Travel The World By Train.

Train Travel Series. Set of 10 discs. Collectors' set! Only one set remaining. Set of 10 DVD discs. Hours and hours of incredible enjoyment! Includes 5 continents and 55 countries. All videos were filmed in the past 8-15 years. Some of the trains will never be seen again. The set is not intended as a "How To" travel by train but to help you experience foreign cultures and all the beauty of the landscapes as these trains travel through time. -------------------- Customer Comment: "This is the best set of train videos I've ever seen". Raymond T. from Pennsylvania. --------------------- Volume 1 - Europe: From London's historic Victoria Station to the sunny cities of Italy, ultimately climbing into the astounding summits of Switzerland, this video takes the viewer on a stunning trip through Europe by rail. The first leg of the journey takes the fabled Orient Express from London to the English Channel, then, after a ferry crossing, resumes a luxurious train trip through France and into Italy. The scenery shown in the video is spectacular, and it easily establishes the point that a train window might be the ideal vantage point from which to appreciate Europe. The second leg of the journey takes the viewer through Venice, Florence, Rome, and Milan, and in the third leg of the trip, the Glacier Express rolls upward into the Alps. The footage shot in Switzerland is particularly astonishing as the trains doggedly move up the mountains (but inside, things remain calm--wineglasses in the luxurious cars are specially made to sit on tables that are always slanted). This commendable video features an understated narration that lets the scenery and the classic trains speak for themselves; when portraying a combination train station and observatory 13,000 feet high in the Alps, the photography says more than any narrator could. 60 minutes. Volume 2 - North America: The first train trip, through Alaska, shows off the natural wonders and wildlife of the state. The Canadian transcontinental trip that follows, from Quebec City to Vancouver, compresses four days and three nights of travel into fifteen minutes, so you do miss a lot; but what you see is enjoyable and worthwhile. The trips that follow, from Seattle to Chicago, NYC to Florida, NYC to San Francisco, and from LA to San Diego, provide a wonderful display of the immensely varied US scenery. 60 minutes. -------- --------- Volume 3 - Europe: This video takes viewers on a journey through Germany and some of the more visually pleasing regions of Eastern Europe. Germany's famously extensive and efficient rail system is given a fine showcase here. On the so-called "Fairy Tale Road," the train stops at picturesque old haunts of those famous fairy-tale collectors the Brothers Grimm: towns such as Bremen (of the Bremen Town Musicians) and Hamelin (of the Pied Piper). The "Castle Road" trip departs Frankfurt on the Intercity Express, Germany's fastest train. This route features massive medieval edifices and such bastions of German romanticism as Heidelberg Castle, interspersed among vistas of verdant natural beauty. Beginning in Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic, a train follows "The Romantic Road," passing Neuschwanstein, the grandiose castle built by Bavaria's "Mad" King Ludwig II. Looking like "The Little Engine That Could," a tiny Czech "Rail Bus" chugs up a 3,000-foot mountain in the Bavarian forest. The Hungary trip introduces us to the beautiful capital of Budapest, bisected by the Danube River. Magyar horsemen ride Hungary's sweeping plains. Idyllic farms dot the landscape of the Romania route, which leaves the capital of Bucharest for the Black Sea resort of Constantsa. From Belgrade, Yugoslavia, through Sofia, Bulgaria (the "greenest city in Europe"), the video's last route looks eastward toward the gateway to Asia: Istanbul, Turkey. 60 minutes Volume 4 - Europe: The second European volume in the Travel the World by Train series is a grab bag of locations from western Portugal to northern Finland, at the edge of the Arctic Circle. The first trip departs from Paris and traverses the Loire region of France. This line might well be called the "Castle Express." Then one boards the super-fast TGV to the province of Bordeaux, producer of arguably the world's finest wine. Ancient Roman history permeates the very air here. Another train runs through France's Basque country, passing the resort town of Biarritz, a favorite surfing spot. We cross a bridge into Spain and we're now in Spanish Basque country, in the picturesque Pyrenees Mountains. One of the more affecting Spanish sites is the town of Guernica, destroyed by Nazis in 1937 and immortalized in Picasso's powerful painting of the same name. After journeys through Portugal, it's on to Luxembourg, Belgium, and Holland. Memorable sites here include gorgeous Belgian Art Nouveau architecture and dazzling Dutch fields of tulips and windmills. When the train leaves Stockholm, Sweden, we are suddenly in a very different environment. The Scandinavian trains pass towering, dramatic fjords, sparkling lakes, and huge evergreen forests where reindeer run. These trips are shot in summer in a land where the sun barely sets at midnight: the effect is magical. As with all the videos in this series, the cinematography is impressive and the narration enlightening. 60 minutes. Volume 5 - Africa: Africa is given a fascinating introduction in this volume of the Travel the World by Train series. The Morocco train departs from exotic Marrakesh, traverses endless plains of scorched earth, and stops at ancient Oujda, "The City of Fear," whose labyrinthine bazaars evoke the movie Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark. Carthaginian ruins enhance the journey through Tunisia, which ends at the azure Mediterranean resort of Djerba, refreshing travelers since the days of Homer's Odyssey. The Egypt excursion follows the Nile River to the ancient pyramids of Giza and Luxor's enigmatic City of the Dead. Riders departing Nairobi, Kenya, pass vast expanses of savanna in Tsavo National Park, where elephants, zebras, and ostriches run free. In the middle of nowhere, this train picks up Masai tribesmen, in full regalia, en route to market. Outside looms 19,340-foot Mt. Kilimanjaro. On one train in Uganda, the leather seat upholstery has been ripped out, to be made into handbags. Another Ugandan passenger line is a former cattle car, with no seats at all. Then there's South Africa's luxurious Blue Train from Johannesburg to Cape Town, where pure gold coats the windows to filter out the ultraviolet rays, and wine is served in crystal goblets. The video prompts us to remember that this, after all, is Africa, continent of stark contrasts. 60 minutes. Volume 6 - Central America: Superb cinematography showcases stunning vistas in otherwise inaccessible areas of Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Cuba, and Jamaica in the Central America/Caribbean volume of the Travel the World by Train series. The video also opens a window onto the diverse peoples and cultures one meets along the routes. The footage in Mexico is most impressive. Embarking from the beach colony of Los Mochis on the Gulf of California, the Chihuahua al Pacifico Train climbs the arid Western Sierra Madre Mountains. Viewers accompany thrill-seeking tourists on a wild and wooly ride, ascending 10,000-foot peaks and traversing truly treacherous-looking bridges. Vultures soar in the wind, as though waiting for a snack of fallen passengers. The train stops in a village where smiling mountain tribes-people sell handmade baskets. Next, it passes through breathtaking Copper Canyon--four times bigger than the Grand Canyon. The Mexico City-Yucatan Peninsula route stops at the towering ancient Mayan ruins of Chich?n Itza. This journey is indeed atmospheric: the sticky air clings to the skin; monkeys jump from tree to tree in the jungle outside. The trip from Guatemala City on the Pacific Ocean to Puerto Barrios on the Atlantic is a market route: antiquated trains on rickety tracks transport adventurous tourists amid Guatemalan families toting livestock. Little separates passengers from the elements: rain sprinkles into the train through glassless windows; the only source of illumination is the conductor's flashlight. Further intoxicating "South of the Border" adventures await viewers of the excursions through Costa Rica, Jamaica, and Cuba. 60 minutes. Volume 7 - South America: "Awesome" is the only word to describe the vistas in the South America volume of the Travel the World by Train series. When the train departs from Quito, Ecuador, passengers are permitted to sit atop it, on the roof! (No virtual reality for these thrill seekers.) The conductor warns riders to duck under low bridges as intrepid food vendors make their way along the tops of the swaying cars. We ascend into the Andes Mountains, overwhelmed by the sheer immensity of the natural world. The tourist excursion from Cuzco, Peru, is cushy by comparison. The views from the train windows may be just as spectacular as those on the Ecuadorian route: 9,800-foot mountains, raging rivers. But here, comely train attendants serve passengers coca tea for altitude sickness. The ride terminates at mind-blowing Machu Picchu, the mysterious lost city of the Incas. Another Peruvian trip provides rare aerial panoramas of the baffling line drawings of Nazca: hundreds of colossal, two-dimensional figures of monkeys, condors, and lizards etched into the desert hillsides centuries ago. The sight of 3,200-square-mile Lake Titicaca, at 12,500 feet the highest navigable lake in the world, is equally stunning. A wood-powered steam train shoos cattle off the tracks in sleepy, agricultural Paraguay. Journeys through Brazil, Chile, and Argentina (including rugged Patagonia) complete this fascinating train tour of South America; all in all, it's a splendid initiation into the myriad beauties of this vast and varied continent. 60 minutes. Volume 8 - Asia: Beginning amid the Buddhist temples of Myanmar, the railroad odyssey featured in Travel the World by Train: Asia takes the viewer aboard trains in six nations in Southeast Asia before leaping to Beijing, where the final leg of the trip is an amazing 5,700-mile jaunt through China and across Kazakhstan to the final destination of Moscow. This video often leaves the rail route for side trips to temple ruins and other equally startling sights in the countries along the way, and the footage of scenery as well as of trains is always professional and often quite striking. The trip through Vietnam, from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City, aboard the Reunification Express surprises with its appreciation for the natural beauty of the Vietnamese countryside. The video really doesn't offer much information about how Westerners could book such a trip for themselves, and some shots aboard the trains indicate that some of the accommodations (hammocks swinging in crowded train cars and lunches of chicken feet served on skewers) probably wouldn't entice most Western tourists anyway. But what the video lacks in practical instruction it makes up for with glorious footage of trains and remarkable scenery. 60 minutes. Volume 9 - Middle East: The Near and Middle East volume of the Travel the World by Train series takes one on a captivating journey to the cradle of civilization. We begin in Istanbul, Turkey: the entrance to the Islamic world. On the Marmara Express, Muslim faithful chant prayers on the train. In Efes, on the Aegean Sea, looms the colossal Artemision Temple, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The Umayyade Mosque, the oldest in existence, can be seen in Damascus, Syria. Also in Syria is the island of Arwad, once home to the ancient Phoenicians. The Israel trip begins in Jerusalem with views of important sacred sites: the Muslim Golden Dome of the Rock, the Christian Church of the Holy Sepulcher, and the Jewish Wailing Wall. Tel Aviv's beaches and skyscrapers and the bustling Mediterranean port of Haifa highlight the Israeli trip. The train's tracks abruptly end; in more peaceful times they continued to Damascus. Boarding in the capital, Teheran, the Iranian train traverses one of the globe's most arid regions, stopping in the astonishing ancient city of Esfahan. Travelers on India's Royal Orient Express from Delhi luxuriate aboard a gorgeous re-creation of a luxury steam train used by Maharajas. The exotic cross-India trip from Bombay chugs by sacred cave temples in Ellora and rice paddies on the Bay of Bengal before debarking in teeming Calcutta, where passengers bathe in the river outside the station. 60 minutes. Volume 10 - Australia & New Zealand: This video tour begins in Sydney's neo-Gothic central train station and spends 42 minutes touring Australia by rail before hopping across the Tasman Sea to New Zealand's South Island for the remaining 18 minutes. The Australian portion visits the well-known cities of Sydney, Adelaide, and Perth, as well as Cairns and Rockhampton (inland from the Great Barrier Reef) and Alice Springs and Longreach (deep in the outback). While offering sample views of kangaroos and the flavor of the cities, the tape concentrates on the locomotive experience. Viewers will get a feel for the style and formality of the individual trains. Although the focus tends to be on compartments and first-class dining on the luxury trains, the cameras do take a peek into coach travel, especially on the inland-bound lines. One, The Ghan, offers slot machines and videos to break up the 23-hour trip through relentless red dirt. The two New Zealand tours begin in Christchurch, one heading north through Kaikoura to Picton, featuring views of the snowcapped Southern Alps on one side and humpback whales weaving through the waves of the Pacific on the other. The second train heads south to the Scottish municipality of Invercargill, which brags of being the closest city to the South Pole. 60 minutes