2017-07-06

【Aiden in English】

        River cruises are nothing like the ocean-going voyages that mom and I go on. They are small, expensive, and made for older folks that aren't as active. However, their itinerary is unique. They can go routes other vessels can't do because of their sizes. Passau is the place where we begin our Danube Castles & Legends with the famous Viking Cruises.

        What is Passau? Well, Passau is a capital city in Lower Bavaria, Germany. It is tiny, holds a small population, and has many churches (the locals claim to have 50). But why is it on a map? What is so significant about Passau that requires there to be three Viking cruise boats and maybe five others to stop and disembark?

        Well, Passau is also given the nickname 'city of the three rivers' because of the geography. The Danube in blue, our main course of sailing, passes through the city and is the most popular river. Joining the Danube is the green Inn, which is small in terms of its length, but at this point has a wider river and faster current that feeds into the Danube. Finally, there is the Ilz with black peril. It looks like a boy among men, and yet it is the most interesting of all. The water body is apparently dark, and the floor is covered in clams that hold perils of different colors, hence the title. However, it runs slightly out of the city center, therefore ruining our chances to explore its beauties.

        The 17^th century-built St. Stephen Cathedral in Passau also hosts the largest organ outside the USA. A few months ago, during the Christmas season, I visited Longwood Gardens in PA where an organ with ten thousand pipes was situated. This organ nearly doubles that number, standing at 17,974 pipes and four carillons. The lowest note is essentially a vibration to humans. And some of it is hidden from view; three of the five organ sections can be seen; the fourth is difficult to find and the fifth is just out of sight. But it can't be the full idea until you hear the instrument, which is exactly what we were going to do.

        The ceiling and walls were all decorated as the baroque style, using elegant symmetry and patterns to inspire F. Liszt to compose his Hungarian Coronation Mass. However, the more important event at hand was lingering inside amid its beauty for an organ concert. The Mittagskonzert played were classics by the staples of Italian, French, German, and Liechtensteinian composers, such as G. Frescobaldi, F. Couperin, J. S. Bach, and J. G. Rheinberger. Just simply because of the organ, the notes were amplified. Some say that music is more than sound, and this show depicts such belief. When playing, the notes shook my bones, which, in a way, gave me the full experience. Some also say people should close their eyes and embrace the music, but I find it hard to not fall asleep. Since the church had an extremely high dome and ceiling, there was room for sounds to ring, and at certain points in the concert, you could almost see the music swirling through the air, bouncing around the dome and back at the audience. It truly is something I won't forget.

        The organ concert time and time again have demonstrated that Europe has the greatest musicians and musical history of the world. From the instruments to the composers, movies to history, this trip will enlighten much of classical music and its elegance.

【紅霞譯文】

        河流遊輪不同於我和媽媽乘坐的海洋遊輪，其空間很小且價格昂貴，乘客多為不太活躍的老年人，不過正因為規模有限，它們的航線才獨具特色，其它大船只能忘洋興嘆，德國帕紹便我們設為維京遊輪 “多瑙河城堡和傳奇”之旅的起點。

        帕紹嗎？噢，它是德國下巴伐利亞州首府，地盤狹小，人口稀少，教堂奇多（當地人宣稱有50座），但為什麼標在地圖上？究竟何方神聖讓三艘維京遊輪連同大約五隻其它公司遊輪駐足留步？

        從地理上來說，帕紹素有“三河城”之美譽，藍色多瑙河即我們選定的航線穿過城區，可謂最受歡迎的河流；綠色因河雖然河道不長，但河面較寬水流湍急，在老城匯入多瑙河；黑色伊爾茨河宛若尚未長大成人的毛頭小子最富情趣，整個水體發烏，河面盡顯蛤蜊皮光澤，並由此得名，因為伊爾茨河有點偏離市中心，所以我們無法一睹它的風采。

        建於十七世紀的聖斯蒂芬大教堂擁有除美國之外規模最大的管風琴，記得幾個月前聖誕節期間，我曾經在賓州長木花園見過足有一萬根音管的風琴，而聖斯蒂芬大教堂管風琴數量幾乎加倍，由17,974條音管和4台鐘琴組成，最低音進入人的耳朵基本變成顫音。有些音管藏在後面，五組中僅有三組能被看見，第四組需仔細端詳，第五組簡直連個影子都瞧不到，但光看不聽毫無概念可言，這也是我們到此一游的目的。

        聖斯蒂芬大教堂天篷四壁採用巴洛克藝術風格，標緻性對稱設計激發了李斯特創作出《匈牙利加冕彌撒曲》，不過眼下當務之急就是找位子入座以便聆聽天籟之音。午場音樂會全部演奏意大利費斯高巴蒂、法國庫普蘭、德國巴赫以及列支敦士登賴因貝格爾等創作的經典曲目，正因為是管風琴，音量被極度放大，有人說音樂並非只是聲音，這場演出便是佐證，音樂震撼心靈，讓我情不自禁陶醉其中；還有人講閉上眼睛全心感受音樂魅力，但我發覺這麼做很難不昏昏欲睡。由於教堂圓拱形天花板高大，音樂響徹主堂大廳，隨着旋律推向高潮，你仿佛感到音符在空中迴旋，經拱頂反彈給觀眾，這種體驗真令我終生難忘。

        管風琴音樂會一次又一次證明，歐洲擁有世界頂級音樂大師，其音樂史源遠流長，從樂器到作曲家、從電影到歷史，這次出遊必將讓古典音樂及其優美旋律滿耳生輝。

Today in History(歷史上的今天):

2016: Frederiksborg—Danish Versailles(丹麥凡爾賽宮—菲特烈堡)

2016: Frederiksberg Palace & N Zealand, DNK(丹麥菲特烈堡宮和北西蘭)

2016: Kronborg Hamlet Castle, Denmark(丹麥克倫宮哈姆雷特城堡)

2013: Drama Camp-2(戲劇夏令營之二)

Crosslinks(相關博文):

Germany(出遊德國)

Europe(出遊歐洲)