Baltic Summer
Michael Palin explores the countries once hidden behind the Iron Curtain. He samples the distinctive cultures of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, and visits Kaliningrad.
A journey through the Baltic states of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, from Tallinn in the north via Riga to Vilnius in the south. Michael Palin tells the story of how the three tiny nations shook themselves free of their neighbour and oppressor, the Soviet Union, reshaping their lives and reclaiming their cultures, which had been forced underground but didn't die.
Michael attends a session of hirudotherapy (leech treatment), a session of fire-walking and a frolic with revellers at the pagan festival of Jaani, crowned in a chaplet of oak-leaves. In an impromptu experiment on the streets of Vilnius, he learns why Lithuanians are known as the 'singing nation'.
The documentary ends in Kaliningrad, which was once East Prussia. Kaliningrad is a relic of World War II and one of Europe's oddities - a region of Russia surrounded by Poland and Lithuania. It is City Day, a celebration of the 60 years since the region was renamed, and whatever the politics, Michael is determined to enjoy himself before sailing around the Baltic coast to Poland.
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Credits
Role | Contributor |
---|---|
Presenter | Michael Palin |
Director | John-Paul Davidson |
Producer | Roger Mills |
Broadcasts
- Sun 14 Oct 2007 21:0091热爆 One except Scotland
- Wed 17 Oct 2007 20:00
- Sat 20 Oct 2007 19:1591热爆 Two except East & Yorkshire
- Thu 1 Nov 2007 03:00
- Tue 3 Jun 2008 19:0091热爆 Two England
- Thu 14 May 2009 23:3091热爆 HD
- Wed 2 Dec 2009 23:0591热爆 HD
- Wed 27 Jul 2016 16:1091热爆 Two except East, Wales (Analogue) & Yorkshire
- Sat 5 Jun 2021 20:00
- Wed 8 Feb 2023 20:00
- Sun 12 Feb 2023 23:45