2016-07-05

【Aiden in English】

        Today marks the halfway point in our tour around Northern Europe, which comes quite surprisingly, as the trip feels already as if it's over. Maybe for the first stretch, it is... 

        The idea of the trip this summer included two Princess cruises, one around the Baltic Sea, the other around the English Isles. Some may say this is too much, but those two only add up to 23 days. As soon as we go across Øresund Strait between Sweden and Denmark, the first 11-day cruise is ending tomorrow morning, back in Copenhagen. From there, we’ll stay with another ship for one more tour. Finishing up that go-around, we somehow go to the Copenhagen Airport (CPH), where a lousy Norwegian Air Shuttle awaits to take us away to Gatwick Airport (LGW). Mom easily managed the time, giving us barely two hours of time to get from the port to the CPH. London, the largest city in Europe, needs some personal time for good touring, so we stay there for another day. It doesn't sound as if we're going to do anything special since the ship calls at nine-thirty in the morning of the next day. 

        The Caribbean Princess that will take us to the English Isles is one of the oldest cruises. The design of the ship is similar, but the size change would take some time to get used to. The current Regal Princess is the newest in its class, made just two years ago in 2014, whereas the Caribbean was made in 2006. The difference seemly is not too much, but the comfort zones of people change with the flow of technology and architecture, with a modern, contemporary style kicking in full force. 

        The second cruise from Southampton takes 12 days, traveling through the Celtic Sea, Irish Sea, Atlantic Ocean, North Sea, and the English Channel. Locations include England, Northern Ireland, Ireland, Scotland, and France. Probably the place that excites me the most would be Paris, the city of love. Many sights there are stunning, like the famous Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, Notre-Dame Cathedral, Louvre, etc. Although the first part in the Baltic region was quite splendid, the second cruise looks very promising. 

        Yet I do not say this cruise was blown out from Denmark, Norway, Germany, Estonia, Russia, Finland, to Sweden. The memories of Moscow with its tall spires and ice cream cone roofs and the broken-down wall of Berlin, the symbol of rebuilding from previous scars, all will be remembered throughout my life. The future has yet to come, and it will be great.

【红霞译文】

        今天标志着我们北欧之旅行程过半，心里感觉跟快要结束似的，出门的日子过得飞快，也许第一段旅游真到了……

        今年暑假我们计划乘坐两次“公主号”游轮，先北上波罗的海，再东去英伦三岛，想必有人会说太过折腾，可两次游轮加起来充其量仅有廿三天而已。等穿过瑞典丹麦之间的厄勒海峡，明天清早我们将重返始发地哥本哈根，并结束历时十一天的航行，随后将立马开始下一条航程。我们要从哥本哈根凯斯楚普机场离境，搭乘难得按点飞行的挪威航空快线杀回伦敦格域机场。妈妈三下五除二，从码头到机场这段路程仅留出两钟头时间。作为欧洲最大的城市，伦敦有很多好玩的地方值得驻足，因此我们打算提早一天赶到，说来并非安排了什么特殊活动，而是因为候船时间定为明早九点半。

        即将带我们周游英伦三岛的“加勒比号”是公主船舶公司资历最老的游轮，虽然船体构造与近期下水的相似，但规模大小绝不可同日而语，我们恐怕得多花点功夫来调整适应。目前我们所乘坐的“帝王号”是公主系列最年轻一代，于两年前2014年投入使用，而“加勒比号”已经航行了十年有余，两者从表面上来看并无太大差异，不过在先进科技设备和现代建筑造型方面却有着天壤之别，而这些正是当下人们大力追捧的东西。

        我们的第二条航线将从英格兰南安普敦启程，沿着凯尔特海、爱尔兰海、大西洋、北海和英吉利海峡周转十二天，途径英国兰、北爱尔兰、爱尔兰、苏格兰和法国，大概最叫我按捺不住激动心情的地方就是所谓的爱之城──巴黎，那里景点多得惊人，例如：著名的艾菲尔铁塔、凯旋门、巴黎圣母院、卢浮宫等等，如果说前半部分波罗的海地区美轮美奂，那么后半部分英法风景名胜准保引人入胜。

        我不得不承认，这回横穿丹麦、挪威、德国、爱沙尼亚、俄罗斯、芬兰以及瑞典七国首府之行无不叫我眼界大开，莫斯科市区高耸入云冰激凌蛋卷式的教堂；推翻柏林墙象征着德国人决心从战后伤痕中走出来重建未来，路上所见所闻都让我难以忘怀。明天正朝我走来，我将满怀希望踏上美好的旅程。

相关博文：

Middle of Nowhere, Baltic Sea(从德国到爱沙尼亚波罗的海航行)

Middle of Nowhere, Baltic Sea(从德国到爱沙尼亚波罗的海航行)