Muntenia • 2018 • episode "S1E2" • Flavours of Romania

Category: Travel | Subtitle:

This week we are exploring Muntenia, also known as Greater Wallachia, a region once presided over by Vlad the Impaler, whose famous cruelty as a ruler spawned the legends that inspired Bram Stoker's iconic novel, Dracula.

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Flavours of Romania • 2018 - 2023 • 19 episodes •

Oltenia
46:48
Oltenia

We begin our journey in Oltenia, once known as Wallachia minor, and one of the least promoted regions in Romania.

2018 • Travel

Muntenia
44:00
Muntenia

This week we are exploring Muntenia, also known as Greater Wallachia, a region once presided over by Vlad the Impaler, whose famous cruelty as a ruler spawned the legends that inspired Bram Stoker's iconic novel, Dracula.

2018 • Travel

Dobrogea
44:33
Dobrogea

Dobrogea is a region rich in history and modern ethnic diversity not least because it incorporates Romania's only stretch of coastline. Here the Danube Delta, Europe's largest wetland fans out into the Black Sea.

2018 • Travel

Moldova
44:13
Moldova

The next leg of my journey takes us north to Moldova, an ancient region covering the Easternmost part of the country. Originally twice its current size, it included northern Bucovina and Basarabia, now the separate and not to confused with the Republic of Moldova.

2018 • Travel

Transilvania - Part I
43:18
Transilvania - Part I

This week we are exploring Romania's largest and most iconic region,mistaken by many Americans and others as a country in its own right. In fact Transylvania is a name that most of the western world still associates with Dracula, werewolves and folk legend. But this land beyond the forest defies all preconceptions and remains one of the most culturally important and beautiful parts of Eastern Europe.

2018 • Travel

Transilvania - Part II
43:41
Transilvania - Part II

The second leg of the journey through Transilvania. We pick up our journey in the fields just outside the scenic village of Crit.

2018 • Travel

Banat & Crisana
47:06
Banat & Crisana

The Banat region borders on Serbia and Hungary, so its capital, Timisoara, is a very multi-cultural, cosmopolitan city, and provides the main social and economic hub for western Romania.

2018 • Travel

Maramures
48:10
Maramures

In this our penultimate episode, we reach the remote and beautiful Maramures, a region that has stoically resisted the influence of everyone, from Emperor Trajan, right up to Ceausescu.

2018 • Travel

Bucovina
45:24
Bucovina

Famed for its painted churches, this is a region that's replete with ancient monuments.

2018 • Travel

East Transylvania
67:08
East Transylvania

In Transylvania, Charlie's awed by a restored medieval clock tower, samples artisan cheese and donkey milk, and visits a theme park in a salt mine.

2023 • Travel

Moldavia
71:52
Moldavia

Charlie briefly abandons his Harley in the wilds of Moldova, visiting rock climbers and a "hobbit hotel." Then, he samples the stew at a monastery.

2023 • Travel

Dobrogea
76:13
Dobrogea

In Dobrogea's fragile Danube Delta ecosystem, Charlie tours by boat and bicycle to visit the region's picturesque beach and fishing villages.

2023 • Travel

Muntenia
77:04
Muntenia

Charlie visits Romania's capital of Bucharest and its massive Palace of Parliament, then learns how to make a clay oven and dines at a unique resort.

2023 • Travel

Oltenia
77:56
Oltenia

Riding across Oltenia, Charlie checks out a "glamping" resort and eco-hotels, enjoys the view from a sky hammock and takes in Craiova's arts scene.

2023 • Travel

Banat
64:34
Banat

Charlie meets an architect trying to save the decaying spa at the Baile Herculane resort in Banat, then visits Timi?oara, Romania's "Little Vienna."

2023 • Travel

Crisana
66:45
Crisana

In Cri?ana, Charlie appreciates the historical monuments of the region and recounts the story of St. Ladislaus and the origins of the Oradea Fortress.

2023 • Travel

Maramures
87:49
Maramures

As autumn begins, Charlie visits an authority on Maramure? history and culture, feasts on a traditionally-prepared lamb and forages for mushrooms.

2023 • Travel

Bucovina
77:21
Bucovina

After a winter break, Charlie gets back on the road. In Bucovina, he enjoys smoked trout, kayaking and a sojourn at a restored traditional community.

2023 • Travel

West Transylvania
124:34
West Transylvania

Charlie wraps up his explorations in western Transylvania, where he descends into an ancient Roman gold mine and drinks a locally made palinca.

2023 • Travel

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Central America
68:47
Central America

Simon travels across Central America, from the Caribbean to the Pacific. Along the way, he goes diving on a coral reef on the coast of Belize, and witnesses a gun battle between park rangers and intruders in Chiquibul National Park. He also discovers how climate change has left Guatemala devastated by famine and drought, reports on measures to curb gang violence in El Salvador, and learns how Costa Rica aims to become the world's first carbon neutral country by 2021.

S1E5 • The Americas with Simon Reeve • 2019 • Travel

Banat & Crisana
47:06
Banat & Crisana

The Banat region borders on Serbia and Hungary, so its capital, Timisoara, is a very multi-cultural, cosmopolitan city, and provides the main social and economic hub for western Romania.

S1E7 • Flavours of Romania • 2018 • Travel

The Glorious Story of Castles
53:58
The Glorious Story of Castles

Carriers of myths and legends, castles strongly mark our imaginations, appearing most often as the pivot of a dark and barbaric period. Reality is different. They are full of mystery and grandeur, emblematic abstractions of the Middle Ages, they testify to medieval civilization.

2018 • Travel

Part 2
59:09
Part 2

The second leg begins in Siberia and takes him to Russia's far south west and the majestic Caucasus Mountains. From Lake Baikal, the oldest and deepest lake on Earth, Simon takes the Trans-Siberian Railway to the city of Krasnoyarsk, the scene of brutal violence in the 1990s, and now the location of a cafe paying homage to Vladimir Putin. Simon is introduced to a Siberian community that worships a former traffic cop they believe to be the reincarnation of Christ. Along with a rare interview with the messiah himself, Simon meets some of the daughters of his followers being educated to become future brides of worthy men. After encounters with Tuvan throat singers and Cossack street patrols, Simon visits Dagestan, a largely Muslim region that has been scarred by jihadist violence. He meets security forces who use highly trained dogs to tackle the terrorist threat, and villagers attempting to keep their ancient tightrope-walking traditions alive.

S1E2 • Russia with Simon Reeve • 2017 • Travel

From Alaska to Canada
59:12
From Alaska to Canada

Simon Reeve begins his most ambitious journey yet - travelling the entire length of the Americas. In this first leg, Simon travels from Alaska, down through Canada to Vancouver.

S1E1 • The Americas with Simon Reeve • 2019 • Travel

Home
58:39
Home

The clean minimalism of the Japanese home has been exported around the world, from modernist architecture to lifestyle stores like Muji. But the origins of this ubiquitous aesthetic evolved from a system of spiritual and philosophical values dating back centuries. James visits one of Japan's last surviving traditional wooden villages, and the 17th-century villa of Rinshunkaku, and reveals how the unique spirit of Japanese craftsmen turned joinery into an artform - creating houses without the need for nails, screws or glue. Exploring some of the traditional arts of the Japanese home, James also investigates attitudes to domestic culture in modern Japan, meeting photographer Kyoichi Tsuzuki, chronicler of Japan's crowded cities and tiny apartments. Other highlights include a performance by calligrapher and artist Tomoko Kawao and a visit to the hometown of architect Terunobu Fujimori.

S1E3 • The Art of Japanese Life • 2017 • Travel