.
0:37:20 > 0:37:22This is Jasna Gora monastery in Czestochowa,
0:37:22 > 0:37:26the most important religious site in a deeply religious country.
0:37:37 > 0:37:40At the entrance is the powerful figure of Cardinal Wyszynski,
0:37:40 > 0:37:44the Catholic primate who refused to compromise with the Communists.
0:37:48 > 0:37:51So many hundreds of thousands of pilgrims come here every year
0:37:51 > 0:37:54that special days have to be organised for them.
0:37:56 > 0:38:01This is interesting. Throughout the year, the various pilgrim groups have their own special days.
0:38:01 > 0:38:05The year is almost packed with different groups coming in.
0:38:05 > 0:38:07We are... That's ours.
0:38:07 > 0:38:1025th to the 28th, Kapelani WP.
0:38:10 > 0:38:13Chaplains of the Polish army.
0:38:13 > 0:38:16That, I'm told, Lesnicy, are Forest Guards.
0:38:16 > 0:38:20So, they all have their special day of pilgrimage.
0:38:21 > 0:38:23Doesn't say BBC.
0:38:23 > 0:38:29What they've all come to see is the mysterious black Madonna,
0:38:29 > 0:38:36a likeness of the Virgin Mary said to have been painted by St Luke on a beam from Jesus' home in Nazareth.
0:38:40 > 0:38:45Pilgrims process on their knees around the chapel where it's displayed.
0:38:45 > 0:38:49The Madonna has been associated with some great Polish victories over
0:38:49 > 0:38:53the years and is believed to have miraculous powers.
0:38:57 > 0:39:03Monks of the Pauline order, whose monastery this is, celebrate Mass almost non-stop throughout the day.
0:39:03 > 0:39:06The climax is always the moment when the Madonna is revealed.
0:39:06 > 0:39:10SINGING
0:39:32 > 0:39:35The great moment is announced with a drum roll.
0:39:49 > 0:39:51A screen of beaten gold slowly rises.
0:40:03 > 0:40:08And the black Madonna, nestling in jewel-encrusted robes, is at last revealed.
0:40:14 > 0:40:18My guide Father Tomon tells me what it means.
0:40:18 > 0:40:23It's meaning the queen of Poland, Mary,
0:40:23 > 0:40:25was elected
0:40:25 > 0:40:31proclaimed queen of Polish nation, and after the...wars,
0:40:31 > 0:40:34martial law proclaimed by General Jaruzelski,
0:40:34 > 0:40:40after this period of Communism we have this place where we were free.
0:40:40 > 0:40:46This holy icon is a sign of presence, her presence here.
0:40:46 > 0:40:52She is here and we believe that she is a mother, a queen of the Polish nation, of course.
0:41:03 > 0:41:07Then the time comes for the queen of Poland to be hidden again.
0:41:44 > 0:41:48Two hours from the monastery is one of the most infamous places in Europe.
0:41:48 > 0:41:53Occupied Poland was where the Nazis put their most notorious concentration camps.
0:41:55 > 0:41:59This, one of the earliest, is in the town of Oswiecim.
0:41:59 > 0:42:01In German, Auschwitz.
0:42:08 > 0:42:12Converted in 1940 from a Polish army barracks, Auschwitz One
0:42:12 > 0:42:15is where the techniques of mass killing were honed.
0:42:19 > 0:42:22This was one of the gas chambers.
0:42:22 > 0:42:26And these are some of the first ovens developed to destroy
0:42:26 > 0:42:30quickly and efficiently all traces of organised murder.
0:42:35 > 0:42:39In the rooms where men, women and children were incarcerated
0:42:39 > 0:42:43are displays of what was found when the camp was finally liberated.
0:42:49 > 0:42:51Canisters of the killing gas, Zyklon B.
0:43:14 > 0:43:17Piles of human hair.
0:43:37 > 0:43:41And, somehow most moving of all for me, the bags and suitcases
0:43:41 > 0:43:45that once contained someone's last possessions.
0:43:48 > 0:43:53And on them, the names of their owners, written in hope.
0:44:10 > 0:44:14I suppose it's good that places like this are still here,
0:44:14 > 0:44:17with the evidence of brutality kept in good condition.
0:44:17 > 0:44:21But I wish I could believe that people will never be like this again.
0:44:26 > 0:44:31Now here's something the Poles are proud of and which every schoolchild has to see.
0:44:31 > 0:44:35- A salt mine. - We start our way down to the mine.
0:44:35 > 0:44:38- Yep.- To the first level only.
0:44:38 > 0:44:4264 metres, about 200 feet below the surface.
0:44:42 > 0:44:44It will be 380 steps.
0:44:44 > 0:44:50If you look down into the shaft, you will see the way to the first level is 64 metres...
0:44:50 > 0:44:57'People flock to the mine not just to see, well, salt,
0:44:57 > 0:45:01'but to see what can be done with salt if you've a bit of spare time,
0:45:01 > 0:45:04'a fair amount of talent, and a lot of dedication.
0:45:04 > 0:45:07'For this is where all these steps lead to...
0:45:09 > 0:45:11'St Kinga's Chapel, where everything,
0:45:11 > 0:45:14'walls, floor, ceiling,
0:45:14 > 0:45:16'even the crystal on the chandeliers,
0:45:16 > 0:45:18'is made out of salt.'
0:45:21 > 0:45:24That's beautifully done, isn't it, really?
0:45:24 > 0:45:27It's the Last Supper.
0:45:27 > 0:45:30- It's almost like a marble. - Is it really?- Yes, it's hard.
0:45:30 > 0:45:34In order to have such smooth surfaces of faces, hands,
0:45:34 > 0:45:36- they could polish it by something wet.- Yeah.
0:45:36 > 0:45:41So that's the difference between salt carving and wooden carving,
0:45:41 > 0:45:44- that they could use the water to polish salt.- Yeah.
0:45:46 > 0:45:49This is the side altar,
0:45:49 > 0:45:52of Sacred Heart Of Maria.
0:45:52 > 0:45:57It's a nice salt, very clean kind of salt. Very translucent.
0:45:57 > 0:46:01And the relief called Miracle Incarna,
0:46:01 > 0:46:05Jesus changing water into wine during the party.
0:46:05 > 0:46:07It has beautiful perspective.
0:46:07 > 0:46:11- It digs so deep in the wall.- Yes.
0:46:12 > 0:46:16It all looks so exceptional. Of course, they're lucky to have the cyrstals too -
0:46:16 > 0:46:19adds that touch. Like the chandeliers.
0:46:19 > 0:46:24Yeah, chandeliers, they are made of salt cyrstals. Of course, the frame is wooden.
0:46:24 > 0:46:28Same cyrstals, they are behind the statue of Kinga.
0:46:28 > 0:46:32These are crystals of halite, that's the name of the mineral. Pure salt.
0:46:32 > 0:46:37I mean, these guys who carved all this, were they artists already?
0:46:37 > 0:46:39Did they do other work, or any other carvings,
0:46:39 > 0:46:42any sculptures around the area or they just worked here?
0:46:42 > 0:46:44- Just ordinary miners. - They were just miners!
0:46:44 > 0:46:49In their spare time, after their work, after their shift,
0:46:49 > 0:46:53they carved salt figures, so it wasn't them doing their regular shift,
0:46:53 > 0:46:56- just doing eight hours after it. - They had to do a day's work in the mines too?
0:46:56 > 0:47:00Yes. And then after one or two hours, not every day,
0:47:00 > 0:47:03as a kind of passion, they carved here.
0:47:03 > 0:47:06This must have been very recent.
0:47:06 > 0:47:09This statue of the Pope John Paul II
0:47:09 > 0:47:12was finished seven years ago, also by the miner.
0:47:12 > 0:47:17- Very clever.- We still have miners, they continue the tradition of carving.
0:47:17 > 0:47:20Seven of them, they do it, still.
0:47:20 > 0:47:22- Same families, is it?- No.- No?
0:47:22 > 0:47:25'I've reached Krakow.
0:47:25 > 0:47:28'My conveyance this morning is the Trabant.
0:47:28 > 0:47:33'Made in East Germany, it was the people's car of Communist Europe.'
0:47:33 > 0:47:35Thank you. Thanks very much.
0:47:37 > 0:47:39Hello there. Good morning.
0:47:39 > 0:47:40I'm Michael.
0:47:42 > 0:47:44Let's go!
0:47:44 > 0:47:46Oh, reverse!
0:47:48 > 0:47:50- Great.- Woah!
0:47:50 > 0:47:55'Among some young Poles, the humble Trabant has aquired cult status.
0:47:55 > 0:47:57'Entrepreneurs, like my driver Kuba,
0:47:57 > 0:48:01'are using them to offer less conventional city tours.'
0:48:01 > 0:48:06Tell me about the car, the great Trabant.
0:48:06 > 0:48:09Well, here we've just got the speed meter, yep.
0:48:09 > 0:48:13There is temperature of oil, which, of course, doesn't work!
0:48:13 > 0:48:18And the most tricky thing about Trabants is that it doesn't have a fuel gauge.
0:48:18 > 0:48:22- No fuel gauge?- And the gas tank is under the hood.
0:48:22 > 0:48:25So, we've got the hood, the engine, and the gas tank.
0:48:25 > 0:48:28- Yeah.- The gas tank is just by the engine, you know,
0:48:28 > 0:48:32- so some people claim that it's not too safe.- Yeah.
0:48:32 > 0:48:36- And what are those over there?- This, er...?
0:48:36 > 0:48:38- Yeah.- This?- That knob, yeah!
0:48:38 > 0:48:40- This knob is to turn on the light.- I see.
0:48:40 > 0:48:44Well, you better have that, because I don't know quite where it goes.
0:48:44 > 0:48:47- Well, me either, so...!- OK.
0:48:47 > 0:48:49Well, we'll just...
0:48:49 > 0:48:53- Keep that in your pocket for later.- Yeah, maybe... Maybe...
0:48:53 > 0:48:56- ..I'll hang onto it for you.- OK. OK. - So what are the ones next to it?
0:48:56 > 0:49:01The next is for the windscreen, er...
0:49:01 > 0:49:05- This is for lights, I think.- Yeah, this one is for lights, yeah.
0:49:05 > 0:49:07That's good. Windscreen wipers - that's fine.
0:49:07 > 0:49:11But the lights don't work properly, so I just don't use them...
0:49:11 > 0:49:14until it's dark, it's too dark.
0:49:14 > 0:49:18So, there's the heating. It's not air conditioned, it's just basic heating.
0:49:18 > 0:49:23But the thing is, I've been doing these tours for six months and I've no idea how it works.
0:49:23 > 0:49:27- Yeah.- So, er... we don't know how it works.
0:49:27 > 0:49:31'For a small car, the Trabant leaves a hell of a carboon footprint.
0:49:35 > 0:49:37'But Kuba seems undettered.
0:49:37 > 0:49:40'It's a minor worry compared to SOME of his problems.'
0:49:40 > 0:49:44Quite often, I mean, once in a month or something like that,
0:49:44 > 0:49:47er...the wheels...they fell off.
0:49:47 > 0:49:49I mean, not all of the wheels...
0:49:49 > 0:49:52it's just the one wheel.
0:49:52 > 0:49:56But we've got four of them, and in two of them, the wheels fell off three times.
0:49:56 > 0:49:58So, of course, it happened during the tour.
0:49:58 > 0:50:03So, you drive a Trabant like now, 60 or something,
0:50:03 > 0:50:06and suddenly you are without the wheel.
0:50:06 > 0:50:10So you are in the middle of the road, in the middle of the traffic,
0:50:10 > 0:50:13and you have big problem, cos it's not so easy
0:50:13 > 0:50:16to keep it running straight with three wheels!
0:50:18 > 0:50:21'It's not just the car that's different on the tour.
0:50:21 > 0:50:23'It's the destination.
0:50:23 > 0:50:26'The suburb called Nowa Huta, built in the 1950s
0:50:26 > 0:50:29'as the ideal Socialist city.'
0:50:31 > 0:50:33So, here we are, old part of Nowa Huta.
0:50:35 > 0:50:37Shape of the semi-circle, yeah? Like a fan.
0:50:37 > 0:50:40I can show you a few photos...
0:50:40 > 0:50:43cos...it's good to see
0:50:43 > 0:50:46how big an achievement it was. Cos, back in the '50s,
0:50:46 > 0:50:50so, please remember, 1949,
0:50:50 > 0:50:54beginning of the whole construction, first settlers.
0:50:54 > 0:50:58- That's just farmland, as it was then.- Just the farmland.
0:50:58 > 0:51:00Exactly. Green field, nothing on it.
0:51:00 > 0:51:04- But in the ten years, well, take a look what they did.- Oh, yeah.
0:51:04 > 0:51:09- We've got this central square that we can see on the map. It's here.- Yes.
0:51:09 > 0:51:13- And you see how grand it is. - Very formal.- Very formal.
0:51:17 > 0:51:20'Kuba shows me the grand arcades of Nowa Huta,
0:51:20 > 0:51:24'designed to prove that the proletariat could have a city just as beautiful
0:51:24 > 0:51:27'as anything in snobby, priest-ridden Krakow.
0:51:27 > 0:51:31'But in the 1980s, he tells me, it all went wrong.
0:51:31 > 0:51:34'Like the shipyard workers of Gdansk, the steelworkers of Nowa Huta
0:51:34 > 0:51:40'rose in protest, turning on the party and looking instead to the West.
0:51:45 > 0:51:50'The sight of mountain peaks comes as quite a shock after weeks on the plain.
0:51:50 > 0:51:54'Ahead are the high Tatras, half in Poland, half in Slovakia.
0:51:54 > 0:51:59'I'm in a village where a highland wedding is about to take place.
0:52:04 > 0:52:07THEY SING IN POLISH
0:52:07 > 0:52:11'Two all-singing masters of ceremonies are delivering the bridegroom,
0:52:11 > 0:52:15'a ski instructor, to the home of his bride-to-be,
0:52:15 > 0:52:19'also a ski instructor. He is escorted by two bridesmaids,
0:52:19 > 0:52:22'quite possibly ski instructors.
0:52:27 > 0:52:31'On arrival at the house, Marius is welcomed by his bride Berta,
0:52:31 > 0:52:33'wearing a heavy metre-long head-dress
0:52:33 > 0:52:36'she's not allowed to take off until the end of the wedding day.
0:52:44 > 0:52:48'They're serenaded into the house and up to the bride's bedroom.
0:53:02 > 0:53:07'Here, amidst a total lack of privacy, he has to take off his shirt
0:53:07 > 0:53:09'and put on one prepared by his bride.
0:53:16 > 0:53:19'No fumbling goes unrecorded.'
0:53:24 > 0:53:26Oh!
0:53:49 > 0:53:52'At some point in the day's crowded programme,
0:53:52 > 0:53:56'the bride and groom actually get to church and marry each other.
0:54:12 > 0:54:15'After the wedding, I take a walk in the hills,
0:54:15 > 0:54:19'only to find the photographer's got them up here as well!'
0:54:20 > 0:54:23THEY LAUGH AND TALK EXCITEDLY
0:54:26 > 0:54:30'Berta's being photographed with all the men she HASN'T married today.
0:54:34 > 0:54:37'She seems to be rather enjoying it!
0:54:41 > 0:54:43'But who am I to talk?'
0:54:59 > 0:55:01Woah, lovely!
0:55:01 > 0:55:02Ah! Oh, don't...!
0:55:02 > 0:55:05Oh, this is lovely! This is heaven!
0:55:05 > 0:55:09'I keep trying to get away, but the photographer is insatiable!'
0:55:11 > 0:55:13OK, legs together!
0:55:15 > 0:55:20'Now the wedding action shifts bizarrely to the local fire station.
0:55:22 > 0:55:23'In small villages like this,
0:55:23 > 0:55:27'it's often the only place with a room big enough for a party.
0:55:31 > 0:55:35'I really feel for Berta. Ski instructing must be a doddle after this!'
0:55:41 > 0:55:44It's very hard to dance when you're drunk!
0:55:44 > 0:55:46Yeah, exactly. We're not doing too badly!
0:55:48 > 0:55:50Quite... Quite dainty.
0:55:52 > 0:55:57'A supercharged vodka, especially bottled for this great day, keeps the 200 guests going.
0:55:58 > 0:56:00'And going!'
0:56:01 > 0:56:06This is supposed to be a bit of a comedy performance, or is it supposed to be serious?!
0:56:11 > 0:56:17We also have wedding vodka.
0:56:21 > 0:56:24What is wedding vodka? Is it different from normal vodka?
0:56:24 > 0:56:28It's much stronger, I have to say. It's almost 90%.
0:56:28 > 0:56:30This is what these people have been drinking
0:56:30 > 0:56:34- for the last six hours? - Yes. Two bottles per head.
0:56:34 > 0:56:42- Wow.- They prepared 1,600 bottles for this wedding.
0:56:42 > 0:56:46And they come back tomorrow, don't they, some of them? Two more days.
0:56:46 > 0:56:48Tomorrow is the after-party,
0:56:48 > 0:56:52and the day after tomorrow is another after-party.
0:56:52 > 0:56:55They have to drink all those bottles they prepared.
0:56:55 > 0:56:57They know how to get married, these Poles, don't they?
0:57:00 > 0:57:03'I'm very happy for Marius and Berta.
0:57:03 > 0:57:06'This is a night they will never forget.
0:57:06 > 0:57:08'And probably never remember!
0:57:13 > 0:57:15'I'm in the gorge of the Dunajec River,
0:57:15 > 0:57:18'which, after my long journey through the country,
0:57:18 > 0:57:21'will take me out of Poland.
0:57:21 > 0:57:23'And as I've learnt here in the Tatras,
0:57:23 > 0:57:26'mountain people have a special way of doing things.'
0:57:29 > 0:57:33THEY SING
0:57:48 > 0:57:50Well, this for me is the last of Poland.
0:57:50 > 0:57:52And I mean literally the last of Poland,
0:57:52 > 0:57:56because this river marks the southern border of the country.
0:57:56 > 0:58:00So it's farewell and thank you for everything to Poland,
0:58:00 > 0:58:03and...here we come Slovakia!
0:58:33 > 0:58:36Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:58:36 > 0:58:39E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk