All language subtitles for The Worlds Most Scenic Railway Journeys S05E02 1080p WEB DL H264 BTN_track3_[eng]

Escape with us on a
magical midsummer journey

as we meander through
central Sweden.

This charming train will give us

a rare glimpse into the country's
rich cultural heart...

It's always magic here.

..before taking us far into
the Arctic wilderness,

where reindeer roam...

..and the high summer sun never
dips below the horizon.

I see all the flowers,
all the trees,

all the mountains and snow -

Sarek is land for a reindeer,
a land for me too.

We'll hear tales of lake monsters...

Going to the propeller,

we could not survive, I think.

..and meet the people who
live and work along this

little-known route.

I love my landscape.

Yes, I do. I really do.

This is no ordinary railway journey.

This is one of the most scenic
railway journeys in the world.

Sweden.

We're in mid-west Sweden,
about to embark on a leisurely

and characterful two-day adventure.

It's just after lunchtime at Mora
Station, where we're hopping

aboard a 1970s Italian-made
rail car...

..which is only in service for
ten weeks a year over summer.

We'll have three onboard guides
along our 663-mile route.

The first is Elisabeth,
who will be with us

throughout day one.

Welcome on board this train that's
bound for Ostersund tonight,

and tomorrow we are going
up to Gallivare.

I try to guide you.

The guides oversee everything
from feeding passengers information

about the journey to pointing
them towards the facilities.

In this train,

we have a toilet in the middle
of the train

that you can use - you have to be
strong because the door

is... You have to push at the door.

Otherwise you can't get it up.

The door might be a bit stiff,
but everything else on this train

is pretty relaxed.

While there's a timetable,

there's wiggle room for the driver
to stop along the way to allow

passengers like Lars to take
in the sights.

I think train is very relaxing.

It's very comfortable to just
sit there and look at the nature

and, yeah, just enjoy the trip.

It's perfect, in my opinion.

Our first leg starts in Mora
in Dalarna County, the home

of Swedish folk tradition.
We'll then head north to Storsjon,

where a lake monster is said to lurk
before arriving in Ostersund,

where we'll stop for the night.
On day two we'll travel

into Swedish Lapland, where
we'll disembark to visit

a famous smokery,

before we cross the Arctic Circle
to meet a forager at Jokkmokk.

Finally, we'll reach Gallivare,
where our train terminates

and where we'll helicopter
into the Sarek National Park.

We're travelling through the
Dalarna province, known as Sweden

in miniature because it encapsulates
so much of the country's culture,

including its iconic red buildings.

That's typical Dalarna, Sweden
scenery with its red houses,

and I haven't seen this type
of painting of houses anywhere else.

It's a tradition that dates back
over 300 years, thanks to a vast

nearby copper mountain,
which produces the iron ochre

that gives the paint its colour.

Back in the 17th century, this mine
was providing 70% of Europe's

copper, bankrolling Sweden.

But after it collapsed in 1687,
it became the source of today's

famous falun red paint.

SHE SPEAKS SWEDISH

This is the home of another Swedish
red icon - a decorative wooden horse

called the Dala horse.

Local craftsmen have been carving
them for over 200 years,

and we're getting off the train
to see one of them in action -

Stefan.

When people think of Sweden,
they think of Dala horses,

and it's nice to be a part of that
and to be able to pass it on.

I'm proud of that.

The carving and painting of these
toy horses is a skill that's

been passed down since the 17th
century, when it started out

as a hobby, keeping workers busy
through Sweden's long nights.

The men worked in the forests
during the winter months,

and the days were short and dark
quite early, so they spent a lot

of time in the cabins and many
times they carved a horse.

Eventually, the toy horses gained
economic value. As people began

using them to barter,

their production became a valuable
sideline for many a peasant family,

and the designs grew
more and more intricate.

We have a basic pattern to follow,
but yet we do have quite some

freedom to give our own touch
to each horse, and they become

very lively and colourful.

We used to say that when
we're completed with the horses,

when the tail is done,
that's the last touch.

Finished. Done.

HORN BLASTS

Back on our little Italian-made
train, we're enjoying some

of the best vistas Dalarna has
to offer, something Elisabeth

never tires of.

We have a summer season and a winter
season, and people ask me,

do you think it's boring?
And it's never boring.

Never, ever, because every day
is different and you see

how the nature changes.

You see all the animals.

I love this.

In the winter, everything
is white, white, white, white,

and in the summer, everything
is green, green, green.

And so it's the same,
but very different.

The Swedish people
love their nature,

celebrating it year-round.

We're lucky enough to be here during
a high point in the calendar -

midsummer, and no place
does it bigger than Dalarna.

Ladies and gentlemen, Orsa.

And we're alighting here to join
the festivities with host Mikaela.

We come together and eat and sing
and dance around the maypole.

Early in the morning, we come
together and we do these flower

crowns, so it's a very traditional

and good feeling thing we do,

and we start midsummer with that.

The festival is all about giving
thanks to Mother Nature.

The flowers, a symbol of rebirth
and fertility, are gathered

by the women who wear
traditional costume,

each one unique to her own parish.

The girls used to pick seven

different flowers and then they put
them under the pillows

and they sleep on it.

And then they say they can dream
about their future husbands.

So I think it's magic.

And no party is complete without
dancing around the maypole

and singing about, well,
frogs, obviously.

We have this dance
called Sma Grodorna.

It's a song about small frogs and no
ears and no tails, and we go

around the pole dancing together
and we sing...

# Sma grodorna, sma grodorna

# Da da da da da da. #

Yeah, we have fun. So fun.

So it's always magic here.

We're leaving the
midsummer madness behind...

..to continue through the centre
of Sweden...

..toward the wild waters of Dalarna.

It's day one of a slow scenic jaunt
aboard a retro train, which takes us

through the heart of Sweden,
stopping along the way so passengers

can linger at leisure.

Well, I like Sweden
and the landscape very much,

because it's not so crowded.

You have a lot of nature.

You can be by yourself in the nature
and the forests.

Coming out like this is very,
very relaxing for body and soul,

I would say.

With the first leg of this 663-mile
journey behind us, our train

will continue through Dalarna.

We'll visit a traditional farmhouse
for refuelling before moving

on to a great lake with a
mythical monster,

after which we'll make an overnight
stop in the county capital,

Ostersund.

We're still deep in Dalarna,
travelling

towards a vast sandstone canyon.

And there's only one way
to get across the top of it.

Built in 1902, this bridge
might look rickety,

but it's certainly stood
the test of time.

111-feet high, it traverses
the Aman River and midway across,

our train slows to offer
passengers views of the stunning

Storstupet waterfall down below.

The view you have from the bridge,

it's amazing.

This is very high.

Very beautiful, really amazing
what nature can do.

You become very impressed
by the things that nature can create

and also a little bit humble.

Lars is certainly impressed,
but lingering at that height

wasn't for everyone.

It's like my feet are hurting a bit
because it's so high up.

And then they were like,
"Let's stop here."

I'm like, "No, just go."

It's mid-afternoon and passengers
are getting peckish, so our train

will soon be making a very special
stop to pick up some refreshment.

Now we are coming through
Fagelsjo.

You want to translate it?

It's Bird Lake, and it's a little,
little village in the water.

We'll be collecting some fika,
which loosely translates as coffee

and cake, but it's much
more than just a word

to the Swedish people.

Fika is stronger than a
tradition, it's an institution,

where we drink coffee and maybe
have some cake or sandwich

in the afternoon, and it's very
similar to the afternoon tea

that you have in UK.

If Swedes don't get the coffee
during the day, they will become

very, very troublesome
and even angry.

Difficult as it is to imagine
Lars angry, with a pit stop

mere moments away,

it's something we'll hopefully
never have to witness.

SHE SPEAKS SWEDISH

Food.

Look, there she stands with coffee
and sandwiches, hopefully.

Look forward to have
something to eat.

Today's food has been specially
prepared two miles from our stop,

in a cafe attached to a folk museum.

The train Inlandsbanan goes
by Fagelsjo station twice a day

and usually it stops for about a
20-minute stop and we go there

and we serve Swedish fika.

We have a person in the cafe baking
these delicious cinnamon buns

that are very traditional.

Gisen is manager of seven original
farm houses built by 17th-century

Finnish settlers,
now open to visitors.

One of them was closed up over 100
years ago and frozen in time.

The farmhouse is from 1818.

The last couple that lived
in this farm up until 1910 decided

to build a brand-new house
and modernise with electricity

and running water, and moved
across the yard on Christmas Eve

in 1910 and decided to just lock
the doors to the old farmhouse

and keep it and preserve
it for future generations.

With its interior totally intact,
all the family's possessions

still lie in situ,
exactly as they would have

over two centuries ago.

And as well as being able to immerse
themselves in 17th-century living,

visitors can enjoy the fika
that's freshly prepared

here every day.

Wow. Won't you try?

Yes.

It's good?
It's delicious.

All we need is a cup of coffee.

Thank you.

Back on board,
passengers are revived

and tempers remain un-frayed.

THEY SPEAK SWEDISH

We're now heading into Jamtland,
a sprawling, sparsely-populated

province in the mid-west, home to
some of the country's tallest peaks

and numerous mountain lakes.

I want you to look at this
because this is so...

This is the most amazing
about Jamtland -

you see the lake, you see
the mountains, you see the light,

especially in this time of year.

I love my landscape.

Yes, I do. I really do.

Our train is passing the
fifth-largest lake in the country,

which is also huge in Swedish
folklore, thanks to a resident

monster said to lurk in its
murky 250-foot depths.

Sweden's own Loch Ness Monster was
first spotted in 1635 by a local

church minister who described
it as a strange animal with a black

serpent-like body and cat-like head.

We've gone off the rails to get
onto a boat with Kurt and Evert -

who's come up close and personal
with the monster twice - to see

if it will rear its head today.

Beautiful day.

Yes, perfect.

Hopefully, we can see anything.

How many years was it when
you have this experience

with the great lake monster?

First time, '94,
and second time, 2005.

I was fishing,

and then something got on the line,

down, and the boat
started to go backwards.

In the next moment comes
something like a long cow...

..longer than the boat.
Right.

It was dangerous because the body
of this animal was about two metres

from the propeller and if
it goes the propeller,

we would not survive, I think.

I am also very afraid.

That's amazing.

Did you see how long it was? At
least 15 metres long. 50? 15 metres.

While it's possible Kurt's fallen
for a local fisherman's joke,

hook, line and sinker,

there have been around 500 similar
sightings over the last 400 years.

How does it feel to be back?

Oh, it's good.

And here is a place for a monster.

But like many great legends,

this monster is keeping
a low profile today.

And it remains a fascinating myth.

Back on the train, passengers
are enjoying watching the landscape

change as we enter an area
thick with birch forests.

This trip is as much
a celebration of nature

as a way of getting from A to B.

The Swedes' love of nature extends
beyond just being outdoors

in all seasons -

nature also means nourishment.

And their passion for foraging
has put them

on the global gourmet map.

We've stepped off the train
to meet Peter, who makes wine

from birch sap,
Sweden's national tree.

You need a lot of sap
when you're making wine.

So every spring, I collect

about 100,000 litres in 20-21 days.

That's my window.

When are you harvesting sap,
you drill a little hole

in the tree and then you put
the tube into the tree and the birch

sap is dropping down to the can,
plastic can, and it fills

this can in about two days.

Over 20 years ago, Peter chanced
upon a birch sap wine recipe

in a botanical book from 1785.

He spent years adapting it
to perfect the taste

of his Swedish Sav.

Today, his distillery produces
200,000 bottles a year,

exporting around the world.

The wine is special
because it's very dry.

It's not so much sugar in it,
and also it tastes like you're

walking in a birch forest.

That's amazing.

And also the alcohol,

you don't even feel the alcohol.

It's a truly unique
sparkling wine made from nature,

using great innovation.

Back on our Inlandsbanan train,
it's just gone 6pm...

Ladies and gentlemen, we'll be
coming to the station in Ostersund.

..and we're pulling in to Ostersund,
the largest city in the province,

where we'll be stopping
for the night.

So thank you very much
and have a nice evening.

Goodbye.

Tomorrow we continue north, where
we'll sample some

locally-smoked food before we cross
over into the Arctic Circle

and fly over the breathtaking
Sarek National Park.

It's day two of a midsummer
adventure aboard our little 1970s

rail car from mid-Sweden
into the Arctic.

Just after 7am, we're about
to depart Ostersund station

alongside two new passengers
and our second host on this trip,

William.

Well, good morning, everyone,
and very welcome on board

to Inlandsbanan and our train
that is bound for Gallivare.

My name is William.

I will be your train attendant
working onboard today.

Alongside me in the forward part
of the train, we have our lovely

train driver, Helle.

William will be guiding us
along the next eight-hour stretch

of this whimsical jaunt.

And if you are one of those persons
who like to be standing, I recommend

you to be seated.

An accident can happen far too easy
and you will be the one

cleaning it up.

This rail journey is not only one
of the world's most scenic...

..it's one of the most relaxed.

Its schedule allows for spontaneous
stops along the way.

We have a timetable, but we don't
need to rush from one point A

to point B - for us, the journey
is the whole point.

So if it takes five minutes longer
for us to reach the destination,

so be it.

200 miles into our journey,
we're heading

towards the Arctic Circle.

Our train will continue north,
where we'll sample some

locally-smoked food.

We'll then cross into the Saami
territory of Jokkmokk...

..before reaching our destination,
Gallivare.

We've just entered Swedish
Lapland...

..and Maria and her husband are
taking advantage of the long days

to see some of the area by bike.

It's exciting, it's a little bit
different and...

..I want to see the north
and the midnight sun for real.

Four hours into our journey,

we're now travelling
through Laponia...

..and, as it's just past midday,
it's time to sample some

traditional north Swedish fare.

This is where we eat our lunch
because we don't have a

dining car with us.

This is privately owned
little fish smokery.

He has won a lot of medals
in the Swedish food championships.

We're at Bergmans Fisk & Vilt,
the foundations of which began

in 1902, when Martin's grandfather
began smoking his own fish.

The special thing is that we make
it an old traditional way how people

have been making food in
many hundred years.

As the fifth generation of smokers,
Martin grew up learning the trade

from his uncles. After years
of working as a hunting

and fishing guide

he decided to build his own
smokehouse.

Here we have a salmon
that we're going to smoke tonight.

So now this one is just laying
salt for a couple of hours.

And after that, we put it
on these wagons

and have a special marinade on.

This smoke, we started very early
this morning, and this one is one

of our most popular products,
this is a pepper-smoked salmon

and this one we have won
the Swedish Championship with.

So this smoke we make every day,
so we have fresh new smoked salmon

in our shop
and also in the restaurant.

What makes this smoked fish
so special is the firewood

that Martin uses -

it's from his own private
fir forest.

So now we put on this one to make

a very good smell and taste.

And this is the wood
that we use. When you tap them

and you make the high clink -
ding, ding, ding - you know

that they are dry.

If they are too much water,
boom, boom, boom.

That's how we control
if the wood is dry.

Back on board, we've picked
up a new gaggle of guests.

They're here with retired journalist
turned tour guide Christina,

who led a hard-fought battle
to save this railway.

1991 was the big fight, the real big
fight when we asked people to sign

for Inlandsbanan
if you want to have it stay.

20 years ago, government
cutbacks threatened the line...

..but Christina used her newspaper
to gather nearly half a million

signatures, and together with local
communities along the route,

persuaded the powers that be
to keep it open.

It was a journalistic scoop.

For me and for us, it was
because we give people opportunity

to stay here, to earn their money,
to live here.

It's something that is special.

Since we left Ostersund,
we've covered over 230 miles.

We're continuing north through
Lapland, Sweden's largest province,

but home to just 1.3% of
the country's population.

We are soon coming to Sorsele,

which you can say is the halfway
point for today's journey.

When we arrive, we'll be saying
goodbye to William.

I'm switching trains, I'm taking
the southbound train today.

So, bye-bye.

Karin is taking over and will be our
third and final host on the last

five hours of this trip.

We have two teams, you can call
it - one southern team and one

northern team, and I'm part
of the northern team that goes

from Storuman to Gallivare.

Although this part of the country
is a UNESCO World Heritage Site,

it's so remote, it's unknown
to many of its own people.

Even for people in Sweden
it's very exotic.

Some of these people haven't
seen reindeers before.

And they haven't met Lappish people.

It's important, and it's beautiful.

It's just before 7pm, and our train
is about to reach the most

photographed place on the
Inlandsbanan route.

We are at the Arctic Circle.

THEY SPEAK SWEDISH

Two days and 397 miles
into our journey...

..we finally reached the invisible
line that marks the Arctic Circle,

where for days each year, the sun
never dips below the horizon.

We're now just 60 miles
from our destination,

where we'll take to the skies
to visit Sarek National Park,

an ancient Saami stomping ground,
to go in search

of its majestic reindeer.

We're 600 miles in
to one of the world's most

scenic railway journeys...

..travelling through remote Swedish
Lapland towards our

journey's end, Gallivare.

It's nearly 8pm...

..as we're about to pull in
to the Arctic town of Jokkmokk,

our penultimate stop.

Meaning "river bend" in the
indigenous language, this is known

as the Saami capital of Lapland...

..and we're getting off here to meet
Eva, who spent years studying

and teaching a major part
of Saami culture.

I am a forager, and for the last ten
years, I have been teaching

what edible plants we have, both
for eating, because that's my

passion, but also what spices
and uses because we find so many

great things in the surroundings
that we just take for granted.

Originally from Stockholm, Eva
became an expert in what she calls

her wild pantry,
when she met her Saami husband.

It's knowing which plants
grow a lot, which ones

you have to be careful about,
which ones are poisonous -

there are some.

These are the flowers of
Labrador tea,

and this is a wild rhododendron
that grows everywhere here

in the forest, and it's a little bit
poisonous.

So you have to be careful.

But I use it as a spice,
and it's also good to have a tea

against cough or fever and things
like that.

So very, very aromatic
and lovely plant.

And then we have all the berries,
small green berries

that will become blue in July
and really aromatic.

It's a bilberry.

In her kitchen, Eva uses her rich
pickings to create delicacies such

as birch crackers, bark breads
and traditional hot drinks.

I'm making my take on Swedish glogg,

and glogg is a little bit like
gluhwein or spiced, sweetened wine.

So instead of wine, I use
berries like lingonberries

and like blueberries and
bilberries and crowberries.

So I made a juice out of
those berries, and I sweeten

it a little bit.

And then I used the strongest spice

I know, which in this area
is the Labrador tea.

And for me, this is sort
of the flavour of the forest.

One for you. OK.

Back on board, we've left Jokkmokk
behind, and Karin, our host,

is making the most of the endless
summer light to enjoy the final

50-mile stretch.

A bit of a luxury to be able to sit
down and enjoy the view

into Gallivare.

It's just after 9pm in the
land of the midnight sun...

..and two days after we got
on at Mora, we've finally made it

to Gallivare. An ancient
iron mining town, it's the gateway

to Sweden's extraordinary
Arctic region.

But our journey is not over.

The best is yet to come.

We're about to visit an ancient
Saami stomping ground

in a most modern way.

We're joining Per-Olaf, a reindeer
herder, to visit the spectacular

Sarek National Park,
a true gem of the Arctic.

You know, that's a last wilderness
in Europe, and I live there.

That's my home.

With nearly 100 glaciers and its
famous Rapa Valley river delta,

this vast stretch of land is the
most mountainous in Sweden.

It's been home to the indigenous
people for millennia, and in 1910

it was made a protected
national park.

It's also home to Per's herd of
reindeer, who can roam for hundreds

of miles, so the easiest way
to locate them is from the sky.

I need to eat this.

It's really good, really good.

Many, many vitamins from the sun.

Per-Olaf has managed - finally -
to track them down.

REINDEER BELLS JANGLE

This is my reindeer,
my fabulous reindeer.

HE SHOUTS IN SWEDISH

These elusive animals are the stuff
of European legend,

and for thousands of years
they provided the Saami with much

more than food, but clothing,
transport and companionship.

It's a relationship founded
upon deep respect.

It's really nice when they know me,

they smell me, they know my voice.

I grow up with the reindeer.

I'm born here.

This is my life.

I don't need money here.

I have food here and fish
in the lake and meat

with the reindeer.

It's so peaceful.

Sarek is a land for a reindeer,

a land for me too.

On our 663-mile adventure

up through Sweden...

..we've experienced its
classic culture

in the country's folk heartlands...

..we've enjoyed traditional
foraged fare...

..and come up close and personal
with Lapland's famed creatures...

..all aboard an eccentric slow train
where deadlines are unimportant

and what matters most is
the journey itself.