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Great Continental Railway Journeys - Season 9 Episode 12 - Budapest
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00:01I'm embarking on a new series of railway journeys, exploring Europe's most
00:08beautiful and historic regions. Oh, we're about to set off.
00:14From Belgium. Oh, I'm loving this.
00:20To Hungary. Oh, this is amazing. And the islands of Sardinia.
00:29Oh, fantastic. And Corsica. I'll enjoy nature, history, culture and fun in some of Europe's
00:40most enchanting places. I am looking forward to a tremendous railway adventure.
01:06My journey across Hungary has brought me to the capital Budapest, where a vibrant artistic
01:13and cultural scene blends with extravagant imperial architecture. Three separate towns on the river Danube, Buda and Obuda on the
01:24west bank and Pest on the east,
01:27merged in 1873 to create the modern capital of Hungary. This morning, a tram hurries me along the west bank
01:36of the Danube.
01:44Budapest has a very extensive tram system. And the rolling stock is of very varied vintages.
01:52I think some go back about 60 years, well into Soviet times.
02:00The trams provide a marvellous way to see the city. This is the 41. And it's given me views of
02:06the parliament of the chain bridge.
02:08And on the other side, the number two would offer panoramas of the castle and Buda.
02:22I started my journey in the far west of Hungary, in the city of Chopron. Budapest and the river Danube
02:29mark an approximate central point between the eastern and western parts of the country.
02:34The extensive rail network will take me across the great Hungarian plain and to places which bring to life this
02:42country's cuisine, history and culture.
02:58The 41 tram will deposit me in Bila Bartók Boulevard, named after the great Hungarian composer, in an area of
03:07the city known for its artistic vibe.
03:09In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Budapest was a flourishing cultural centre within the Austro-Hungarian Empire and
03:18attracted many artists, writers and musicians to its coffee houses.
03:23I quite often go to a bar and restaurant or a cafe and bar, but bar and gallery, that's a
03:30new one.
03:31Hadig Cafe and Satyur Bar and Gallery are conjoined businesses. Together, they're reviving the area's bohemian character in a freshly
03:41contemporary style.
03:43Hello, Tibor. Hi. Great to see you.
03:47Tibor Bosnai is the founder of this reimagined classic.
03:52What a funky cafe and restaurant this is. You've got pieces of art coming out of the wall.
03:57You've got every square centimetre covered in painting.
04:01Yes.
04:01It's got a really quirky vibe.
04:04So this cafe house was opened 100 years ago and the main bohemistic characters from Budapest were regulars here.
04:13The main character is Karinti Frigyes.
04:16So Karinti Frigyes is something like in your literature like Oscar Wilde or so a really famous guy who was
04:24like an influencer or something.
04:26For example, the guy was wearing sometimes only red clothes, even the watch was red.
04:34And sometimes he was walking backward on the streets, so everyone knew him.
04:39This cafe house was a bad business. It was always empty.
04:43But when the guy moved here, Karinti Frigyes, and he became the regular here, the next day it will be
04:51crowded because that guy was a real magnet for bohemistic people.
04:56So it has a long history, but has it been opened consistently during all those years or not?
05:01So during the communism it was closed because these guys here had a really pluralistic and progressive approach to life
05:10and even to politics and everyone knows that during the communism those words were forbidden.
05:21The Hadik stayed shuttered until 2010.
05:25When the local government decided to revive the district, it trusted that reopening these establishments would trigger a wider renaissance.
05:36Do you attract artists now? Do artists come and drink here and eat here?
05:40Yeah, okay. There was an Oscar winning film called The Song of Saul with the Hungarian director.
05:48And the guy, the director, was writing the screenplay here.
05:53So the first page we got like a gift, so we have on the wall with the sign.
05:59So I think it's a good circle that it's happening again.
06:03What's your target clientele? Are you appealing to the young?
06:08For instance, am I the oldest person that ever came here?
06:11No, come on. For me it's very important that not just one generation visiting a place.
06:18We are for everyone. You can catch this moment even in the menu, which was a hint from a cafe
06:24house expert that on the menu you have to have the very cheapest parts, but you have to sell duck
06:33and steak and even champagne.
06:36If more wealthy people want to feel themselves well here, he could order as well.
06:45Cheap food for the artists. And for me, champagne and steak.
06:49Okay, why not?
06:52Well, perhaps another time, since now I must continue my journey across the city to explore Hungary's communist past.
07:06Back on the 41, I venture into the southwest suburbs of Budapest to an extraordinary open-air museum called Memento
07:14Park.
07:17On the edge of a nature reserve, it's a fascinating graveyard for vestiges from the Cold War.
07:24I was just too young to remember that moment when Soviet tanks surged into Hungary to crush its revolution in
07:341956.
07:35But during my childhood, the memory of it hung in the air.
07:39And Hungary was often spoken of with horror.
07:52After Hungary's peaceful transition to democracy, there was a vigorous debate about what to do with the Soviet propaganda statues.
08:01Some were toppled by angry crowds.
08:03Budapest City Council decided to move many of them here to be displayed to serve as a lesson and a
08:09warning.
08:10Judith Holp can help me to unpick the political messages embodied in the statues.
08:21Our first statue is one of the largest.
08:25And I reckon this is a Soviet soldier because he has the Red Star cap badge and he has the
08:31hammer and sickle on his flag.
08:33This is Vasily Ivanovich Golostov.
08:37So I am pleased to introduce you to him.
08:41This statue depicts an actual soldier of the Soviet Red Army which liberated Hungary and Budapest from the oppressing German
08:51troops.
08:51Taking place in 1945.
08:53Did Hungarians feel that they had been liberated by the Soviet Army?
08:58Yes.
08:59The Nazi oppression of Hungary and the fascist government or the fascist regime in Hungary in the last months of
09:06the Second World War were a matter of fact.
09:09But when the Hungarian People's Republic was proclaimed, Stalinist terror officially started.
09:14Looking at the statue and speaking about liberation, you see his clenched fist, right?
09:20You see that his leg is in motion and that he is armed, actually.
09:25These are the patterns that liberation meant in the Stalinist era.
09:32This 1948 Soviet propaganda film depicts a thriving Hungarian society, but the reality was very different.
09:40In the Stalinist era, opponents of communism were arrested and murdered.
09:45Soviet soldiers were stationed in the country and the Russian language was imposed on the population.
09:51After Stalin's death in 1953, the new Soviet leader, Nikita Khrushchev, attempted to amend some of Stalin's more hard-line
09:59policies.
10:00Even the statues moved with the times.
10:04This all looks very friendly.
10:06A big handshake is going on and the man on the left is a Hungarian, I assume.
10:12He's a worker of some kind, maybe a factory worker, maybe even a country worker, a peasant or something like
10:16that.
10:17That's right. And what do you think about their relation?
10:22Well, the Hungarian is hugely enthusiastic.
10:25He's thrust both hands forward to grasp the Soviet hand of friendship.
10:30And he doesn't mind the pouring rain.
10:34He doesn't wear any raincoat, anything to protect him.
10:39True. Whereas the Russian, now that I look, is of course, as Russians are, clad in a great big overcoat
10:45with a beret on top.
10:47He doesn't have a weapon any longer.
10:50He is giving one hand to the worker and you can see that the worker is very pleased to meet
10:57his liberator and protector, the Soviet soldier.
11:01And yet, it was under Khrushchev that there was the Hungarian revolution that was brutally suppressed by the Soviet Union.
11:08And that it broke out at all. That was a shock, a cataclysm and a surprise. Khrushchev did not expect
11:18this.
11:19Judith wants to show me the remains of a statue from this pivotal moment.
11:24Well, Judith, a pair of empty boots. There was a statue above that has disappeared. Who was it?
11:32Youssef Vysenirovich Stalin. Stalin.
11:36What you see in front of you is the full-scale replica of the original Stalin's grandstand with his boots
11:44only.
11:45Because the statue was toppled in 1956 on the first night of the outbreak of the 1956 uprising.
11:55For Hungarians, too little had changed under the new Soviet leader Khrushchev.
12:01The people took to the streets to demand independence.
12:05The leader of the uprising was the Hungarian Prime Minister and independent communist Imran Nagy.
12:11He wanted to make a more balanced political situation in Hungary.
12:18He wanted the withdrawal of Soviet troops and he also wanted to quit the Warsaw Pact.
12:27During the brutal suppression of the Hungarian Revolution, thousands died and hundreds of thousands fled the country.
12:35Imran Nagy was executed.
12:37Hungary achieved the independence he'd dreamed of only after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.
12:45Now Imran Nagy himself is commemorated with a statue in the heart of Budapest, which conveys its own poignant message.
12:55His statue on the shore of the Danube is very moving because he stands on a bridge in the middle
13:04of the bridge.
13:05So Imran Nagy, who wanted to bring hope for Hungary, who stands in the middle of that bridge between far
13:18right and far left.
13:20This is what makes him an outstanding statesman.
13:23Every Hungarian should be aware of this, that miracles happen if they find the path to each other and if
13:35we can stick together and grow together for a greater good.
13:41So I think that this is the most important message of the 1956 uprising nowadays.
13:46These statues, which have never said a word, are nonetheless very eloquent.
13:52Yes they are.
13:53Yes they are.
14:19If there is going to be a creator of the world...
14:20No one will be a soldier at the
14:21Longest Angel Vietnam of the thờiBER
14:23north-eastern suburbs, and Hungary's Tinseltown.
14:26The neighbourhood of Rakospalota is home to one of the largest film
14:30studio complexes in Europe.
14:38Hollywood first attracted movie makers because of its climate
14:42and its large open spaces.
14:44But production is now globally competitive.
14:47Los Angeles is not the cheapest place on the planet,
14:50and the skills needed to make a film can be taught anywhere.
14:53So Budapest, although I've discovered on my visit,
14:57doesn't always have Californian blue skies,
15:00has succeeded in attracting some of the best directors
15:04to make blockbusters in Hungary.
15:11Modern facilities, a skilled workforce and generous tax breaks
15:15have attracted Hollywood productions like sci-fi epics Dune
15:19and the Blade Runner sequel to Origo Studios.
15:22After many years serving in Hungary's diplomatic service,
15:26Marta Feksi is now the studio's CEO.
15:30She's passionate about Budapest's attractions as a film location.
15:36Budapest, it's not only the beautiful city,
15:40but Budapest has some faces.
15:43If they want to shoot Paris, no problem.
15:48Andrássy Street, the Opera House, the Music Academy.
15:53But if you want to find Berlin, it's no problem too.
15:57Russia, Moscow, you can replace Russia, you can replace Rome, New York
16:03and other, the biggest cities.
16:06And of course, to shoot in Hungary,
16:09it's more suitable for the production, not so expensive.
16:15To shoot in Paris, you know, the prices is in the rocket.
16:24Origo Studios, which opened in 2010, has 11 stages.
16:28The largest is number six.
16:32Marta, stage six, absolutely enormous.
16:45It's our biggest stage and one of the biggest stage of the whole world.
16:50How big is it?
16:51It's approximately the same as American football fields.
16:58Altogether, 4,400 square meters.
17:03The biggest construction sets were built inside this studio.
17:09Dune 1 or 2, the Imperial Palace, for example.
17:13And altogether, we are able to hang 430 tons.
17:19We are able to hang the helicopter, the part of aeroplanes, tanks.
17:27It's very unique in the film industry.
17:33If a director's imagination is too big even for stage six,
17:37they can conjure up their inventions on the green stage.
17:41This is amazing.
17:44A green studio, if I understand this, you can project anything you like.
17:48Absolutely.
17:50The production are able to make miracle.
17:53They are able to create the ocean, the Amazonas, everything.
17:59Sahara, the North Pole, what you want.
18:03It's a very useful part of our studio.
18:06And not only the walls green, but the floor is green.
18:10And this means that the image can be projected just anywhere that the movie maker likes.
18:16You've been in the diplomatic service.
18:19You've been in politics yourself.
18:21You remember the Soviet era very well.
18:24How surprised are you to find that Budapest is making films with Hollywood?
18:29Budapest, it's a big surprise, and I really can't say you it's better as Hollywood.
18:36I served five years in Los Angeles as Consul General,
18:40and I had the opportunity to visit American studios.
18:45They are all studios.
18:46We are not able to provide those services as in Budapest.
18:55I'm about to sample what Budapest's film crews are capable of.
19:00I've been summoned to stage three, where the action is about to begin.
19:05Oh, my goodness.
19:07This is absolutely vast.
19:11And in the middle, some kind of set, set for violence.
19:15Having performed daring feats in many blockbuster movies,
19:19including Titanic and Total Recall, Gabor Piroc is now one of Hungary's leading stunt coordinators.
19:26Gabor, I'm Michael.
19:27Yeah, I know you.
19:29How lovely to see you.
19:30Nice to see you.
19:31That's very, very good.
19:31I know about you a lot.
19:33Gabor, how many decades have you been in the movies?
19:35More than 50 years.
19:37More than 50 years.
19:38More than 50 years.
19:38You're still in one piece.
19:39Have you got many broken bones?
19:41None.
19:42None?
19:42No, I'm lying.
19:44You've broken a few, have you?
19:45Oh, yeah.
19:46Yeah, just like the rugby, or the soccer, or the other sport.
19:50Yeah, yeah.
19:51You cannot be even 100% safe.
19:55You know, something should happen.
19:58Gabor and his team will demonstrate the skills that they use to make action films which thrill the world.
20:06Okay, stunt team, get ready, please.
20:09Okay.
20:10Soldiers are setting you on ropes.
20:13Good, good, good.
20:14Move back.
20:15Slowly move back.
20:16Move, move, move, move.
20:17Who's this guy now?
20:18Terrorist.
20:19Yeah, that's the psycho.
20:20Is he gonna jump?
20:22Yes, he's doing high four, 40 feet high.
20:26Whoa!
20:30Oh, yeah, this is good.
20:37Yeah, that's great.
20:38That's great.
20:46Gabor, an amazing show.
20:48Thank you very much indeed.
20:48I really appreciate it.
20:49Absolutely brilliant.
20:53From Origo Studios on the Pest side of the Danube, I crossed the river to Obuda to visit the Roman
20:59city of Aquinkum, one of Hungary's largest archaeological sites.
21:06The Uy-Pest railway bridge is a vital link between the east and western parts of the city.
21:15The Danube is one of the mighty waterways of Europe.
21:19And the breadth of the river, as it flows through present-day Hungary, creates a formidable defensive barrier against invasion.
21:28The Roman Empire that appeared limitless had a frontier here, and yet was able to spread the luxuries of the
21:35Roman life to its extremities.
21:50At Aquinkum was founded in the first century BC as a military camp.
21:55It grew to become an important Roman provincial town.
21:59Appropriately today, the name means abundant in water.
22:03It was important because it protected a critical part of the Roman frontier, as Ossia Lange, director of the Aquinkum
22:11Museum, can explain.
22:14Ossia, Aquinkum is a vast Roman site.
22:17Tell me about this place.
22:18What were its origins and its importance?
22:21Yeah, we were actually guarding the river frontier, the Danube zone.
22:24We are actually the Danube band, which meant if Aquinkum falls, then the route becomes straight down to Rome.
22:31So Aquinkum had a role in protecting the Roman Empire in this very eastern part of the western Roman provinces.
22:38It seems then that the Roman life, the Roman way of life, was spread to the very extremes of the
22:44empire.
22:44Yeah, exactly.
22:45As Aquinkum was a capital of the province, that meant it was a proper Roman town, a menia to Rome
22:51in a sense.
22:52So we had all sorts of buildings that were actually typical in Roman towns, such as we had a four
22:57-room complex.
22:58We have bath buildings, which are also very important and typical.
23:02But we also have market building, the so-called macallum, and also sanctuaries we have dedicated to all sorts of
23:07Roman gods and goddesses.
23:08So if a Roman soldier visited Aquinkum, he could find exactly the same buildings as he found in Britain, for
23:14instance, or in the near eastern provinces, for instance.
23:20Aquinkum had two amphitheatres, as befitted a city of 30,000 people.
23:26This is the military one, used by the soldiers for training as well as for public entertainment.
23:34This is very large.
23:36Yeah, this is the huge amphitheater. This is the bigger one that we have.
23:39It could house, like, 11,000 spectators at the same time.
23:43And the arena is bigger than that of the Colosseum.
23:47This arena area is bigger than we can see.
23:49How extraordinary.
23:50And what could they use this space for?
23:53Actually, most of the gladiator combats were actually held here.
23:56But not only gladiator combats, but also hunts using wild animals.
24:01And also they could use it for reenacting sea battles as well.
24:05Because the whole area could be filled up with water.
24:08From the Danube?
24:09Yes. Recent excavations identified an artificial branch dug by the Romans.
24:15And through this branch, the amphitheater arena area could be filled up.
24:19And when you say reenactments, full scale?
24:22Almost full scale.
24:24As much as we know, they built up tiny boats, kind of resembling this large warship, Roman warships.
24:31With a couple of people on board, like a crew.
24:34And they reenacted famous battles, such as the Axiom battle, for instance.
24:37Or other famous Roman sea battles.
24:39You know Roman settlements all over Europe.
24:43And how do you rate Aquincum?
24:45Do you find it...?
24:46Top first, of course.
24:47Really? Top first?
24:48Yeah. Mind you, when considering the significance from the military point of view,
24:52or from the political or strategical point of view,
24:55Aquincum was one of the most important strongholds,
24:57because we were actually protecting the empire from the barbarian tribes.
25:02So Aquincum was in one of the top five, I'd say.
25:05So definitely one of the most important settlements here.
25:09For nearly 400 years, Roman soldiers stood guard here,
25:12holding back Sarmatians, Goths and Huns massing across the Danube.
25:19These re-enactors are experimental archaeologists.
25:24They use accurate replicas of arms and armour
25:26to understand how the Roman soldiers fought.
25:30I have adopted full military dress to inspect the troops
25:34and question their centurion, Vilmos Lenar.
25:41Vilmos, thank you for that display.
25:43How much do we actually know about Roman tactics and Roman equipment?
25:49We know a lot, to be honest,
25:50because we have a lot of written sources
25:52that describe famous battles, military tactics and such,
25:55and we have even more physical evidence of the equipment that the Romans used,
26:00because, yeah, as archaeologists we find a lot of them.
26:04The really hard part is connecting the dots
26:06between the physical evidence and the written sources.
26:08To reconstruct the exact equipment is really hard,
26:12and to reconstruct the movement that was possible with said equipment.
26:16That's what re-enactment and, to an extent, experimental archaeology should be about
26:21and is about nowadays.
26:23And as you re-enact, are you impressed by the engineering,
26:28the techniques, the technology, the tactics, the effectiveness of the Romans?
26:33Absolutely. I'm always in awe, and I even get surprised a lot.
26:38We find ourselves a lot of the times in situations where we are like,
26:42yeah, the Romans were crazy, they did amazing things.
26:45They were still crazy, and we want to do that.
26:47So that's what re-enactment becomes for us.
26:50Well, I certainly enjoyed the display today.
26:52I'm now going to take this off,
26:53which I think is probably the quickest way that I'll experience in my lifetime
26:56of losing about eight kilograms.
27:14Violence has been a theme of this part of my railway journey.
27:18I witnessed Romans, or at least re-enactors,
27:22fiercely drilling, preparing to repel invading Huns.
27:26When Soviet tanks crushed the revolution here,
27:303,000 Hungarians died,
27:32and another 200,000 slipped abroad to begin new lives.
27:38Today, I saw more ferocity, but it was just a movie stunt.
27:43And let's hope that for most of Europe,
27:46brute force is confined to the film studio.
27:56Next time, were you someone who was interested in railways?
27:59Did you have a model railway, perhaps?
28:01Not at all.
28:01I was more of the princess type of girl.
28:05How do Hungarians think of Biela Bartók?
28:09One of the reasons I am proud that I am Hungarian is Bartók.
28:15Open your seatbelts!
28:17Get off! Get off!
28:19Leave your luggage!
28:20Jump and slide!
28:22You know, that was genuinely stressful.
28:24Go to hell!
28:41Go to hell!
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