Original subtitles

Welcome to Slovakia,

on the second leg of our fabulous journey tracking the Danube

all the way through its countries,

right down from the Black Forest to the Black Sea.

In this episode, I'll be travelling in the heart of Europe...

..through the landlocked countries of Slovakia and Hungary.

One of Europe's newest countries,

Slovakia is home to just over 5 million people,

stunning alpine vistas,

diverse wildlife...

..and an array of dramatic fortifications.

I'm standing on the highest point of Devin Castle.

My starting point sits high over the Danube,

with a history stretching back over a thousand years.

The river running here is between Slovakia here...

That's Austria!

So this has always been a hugely important frontier.

This was the northern limits of the great Roman Empire.

But its really important moment came in the middle of the 20th century.

After the Second World War,

Slovakia, then part of Czechoslovakia,

fell under communist rule.

And this amazing river at the foot of Devin Castle

became an ideological border between east and west.

'Brano Chrenka has kindly offered to show me

'communism's lasting imprint...'

Brano! Hi, Joanna.

'..with a rather special driving tour of the capital.'

This was my grandfather's car. Skoda?

Yeah, 1974. Oh, it's beautiful.

Oh, how comfortable, how lovely!

It's gorgeous! It works!

THEY CHUCKLE

They were always such good cars,

but there were lots of jokes made about them, weren't there?

Yeah, there are a lot of jokes.

For example, "What is a Skoda on the top of the hill?"

CHUCKLING: Mm, don't know.

It's a miracle! JOANNA LAUGHS

I remember one, which is,

"A man drives into the garage and says,

" 'Do you have a fan belt for a Skoda?' "

BRANO CHUCKLES " 'And the garage man says,

" 'Seems like a fair exchange.' " So... Oh, right!

'All jokes aside, this car has stood the test of time

'and is an heirloom in Brano's family,

'having been passed down the generations.'

My father, he was 18 years old,

to drive all the way to western Germany.

And he tried to bring some LPs of Beatles and ABBA.

Oh! But because...

But did he manage? No. It was actually found by the guards

under the seat of the Skoda car. Oh, no!

So actually, and the guards kept the records. Oh, beastly!

Although importing Western music was illegal,

Bratislava didn't reject all creativity.

Bratislava, in '70s and '80s, became a playground for the architects.

They could all come and try it out.

Architects could fulfil their crazy dreams.

'None more so than the Slovak Radio Tower,

'which has been supplying the nation with daily broadcasts since 1985.'

It's pretty impressive, isn't it? I think it's very impressive. Yeah.

Despite the British paper, The Telegraph,

they made the list of ugliest buildings in the world. Oh, no, no.

What, this was on there? Oh, no. This was one of them.

BRANO CHUCKLES I think it's very daring.

'Bratislava has six bridges over the Danube

'and Brano is keen to show me the most famous one of all,

'the UFO Bridge.'

One of the most special bridges in Europe.

'This futuristic bridge has become a symbol of the city.

'Built in 1972, it's formed of a singular asymmetrical pylon,

'with a distinctive restaurant that hovers above the cityscape.'

It's spectacular!

And it's called UFO because... like a flying saucer.

Yeah, you have to imagine that this was the time

of late '60s, early '70s, the space race. Oh, my God, yes.

'Spanning the Danube,

'the UFO Bridge connects Bratislava's Old Town to Petrzalka,

'perhaps the largest prefabricated housing estate in central Europe.'

It goes for miles!

It's so huge that it was so easy to get lost.

'The name Petrzalka comes from the word for "parsley".

'Planned in the 1960s to house 100,000 people,

'this concrete jungle was built on the site of a small garden village

'known for its fruit orchards, vegetables and herbs.'

Have you been in one?

I also live in the prefabs. Do you?

Every fourth inhabitant of Bratislava lives here in Petrzalka.

Gosh, gosh, gosh. Petrzalka, look at you.

Little parsley apricot country... BRANO CHUCKLES

..turned into this extraordinary new city.

After over four decades of communist rule,

Slovakia emerged as an independent nation in 1993,

making Bratislava one of Europe's youngest capitals.

Now it's a vibrant city full of creative people.

Look at this fabulous headdress, all its ornate intricacies,

its flowers and ribbons

and adornments and baubles and beads.

'Ethnologist Katarina Sabova...'

Nice to meet you, Joanna. Katarina, hi.

'..is inspired by Slovakia's rich folk past

'and is leading a project

'that is transforming traditional Slovak headdresses,

'from forgotten historic relics into beautiful pieces of art.'

Katarina, were these wedding headdresses?

Or were they just for finery, or what were they?

It's for wedding, for celebration. Every headband is different.

Every village has a different traditional "parta" -

we call in Slovakia "parta" - it's just for unmarried, young lady.

So this is only for virginal, young brides?

Yes, yes, yes. JOANNA GASPS SOFTLY

So I can't wear one. THEY LAUGH

And do you make these yourself now, these beautiful headdresses?

We borrow from people from a village.

Today, we have this girl from Horne Opatovce,

she bring for us today.

Her own one? Yes.

JOANNA GASPS Look at you, honey!

Hello, darling. I'm Joanna. Dobry den.

You look so beautiful!

These are so unbelievably attractive.

For a bride, to have something to make you feel special,

it's almost like a crown, it's...

May I, will you turn around, honey?

Look how enchanting that is.

So, you get the beautiful back, her lovely plait,

and this gorgeous, gorgeous net falling down.

But this gives you, like, a tiara, like a crown!

'This beautiful parta headdress

'originates from a village that no longer exists.'

JOANNA GASPS

WHISPERING: Ivana, look at that!

'In the 1960s, the village of Horne Opatovce was abandoned

'due to the pollution from the local aluminium plant,

'an ecological disaster

'that turned a village into Slovakia's Chernobyl.'

This is extraordinary, because it looks almost metallic.

It's aluminium.

Cos she's got aluminium tears falling on her face

to mourn the loss of that village, it doesn't exist any more.

Oh, look, it looks stunning.

Yeah. PHOTOGRAPHER LAUGHS

SHE CLICKS TEETH We like it. That's lovely.

Nearly all of Slovakia - about 96% - lies within the Danube's basin,

meaning nearly every stream rising here flows into the mighty river.

Three hours from Bratislava is one of Europe's last wildernesses.

Most of the Tatras Mountains are so high

that they're inaccessible to all but the most experienced climbers.

But there is one I'm hoping to get up today, onto the very top,

but only if the weather is on our side.

In northern Slovakia...

..water from the formidable Tatras Mountains

feeds into the Danube via its many tributaries.

These are the highest peaks in the Carpathians.

Where I'm trying to get up to...

CHUCKLING: ..has now completely disappeared.

It's up there where those cable cars are going.

It's called Lomnicky Stit.

We're going right up there.

The route to the top involves multiple cable cars.

The final leg is a perilous ascent

that's at the mercy of the unpredictable mountain weather.

It's nearly 900m from the cable station right up to the top.

This is very thrilling.

Maybe we wouldn't be able to get this last cable car

because of the wind, but actually, it's dropped at the moment.

People have got stuck up there,

so we've bought with us provisions of all kinds -

snacks and stuff like that.

When I was doing the Bond film in Switzerland as a Bond girl,

we used to go up to the location on the top of the mountain,

and it was completely thrilling.

We were all dressed up - eyelashes, plenty lipstick.

Up we got in the car like a cage of little... little songbirds.

And they always said, "Be careful when you get there.

"Walk slowly, because the air is thinner,

"and you might feel a bit giddy."

Look, I think I can see the shape of the hut up here.

Perched at the very top of Lomnicky Stit is an observatory.

At 2,634m above sea level,

it's a vital research station in the fields of astronomy and meteorology.

WHISPERING: I can hear people.

'The observatory

'is the highest permanently inhabited place in Slovakia.'

Rasti? Hi, I'm Joanna.

'For the past nine years,

'this high-altitude research station has been Rastislav Macura's office.'

Look at this. It's fantastic!

Tell me, what is the work that you do up here?

Rasti, I can't help noticing that you've got a bed up here.

Have you ever been stuck up here because the weather's been so bad?

'The highest recorded wind speeds up here are 137 miles per hour.'

THEY CHUCKLE

'When it comes to making detailed weather observations,

'digital sensors can't compete with the human eye,

'so every hour,

'Rasti has to brave the cold to take manual measurements.'

Look at this, looks like a little outside bread oven or something.

Wow!

If I put a bit of warm hand, that warms it up.

But we, we must... Don't touch it.

JOANNA SPLUTTERS, LAUGHTER

I've altered the weather pattern now across Europe.

So, I'm so sorry. Just say it was a mad woman.

'No instruments were harmed in the making of this film,

'but these little thermometers play an important role

'in monitoring the climate.'

I feel that we are so far from the Danube here.

But there is a connection, isn't there?

'Scientists like Rasti are finding

'weather patterns you could once set your watch to are now in flux.

'The snow and ice up here used to melt gradually through the spring,

'but it's now happening much more unpredictably.

'Across the whole Danube Basin,

'more extreme conditions like sudden floods and prolonged droughts

'are becoming the norm.'

It's almost unworldly being up here with the snow drumming down,

it's almost like little hailstones - pit, pit, pit, pit, pit on my hat.

And you can't have any sense of where you are.

And yet I know that, if this goes too badly wrong,

all life on Earth is gonna change.

All these meteorological studies are so hugely important.

None of the research at Lomnicky Stit would be possible

without the cable car.

Completed in 1940,

the engineers overcame a height difference of nearly 900m

in one single stretch.

The real heroes of this daring feat, though,

are the local porters who climbed up the mountain with the first rope

to get the construction going.

And incredibly,

mountain portering is a tradition that continues in Slovakia today.

Hi, I'm Steve. Nice to meet you. Steve.

'Steve Backor is one of Slovakia's last mountain porters.'

Oh, look at this, Steve, you've got briquettes and logs and...

Yes, we use the heating all of the year.

We are in the mountains, you know.

So it's... HE CHUCKLES

'Nowadays most of the porters make their money

'carrying supplies to a number of chalets

'dotted across the Tatra Mountains,

'which are only accessible by foot.'

Oh, my gosh, Steve. Look at that. So...

What do you call this? A frame, or...?

We call it a "craxa". Craxa.

Ahoj. Hi.

Ciao.

He's going from Zbojnicka mountain hut. Mm-hm?

And how long did it take him to come down?

19 minutes.

The time for the tourists is about two hours, so it's, er...

THEY LAUGH

Two hours for the tourists, and 19 minutes for a porter. Oh, God.

'It's time for Steve to begin the careful art of loading up his craxa.

'Normally, it's recommended

'that hikers don't carry more than 20% of their body weight.'

How much does that weigh? 72kg.

And the craxa is about eight. So it means...

That's 80kg. ..80kg.

Steve, how much do you weigh? CHUCKLING: After a good lunch, 72.

So you're carrying far more than you weigh?

You should be efficient, yes?

I mean, just when I thought that was a colossal pack,

he just puts his backpack on the top.

OK. Let's go.

THEY CHUCKLE

OK. Oh, my gosh.

Ciao, ciao.

'Porters know the mountains like the back of their hand,

'but it's not without risk.'

Is it dangerous? Have there been accidents?

Yes, of course. We are in the mountains in winter.

The avalanches.

We organise two races through the year, and one race is on this trail.

Yeah? It's a memorial.

We remember one very good Sherpa, he died in avalanche in 2000.

Yeah?

And he was a very good friend of ours, the same age.

Oh, God. And, er...

And it's a race with 100kg, OK?

And if you want to win...

HE CHUCKLES ..you must run on this trail.

Oh!

I should've offered to carry your backpack at least, couldn't I?

I could've offered to do that, Steve.

THEY CHUCKLE It's OK.

'Steve's destination today is Rainerova chalet.'

We're here, Steve. Yes. Welcome in the Rainerova hut.

SIGHING: OK.

'It's the oldest mountain hut in the Tatras

'and run by fellow mountain porter Peter Patras.'

So, come on. How lovely.

Hello, Peter. Ciao. Ah.

'Three decades ago, Peter converted Rainerova from a ruin,

'into a cosy stop-off for weary hikers.'

When you first came to the hut, what condition was it in?

And what did your wife think

when you said that you wanted to take this ruin?

But we're talking about bricks and tiles and wood. Yes.

Everything we see was carried by you.

'Peter has been portering since the 1960s

'and has a personal record of carrying 120 kilograms.'

Are you still carrying?

Peter is obviously a legend in the whole community.

We're made to work, we're much stronger than we think.

And it's important to preserve this tradition of porterage

so that we don't all just become fat slobs...

sitting on the sofa, watching television and complaining.

These are men of the mountains, and every day they get up,

there's slightly different weather,

there's something majestic to look at,

there's extraordinary snow or blazing sun, birds,

and the sound of water running.

This is what restores the soul.

Nothing but the pad of a walking man with a great pack on his back

and an old woman sipping tea.

WHISPERING: Magic.

MUSIC: 'An Der Schonen Blauen Donau, Op. 314' by Johann Strauss II

After flowing steadily eastwards for nearly 800 miles,

it's in neighbouring Hungary that the Danube turns dramatically south.

Hungary's earliest settlers were drawn to the rich Danube basin,

lured in by its fertile soil and abundance of water.

Today, no other capital city embraces the Danube

quite like my next stop...

Budapest.

It's so thrilling to be back on the reason for our whole journey,

on the Danube.

And here is Budapest. It's called the pearl of the Danube.

And you can see why - it's fabulous!

Famous for its thermal spas and glorious architecture,

Budapest is a tale of two cities.

The Danube divides the great hills of Buda on the western side,

joining Pest, which was the city on the flatter eastern side of it.

And this became Budapest!

This is the parliament.

It was inspired by the Houses of Parliament in London,

and the architect Imre Steindl said,

"I want to make it as grand as possible."

And he did, but sadly he went blind, and he never saw it completed.

But look at it.

It's got something like 200 spires. Do-do-do-do-do.

And that great central dome is 96 metres high,

and that's to commemorate Hungary, which was formed in 896.

How divine!

SONG: 'Budapest' by George Ezra

# My house in Budapest, my My hidden treasure chest

# Golden grand piano My beautiful castillo... #

'Built by British engineers in the 1840s,

'the Great Chain Bridge paved the way for unification

'between Buda and Pest, officially merging in 1873.'

Bye-bye. Bye-bye.

This was a time when Budapest was a capital city

within the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

The late 19th century was the golden age of construction in the city.

Andrassy Avenue, in the centre of Pest,

emerged as one of Budapest's most opulent streets.

One building in particular is a hub

for Hungary's elite musicians and performers.

MUSIC: 'Gloria all'Egitto' by Giuseppe Verdi

George. Joanna.

Welcome to the Hungarian State Opera.

Thank you so much. Whoa!

Let me show you where the magic begins.

This is out of this world, George.

It's spectacular.

The architect was a genius,

and he designed this intimate space with a thousand seats all around.

Look at all this decoration, and then the ceiling.

The ceiling depicts The Apotheosis Of Music

by Hungarian painter Karoly Lotz,

and Apollo is the central figure.

All the gods and goddesses of the Olympus mountain

are listening to him,

because it's the most important thing, music.

All the cherubs are playing. Isn't that adorable?

On stage tonight is the opera Aida, written by Verdi,

and I've been given access all areas.

This is magic, this is just coming onto the stage,

just to feel a sense of the stage.

When you're performing, you own it, this is yours.

You're not an alien, you go,

"I've been here before and I belong to it."

You want to make sure that you recognise the steps.

Your legs, with muscular memory,

remember if they're slightly high, slightly low.

You've got to get all this into you.

You can't really get it in rehearsal rooms.

You can see this is made of wood, plaster, or...

You know, but this is the whole point.

The whole point is it's an illusion.

This is ancient Egypt!

Hi, Joanna. I'm Judit, lovely to meet you.

Oh, my gosh.

'Judit Kutasi is a Romanian-Hungarian mezzo-soprano,

'and tonight, she's playing Amneris, one of the leading roles.'

This is a huge opera tonight. This is four hours, isn't it? Yes.

What we call a big sing. Yes, it's a big sing.

It's a big sing, it is. It's true.

Have you sung in this house before? It's my first time, actually.

No! Your first time here? My first time.

They are so lucky to have you. SHE LAUGHS

They must be thrilled. What are the last-minute things you do?

I always love to take a moment for myself,

to find myself calm and surrounded by the smell of the theatre.

Toi, toi, toi. Toi, toi, toi.

I must explain what "toi, toi, toi" is.

They used to spit three times. SHE MIMICS SPITTING

And we still do it. And you still do it.

But only when I'm wearing the costume.

Thank you. Thank you.

APPLAUSE

That applause is the conductor coming into the orchestra pit.

There's nothing quite like the moment

just before you step out onto the stage,

and tonight's show is a sell-out.

SINGS OPERATICALLY

The Danube is the beating heart of Budapest,

but this magnificent river has also been at the centre

of some of the city's darkest moments.

This is the most poignant little memorial I've ever seen.

Shoes on the edge of the River Danube.

Now, this is the grim story of this.

During the Second World War,

Nazi Germany invaded Hungary and began purging the Jews

and purging anybody who was standing up against them.

What they did was they brought them down here to the edge of the Danube.

They shot them... dead, and pushed them into the water,

and let the river carry its grim burden away.

But before they killed them, they made them take off their shoes,

because the militiamen knew that shoes were very valuable,

and they could sell them for money.

And so, much, much later, here these little shoes are standing.

Kicked off. Just heartbreaking.

In 1944, the Danube became a Jewish graveyard.

Across the city,

those who were not killed or forced to live in a ghetto were deported.

In just eight weeks,

424,000 Hungarian Jews were sent to Auschwitz.

In Budapest's seventh district, the old Jewish quarter of the city,

stands the magnificent Dohany Street Synagogue.

It's the largest synagogue in Europe.

Joanna, Tibor.

'Tibor Rosenstein is one of Budapest's best-known personalities,

'a celebrated chef and Holocaust survivor.'

Tibor, even though you were only a tiny child during the war,

the events of the Holocaust have changed and shaped your life.

So, Tibor, who looked after you?

How did you become interested in cooking?

For almost three decades,

Tibor has been in business in the backstreets of Pest.

SHE GASPS Look.

"Rosenstein." "Rosenstein."

Oh, Tibor, isn't that wonderful?

'Driven by his family history,

'Tibor is preserving traditional Jewish-Hungarian cuisine.'

Jewish eggs.

So, we've got butter and onions,

hard-boiled eggs, diced and re-diced.

Do you remember your grandmothers making this dish?

Yeah.

Tibor, in Hungary, paprika is very important.

Ah.

Mmm. Gosh, that's good.

THEY LAUGH

Tibor, how proud your parents and your grandparents would be

to see what a huge success you've made of your life

and how much joy and pleasure you're bringing

with your world-class cooking.

'Tibor is not just preserving his family's heritage,

'but the history of a whole community

'that was almost wiped out of Budapest.'

As Hungary came to terms

with the aftermath of the Second World War,

like much of Eastern and Central Europe,

the country fell under communist rule.

In the rolling Buda Hills on the western portion of the city

is a curious railway line that's a hangover from this period.

Hello, may I have one ticket? One way.

OK, that's 1,000 forint.

Thank you. How old are you? I'm 13. My name is Vincent.

How long have you been working here, Vincent?

Two-and-a-half years. SHE GASPS

You were a little kid? Yes.

'After purchasing my ticket from the incredibly young Vincent,

'it's time to find the platform.'

Look at these people, look. Official little people.

This is extraordinary.

This is actually the beating heart of the railway,

and here, the whole thing is being run by children.

It's really, really impressive.

Oh, my gosh, I've got to get the train.

Hurry, hurry, hurry. Hello, little one. Hi, hi.

Just in time.

Gyermekvasut is one of 50 children's railways

built during the Soviet era.

The project was seen as a way of training little ones

with practical skills.

Can I see your ticket? Sure.

'It's essentially unpaid work experience,

'and only students with the best grades can apply for roles...'

Thank you so much.

'..like Daniel and Vero.'

Daniel, how many children work on the railways?

Around 700. 700?

Vero, tell me what you love about working on the railways?

How impressive to start work on the railways when you're ten.

Wearing their uniforms, clipping tickets, selling tickets,

making announcements, noting things down.

The only thing the children don't do is actually drive the trains.

Well, some things are best left to grown-ups.

Thank you, thank you.

It takes me so long to remember the word for thank you,

which is koszonom.

Whenever you go to foreign country,

try to remember: please, thank you, hello, good night.

Sometimes, you're allowed to say, "May I have a large gin and tonic?"

But honestly, the first four words are much more important.

Look how flat this countryside is.

Such a change from the great Buda Hills.

And we're on our way to see

possibly the longest river you've never heard of, ever.

It's called the Tisza. Had you heard of it?

No. Neither had I.

The River Tisza is the longest tributary of the Danube,

starting its life in Ukraine

and flowing through five countries before joining the Danube in Serbia.

At Hungary's largest dam, there's an extraordinary man

who's dedicated much of his life to keeping the River Tisza clean.

Attila. Joanna.

Hello, how lovely to meet you.

'Attila Molnar is the founder of an organisation

'whose volunteers are known as "The Plastic Pirates".

'Each spring, hundreds of tons of plastic

'are washed down by floodwaters from upstream countries,

'leaving the river and surrounding forests strewn with rubbish.

'For over ten years, their mission has been

'to clean up plastic pollution in the River Tisza.'

With all the plastic drifting into the rivers,

it must go down into the sea.

Yeah. It's recently been discovered

that nearly 80% of all plastic pollution in oceans

comes from rivers into the sea.

That's a terrifying, terrifying statistic.

That's what I was taught in school.

Plastics will stay intact for hundreds of years,

and very recently it turned out that once sunlight reaches plastic,

then it starts to break up into small pieces.

That's when it's at its most dangerous,

because then it's ingested and it goes into the food chain...

Well, into fish, which feed other fish, but also feed human beings.

Exactly.

It's very important to catch out the plastics

before they turn into microplastics.

Today, Attila is targeting an area

close to the Kiskore dam at Lake Tisza.

My God, look at that.

There's an absolute mass of it in here.

So, we are going to clean up this little area. OK.

Do I take the stuff out of it?

First, you smell, because if it's oil,

then we are not allowed to pour it out.

I think it's cola. Then it goes out.

We used to do posters when I was small, "Keep Britain Tidy."

We'd do drawings of happy little hands

tossing stuff into rubbish bins.

Do you know, it's unbelievable. This is five minutes.

And it's just jammed with plastic and old bottles.

Well, you saw it.

It's so depressing, there's masses more.

That's our catch. Thank you very much for doing this.

No, don't, honestly, I haven't helped at all.

When there isn't me and a film crew here,

these guys collect a colossal amount of waste, up to one tonne at a time.

But there's hope.

Almost 75% of plastic produced globally is recyclable.

Welcome, Joanna, this is The Plastic Pirates headquarters.

What we do is separate all the plastics,

because otherwise all these things would go to the landfill.

And we just don't want that, because it's just, you know...

Cleaning rivers to pollute soil makes no sense. Exactly.

'To date, Attila and his team have collected

'317 tonnes of plastic waste,

'which is sold off as a raw material

'and also used to produce items like kayaks.'

Why are you doing this?

Because this is all unpaid work, voluntary work, isn't it?

Believe it or not, no, it pays off in a way.

We are able to have employees, but of course, we do not raise profit.

Every euro we have goes back into the river.

So, why am I doing it?

Because every day, I have a feeling that I did something right.

For me, when I hear these plastic bottles crushing and cracking,

then I hear that, OK, there is hope.

We have a chance.

As soon as we have this pile of plastic ready for transport,

I feel like "Wow"!

HE LAUGHS

Well done. You touch my heart so much.

Attila's enthusiasm and dedication

to keeping Hungary's waterways clean is infectious.

The River Tisza flows through Hungary's Great Plains.

It's an area rich with folklore and home to a community

who are preserving a traditional way of life.

I think this is the place.

I've been told to come to Hortobagy National Park.

Look at this vast, flat land.

Like prairies.

This is the largest protected area in the whole country

and one of the most extensive natural grasslands in Europe.

I'm meeting a sort of cowboy.

I mean, we're in Hungary, and they're not cowboys.

But they tend livestock, and they're fabulous horsemen.

Oh. I think that's him. THUNDER RUMBLES

Peter?

Hello, Joanna. Hello.

Csikos, like Peter, are Hungary's mounted herdsmen,

a tradition that can be traced back to the nomadic tribes

who brought their animals to graze on these Great Plains

almost 900 years ago.

Csikos can still be seen today,

riding their muscular Nonius horses,

which are part of a breeding programme

here at the national park, focused on gene conservation.

Known for their unique riding style and distinctive attire,

Csikos are also able to pull off some tremendous acrobatic stunts.

YELLS COMMANDS AT HORSES

Oh, Peter!

Just to ride a horse is difficult.

To stand on two, steered by three, it's fantastic.

And he's as still as a cat. His head like a skier.

So, the horse is moving differently and separately.

Peter. How long have you been involved with horses?

Do you think that this tradition is going to continue in Hungary?

That was rather touching.

Peter just gave me this flower, and I thought, "It's fantastic."

And he said, "No, it's just to demonstrate our whipping skills."

I mean... Thanks, Peter.

Yea-hey-hey! My flower's gone. Janosh, thank you so much.

That shows once you've got your eye in, you can get anything.

Peter's father, Peter senior, is a seventh-generation cow-herder,

tending 200 Hungarian Grey cattle,

an ancient breed with horns up to three metres across.

Traditionally a man's world,

Peter's mother, Marika, is the first female cow-herder on the plains.

They've kindly invited me to sample a traditional herdsmen dinner.

Nice to meet you. Hello, darling.

'On the menu is slambuc, a meal made with thin pasta and potatoes.'

Gorgeous.

Oh, look, oh-la-la. That's beautiful.

Mm-hm-hm. This is so good.

Marika, you've been gulyas,

which means you've been looking after cattle.

Would you have chosen any other path in life?

Peter. Big Peter. Grand Peter.

Would you ever consider living in a city?

It's been such a privilege being here,

seeing all your skills, seeing the beauty of the animals.

With all my heart.

Well, what a fantastic place

to end the second leg of our journey,

here on the Great Plains of Hungary.

And in the next episode, the final episode,

we're going to be following the great Danube

as she winds her way across the country

and empties herself into the Black Sea.

And that country is... Romania!

'Home to grizzly inhabitants...'

What are we looking for? A bear track.

'..gruesome Transylvania legends...'

Dracula!

'..and the wild beauty of the Danube delta.'

Oh, look at them. Aren't they fantastic?

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