2017-07-08

【Aiden in English】

        Viking River Cruises are quite the adult ones. They mainly have formal meals, bars for recreation, libraries, and lounges, which is very different versus an ocean ship targeting a younger age group. Therefore, this trip could not be complete without a large portion of alcohol.

        You know what? Wine isn't anything special. To put it simply, wine is crushed grape juice with a little voodoo liquid, right? However, stupid sounding or not, there is a much more powerful force than adults stopping me from consuming tons of wine at a time: the law. Yet, I do have a sneaking suspicion that Austria doesn't have a legal drinking age.

        Today's shore excursion took us to three hot spots in Austria: 11th-century magnificent Melk Abbey, 12th-century picturesque Dürnstein, and 15th-century medieval wine brewery Krems. They had their unique highlights, all with their symbolic sights. But Krems is set apart simply because of Gruner Veltliner and Gieling right in Wachau Valley. Austria apparently is quite famous for its wine due to the large production of grapes. It also has a lot of apricots, but that's a story for another time.

        Mom and I signed up for a wine tasting tour, which makes no sense as I'm most likely not going to taste anything worthwhile. But mom insisted. 'Taste the culture!' Fine. Upon arrival and our first wine, however, the hosting company provided me with a glass of grape juice produced at Winzer Krems Sandgrube 13. Since I have a general idea of what wine tastes like, due to the countless number of accidental occasions where a drop somehow ended up in my mouth, the grape juice was comparable to actually wine. It is just way too undiluted and was too sweet. Nevertheless, I walked through the winemaking process by a guided lesson, including a 4D movie, viewing the various kinds of grapes, and pretending to drink alcohol. I am, however, surprised at the popularity of wine in a beer-drinking country. I guess booze is booze in any form you put it.

        The countryside, formerly dominated by medieval castles and ancient kings, now is in control by the grapevines and farmers. Upon reaching a high point of the Wachau Valley, I saw the enormous amounts of grapes in production along the hillsides by means of terraces. Similar to the Chinese style, the farmers carved long, long steps into the hillsides, then, using the flat area, grew grapes. Throughout the growth section, many grape bunches would have to be cut off the stems to create less competition for nutrients. After a few months, the fruits would be picked by hand, and those picked are the best of the best.

        Now, instead of advertising the process, I will say that the grape juice tastes nice and is not something you should order when traveling halfway around the globe. And even though I thought the wine tasting wasn't meant for me, it was still a great 'taste of culture' in my own flavor.

【紅霞譯文】

        維京河流遊輪客源基本是成年人，主要提供正式餐飲、休閒酒吧、圖書櫃和娛樂室，與針對年輕人的航海遊輪大不相同，因此這次出遊如果沒喝足了酒都不能算完美。

        你知道為何嗎？其實葡萄酒本身沒啥特別，簡單說來就是把葡萄榨成汁並兌點迷魂湯罷矣，對不？然而甭管聽起來幼稚與否，比起父母管教，法律更能行之有效地叫我遠離酗酒，可我敢打賭奧利根本沒有飲酒年齡限制。

        今天我們的行程安排包括奧地利三條旅遊熱線：十一世紀奪人心魂的梅爾克修道院、十二世紀風景如畫的杜倫斯坦小鎮以及十五世紀古老傳統的克雷姆斯釀酒廠，每個目的地以其標誌性景觀各顯特色，但克雷姆斯尤以瓦豪河谷綠維特利納和雷司令兩種葡萄酒而引人注目，奧地利之所以葡萄酒名聲遠揚顯然因為盛產葡萄，當地杏樹郁然成林，不過以後另找時間談論這方面話題。

        我和媽媽登記品酒，對於滴酒不沾的少年來說簡直枉費此行，但媽媽堅持己見，要我“感受文化”！好咧，剛邁進大門，招待單位就把第一杯酒遞了上來，我喝的是本地克雷姆斯釀酒廠13號葡萄園生產的葡萄果汁飲料，其實以前由於無數次偶然機會，濺出酒杯的酒滴恰好不偏不倚落到我的嘴邊，因此我對酒味大致有點感知，葡萄汁實際上類似葡萄酒，充其量未經酒精稀釋而令人感覺口味過甜。接下來我聆聽生產流程講座，包括觀看四維電影，一併介紹各類葡萄，感覺像喝過酒似的。然而，我對愛喝啤酒的國度如此迷戀葡萄酒心存驚奇，看來酒畢竟是酒，弄成什麼玩意都招人待見。

        一度中世紀城堡林立君主統治橫行的鄉村如今早已變成葡萄藤遍野農民當家作主的田園，我們爬上瓦豪河谷制高點，山坡丘陵上隨處可見葡萄累累，與中國相似，老農開墾出一道道梯田並種植了一片片葡萄。葡萄生長過程中，為了避免僧多粥少減少營養浪費，很多葡萄枝被生生剪掉，歷經幾個月成熟之後再手工採摘果實，由此收穫的葡萄才是上等極品。

        眼下先別去搭理廣告天花亂墜，我覺得這兒葡萄果汁味道不錯，但千里迢迢登門拜訪並非只圖喝上一口，雖說當初我也不是衝着品酒來的，但身臨其境“感受文化”確實令人受益匪淺。

Today in History(歷史上的今天):

2016: The Channel Islands, UK(英國海峽群島)

2016: Guernsey—Donkey Island, UK(英國根西—倔驢之島)

2016: Guernsey over the English Channel, UK(英國英吉利海峽上根西島)

2014 World Cup—BRA vs. DEU(巴西對德國世界盃足球賽)

Crosslink(相關博文):

Austria(出遊奧地利)

Europe(歐洲掠影)