how to ask and confront the questions about my country and about to book that describes i keep doing to this date my name's not diesel and i work at the dappy. welcome to the show today we're traveling all over europe from transylvania to scandinavia let's cool off with these topics. cold blooded the sinister world of count dracula. cool moves spent often as a self-taught dancer from germany. and chile climbs

a unique family home in northern norway. europe is full of exciting destinations and one of the more unique places to visit is brand costal and remaining it was built in thirteen seventy eight on the eastern border of the transylvania region and served as a fortress and customs post it was also the residence of the last king and queen of romania but most notably brown casa was made famous by the irish writer bram stoker in his novel dracula my colleague meghan lee went on a discovery tour in romania to find out how much of the dracula story is based on truth. this is brand council in romania otherwise known as dracula's castle it's one of romania's major landmarks and tourist destinations located in the small town of bran some two hundred kilometers north of the capital bucharest

people flock here from all over the world to catch a glimpse into the gruesome world of vampires. after a very long journey i have finally arrived at brand castle here in romania and this place boasts six hundred forty years of history but it is most well known as the home of count accurate blood sucking count of transylvania now although i know this story is based on fiction i have come well prepared i have my garlic to ward off any potential spirits and vampires and have my rosary just in case part let's discover this castles history. one of the again in this and you can accidentally read that. as i enter i wonder if

count dracula ever invited his victims to dine here. so tell me how much of the actual the story is actually true and related to this castle well you know the lads and there is a small amount of through well dropping that as a historical character he leaks it he was the prince of my off paper and not a very nice guy i know for his bloody care and for his habit of paid so you see he really existed and brown still the irish novelist that throw down our draft now heard about that story from hungary and teach a friend the focus so he took our princess story into. as for me i think that the one of the famous vampire but in fact stoker never visited romania or brand council his book is based on a description of the castle and an illustration of vailable to him at the time but

what about vlad the impaler was he ever here during his reign of terror the council does indeed have examples of medieval torture methods used back then so as to know what is this going to letter to the birds and from there to. this is one of the first mechanized torture instruments they were used on suspected which is thieves traitors and the like. you have to make it. so so yeah that we don't want to do that the real dracula used torture to secure loyalty from his subjects one of his favorite methods for getting rid of his enemies was to impale them let me introduce the real drop of blood. and let us say he was as for us well i mean you people he's a hero and we are still waiting for him to come back rumor has it he was only

imprisoned in bran castle for a short time the lad dracula actually reigned from. one hundred kilometers south of ground this is where the ruins of his quarter brocaded not far from here in fourteen fifty nine he infamously had several hundred enemies impaled in what is now known as the sunday feast. we were here. six years she lived here and. you can see there were inseparable but fact more fiction its brand castle and the story of dracula the vampire that seemed to interest tourists the most. do you think it's scary here it's a bit scary especially the torture. it is the most daring just go and it goes it's everlasting popularity to bram stoker. so my tour of rain castle is

coming to an end and my impression of this place is that it's really just full of history it's really not that scary although i don't think i would want to be here after dark and just in case there are any evil spirits to ward off i will keep this garlic necklace clothes that we had but it's time to say goodbye now from dracula's castle. and i make my way out of bran before it gets. dark when the vampires begin their nightly activity. well back to the light of day and a light hearted news roundup of all the goings on in europe on for a year max express and this time around we start off in switzerland. to mark a national day on oprah's the first switzerland is frying an extra bounce flag high in the outer space of a well known white cross on a red background it is an eighty five eighty square metres and adorns mount center

so we shoot five way seven hundred kilograms and tip six hundred dollars just so. each evening it rolled out for safekeeping. and an entire dining room is going on too long starting in frankfurt that. it was designed in the early nineteen seventeen find french on gary and off on stomping. for the german federal bank. until now the cafeteria had been reserved for high level bank executives and bank guests. the building is now scheduled for renovation and the dining room is to be moved to frankfurt state of museums. after that it will be on display for three months and that's on top of the do in paris. german designer do e.g. koran he is turning ninety on thursday his approach to line and form influenced

west german product design during the nineteen seventy's and eighty's aerodynamic streamlining using his trademark especially for cars born in berlin he still designs but for more than two decades now he's lived mainly in china. happy birthday luigi. nowadays many a budding young artist dreams of becoming an online star spent often chose a more conventional career he pursued a degree in computer science and casually uploaded a video of himself dancing on you tube after a while he started getting offers from around the world requesting his dancing skills his unique style is what caught the viewers attention he calls it neo swing and we met him in his hometown of heinz back near the dutch border to have a world. sure

c. span our turn lives near the western german city office for a long time dancing was just a hobby for him now it's his bread and butter. when autumn was studying computer science he wanted to exercise to make up for the long hours spent sitting at his computer in twenty thirteen we shot a video on his mobile phone of himself dollars and in his living room posted it on you tube and became an internet sensation soon the offer came from the united states. even though it was only after four million views that i even got the first comment under my video and i got an invitation to los angeles and i just wrote it off thinking it was a joke i just couldn't be truthful so this wasn't part and was asked to shoot a commercial. atlas angeles airport he was met by

a chauffeur and driven to a luxury hotel on new day a triumph. i remember the first night i ordered a muffin cost around twenty dollars often the top and i thought i can afford all that sauce the top of the console is going to slice. cotton cools the style of dance he's created for me oh so well. that the idea of doing it for money made him nervous. it was his first it was intimidating because i'd never done it in front of anyone else before this is. like danced in front of a camera in my room but that's not the same thing as dancing in front of others because of course they're expecting something from. us about. he was given as much freedom to move as we've had in the privacy of his own lives.

the shoes in the u.s. would be a one off he wasn't making any money with his online video is the only ones to profit from the millions of hits where the songwriters. made us and they said no those are our revenues we've got the rights and get what you think i could make any money from you tube. so i thought i'll finish my studies and get a regular job he's done in job. although he stopped posting videos he still kept getting more office for commercial shoots. a german investment bank an italian phone company and various brazilian companies wanted signs of dons for their cameras. now he's got a manager at times even a choreographer on. time saying it's only people even recognize him on the streets. back in his home town in germany things are not comma i will vanish when i turn on the music and start dancing i forget

everything around me. gets off if i'm just alone with the music he was equal nish. these much to me. well it seems dreams do come true and we now this is a family in norway who managed to build their dream house against all odds they wanted to build a sustainable home made from clay but in the arctic climate in the far north of their home country proved to be a bit tricky so they used a unique technique to make it happen and i'm now shielded from the elements we took a closer look at as part of our ongoing series your max deluxe. anyone who sees this glass dome for the first time might think a u.f.o. has landed. the unusual house stands on a small island with some four hundred inhabitants in northern norway just above the

arctic circle. the glass dome resembles an outsized greenhouse. this house right on the sea fulfilled one norwegian family's lifelong dream. we wanted to live a sustainable life we wanted a house and the lifestyle that would. that would harm us like to help our health and wouldn't harm their bio mom it's the year to farragut family our ben young men who works on a salmon farm whose wife ingrid a nurse and their four children. the family gave much thought to how and where they wanted to live and chose the island of sand her new area. we have family. lives here and. we grew up here on this island and i don't feel like i have the need to escape from it. it's. a

specialized british company set up the glasto it's made up of three hundred sixty panes of glass reaching seven and a half metres high the house provides a family of six with a total of two hundred forty square metres of living space. the generous amounts of word create a warm and cozy atmosphere. the kitchen living room five bedrooms and two bathrooms are spread over three floors. we built it with our hands saw all the shapes and. and different parts of the house to. remember how it was built and who did what. in the made this part and i made that there. some of it. makes it quite personal. and the house is heated by a wood burning stove and

a few solar panels they supply hot water for the kitchen mass and the under-floor heating. waste water is treated and used to irrigate the greenhouse plants. were glass dome protects the house so it could be built entirely from natural materials. the materials that we build a house inside the greenhouse was definitely our goal to make us clean as possible to make it to bio degradable everywhere we could so we use wood and straw sand and clay mostly and avoid any plastic products an important space for the family is the one hundred ninety square metre garden. given the long winters and harsh climate regard not as many advantages. well in the arctic store for us it's kind of hard to be able to to

grow food. but when we have this green house around the house it's possible for us to. start early. have a longer growing season. and i really love growing my own food so this makes it possible. when a family decided to venture a new beginning far away from the city their son name played a key role yet to further get means follower of the hot and that's precisely what these six norwegians are doing. our next report takes us to the city of love paris is known for its bistro culture these cozy restaurants serve a small menu of food and drinks in typically modest settings and the cornerstone of

every good parisian bistro is the classic bistro chat one company still manufactures these study pieces of furniture in france keeping the cafe culture alive. may we present the quintessence of safwan. the maze on getting the stretch as well to famous since nine hundred twenty observers will notice that the weapon patterns on the chance match the orning after all everything has to be just right when you're sitting down for coffee some appetizers or maybe even i think. they're typically parisian their last twenty five years as themselves it's a savvy age in america is well known in paris my district he's just a few people who come to see these things. is that what it is it was you know everyone wonders how did the french do it how do they afford the luxury of taking time out for coffee that's what

a bistro is. or is the end of an institution. so how does it originated in the late nineteenth century when paris has major boulevards were developing and the first café terraces were opening back then the right time for the chairs came from the colonists. the meson gatti factory is just outside paris the only many fact trav it still produces all its chairs in france and by hand. the retina is still hands bent the traditional way that the seats are now woven from natural poly a means of ability it's. we all thought over one hundred patterns in thirty different colors to be selected that each category can order its own design with its own color combinations. sadly in the past twenty years half of paris has bistros have closed. nowadays more and more people are ordering

a quick lunch they can take back to the office. yes it's affected us as well by receiving a few orders from paris to be stroh's are being replaced by launched chinese fashion boutique so fast food restaurant. well the consul saying. that can be his basic chaz are so tough to go around the globe so they are far from being a thing of the past. and finally round off the show with today's installment of our series island dreams if you ever travel to venice and it's really we have a top tip for you there are dozens of tiny islands in the venetian lagoon two of the most popular. and morano which have both close enough for a day trip during your stay broncos known for its bright colored houses fishing and lace while morocco is more widely known for its gloss so take a look and see if you fancy a bit of italian island hopping. gliding

along the canal drowned in towards the finish and lagoon within minutes the scenery changes entirely. is home to over thirty small islands most of them uninhabited. after half an hour we reach no famous for its brightly colored fisherman's houses. locally sebastiano they don't advise us to come early to avoid the tourists. he's the operator of a travel portal and he tells us why the houses here came to be painted in such high popping shades. were that it doesn't he would on all he needs i mean this in the houses are so colorful because the fishermen used to be out at sea for long periods of video and this way they could see their homes from afar. they

made them less homesick and honest. these days the brightly painted houses are such a big part of image that owners must get permission to change their color another eye catching sight is the leaning bell tower up around which has a tilt of about one point eight metres. but the ground is very swampy and the church tower was simply poorly planned by the architect of the through it. but today we're quite proud of it because it's become a landmark no one can imagine corrado without the towers the. or without its hand tatted lace these types of floral patterns and textured embroidery are typical of burano lice which enjoys a long tradition here today just a few women still practice this craft like this lace maker in

a specialty shop but hand tatted lace has its price. like this tablecloth which took twenty lace makers two years to make. this claw is approximately five hundred two metres yet it's comprised of individual parts which have been put together when you folks ask how much it costs we say as much as a ferrari. and this wedding veil is priceless it was once made for the italian royal family. these days just a few of the island's two thousand five hundred residents live from fishing they sell their catch in venice and numerous restaurants their menus feature a wife a riot a fresh fish and seafood. so what's the locals favorite fish dish. the locals love marinated sardines in the morning with a glass of wine that's typical. of many. after lunch we

set off for the neighboring island of mano a twenty minute both ride away morano is world famous for its class. in the fourteenth century the island's glassblowers already had a reputation as being the best of their kind. royals were among their customers. to take what i know is still home to glass blowers who are masters of their trade it takes years of experience to know how to use pieces of glass together so they won't crack and to create certain colors. well miles and raise them it's no secret that marano glass is known for its many colors to start off the glass is almost black very dark but we have

a lot of experience and can change the colors during the process to make them lighter and more transparent and to decide which color suit which object will. serve a certain role. whether it's an elaborate chandelier for thousands of euros or a more affordable figurine most visitors take home a souvenir made from glass. actually with some friends are getting married this year with or maybe a wedding gift for them so you all repair viewings. or buy two pieces of glass large pieces of plastic that they'll ship to us next month yes we're very excited. but few tourists ever spend the nights on brando or morano. with its breathtaking scenery venice is just too close and too tempting.

well you. find all episodes of our island series on our website d w dot com slash lifestyle that's also where you can take part in this week's competition we'd like to know what luxury items you would take with you if you were stranded on a desert island just upload a picture of yourself and your companion on our website and you'll be entered into the prize draw for an exclusive your imax wristwatch so good luck you can also find plenty more your max online on our facebook and instagram pages at data over here max that's all from us for today so see again tomorrow the life and. the next time on your own max painting with beer bottles beer painting was invented by the french artist duo march. empty bottles into paint and print portraits with them preferably ones from the world

a year from they present their art and social events where audience participation is called for your painting next time on your own max.

stay up to date don't miss our highlights. program on line w. dot com highlights. the to. play. a month long church.

tomorrow today. w. a must see. the good open air festival in northern germany. marking metal buckle will showcase dozens of newcomers come on the. c.w. and come back spurs are going to. play fucking open their. doors are going to suck going to double up the legs. his creations. his brand the mistake of color high conflict. look what do we really know about samantha behind the dark shades what motivates him how does he think and feel. good moments in the life of

a great fashion designer. starts september. w. . iran runs and isolated the country city now a major power in the middle east. who runs the slums continues to grow polluted economically and above all militarily. those are not truly one piece of the country's opponents have their doubts iran from beyond the sea superpower stores august fifth on d w.

this is the w. news coming to you live from berlin international observers condemned the use of force to quell underestimates involved way security forces killed three opposition protesters in the wake of the country's election now police have surrounded the headquarters of the opposition party the movement for democratic change as they complained of election fraud we'll have the latest from the capital harare. also coming up. pressure syrian refugees to return to their country but what about those fearing reprisals from the chaos of regime.