FROM THE RHINE TO GREECE BY TRAIN, 1966

The train leaves behind the German countryside and a small picturesque town built on the banks of the Rhine with the picturesque fachwerk houses (Fachwerkhäuser). As we watch the tail of the wagons, the train passes through the picturesque town of Bingen (Bingen am Rhein) with the magnificent Pfalzgrafenstein castle that seems like it swims in the waters of the Rhine River, and the Gutenfels Castle that is built on the top of the hill. Arriving at the Belgrade train station, we see a crowd that is in constant motion outside the station and the docks. People board and the journey begins with the train leaving the station at a slow pace and then accelerating on the way. Arriving in Leianokladi (Greece), the faces of the people who look in awe through the window disappear into the tunnel as the lens darkens in order to capture views from the river down the steep gorge and the tired faces of workers on the train tracks. Another small railway station where the train passes, the railway lines come across and separate and the train is ready to cross the legendary bridge of Gorgopotamos. The train is constantly getting through artificial tunnels just to appear for a while as it climbs the steep gorges in the valley of Spercheios (or Spercheus). We see the cliffs, the tunnels, the valley, a demolished bridge, several turns and lastly the gorge that rises before the train like a wall. We see one more tunnel as the train probably crosses the bridge of Asopos to follow a monotonous route now, after the spectacular views that the passengers had just enjoyed. The train meets the first houses of Athens and the film closes with the last shot of the people who move on the station platform as the train approaches the sign: "Athens".