2017-08-21

【Aiden in English】

        Today, Mom and I entered France. No, Germany. Ehhhh... France. Maybe Germany- no, no, definitely France. By now, after two world wars, everyone in Strasbourg is tired of switching back and forth between the countries. Luckily, both countries use the euro, so whichever nation Strasbourg now falls under will use the same currency.

        Being one of the largest cities on the romantic Rhine, Strasbourg is a hotspot where Germany and France meet, blending cultures in a significant way. It offered a bit of variation versus other stops on this trip. The European Quarter, home to many institutions of the European Union and the Council of Europe, features affluent neighborhoods. The Petite France district of the old town took immense pride in its history and gave off a picturesque "Paris" vibe. As usual, every narrow street was laid out in cobblestones, making the walks even more treacherous. Along with many obstacles and distractions, including bikers racing by and pickpockets, Strasbourg was not a cakewalk.

        We toured the central plaza where the largest basilica of the city, the Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Strasbourg, or Cathedral of Our Lady of Strasbourg, came into sight magnificently. A small side note: Every town on the Rhine has a large church in the center. They are given specific names, but no one calls them by their names. They're all referred to as the Cathedral. In this case, the Cathedral is the tallest structure built in the 12^th Century. Standing at 466 feet (142 meters) tall, it loomed over the city, marking the highest medieval architecture in Europe. Strasbourg had no skyscrapers anywhere near the old town. Therefore, nothing was blocking the Cathedral's central tower for miles. One standing at any edge of the old city could see its spire. Like a needle sticking in the sky, it looked lonely. As if to taunt its boring life, architects placed an enormous astronomical clock at the south transept, symbolizing the passages of life in front of Jesus. With the constant ticking every hour and the music of life's stages, the ornate clock is a beautifully designed piece. Always ticking, ticking away. Each day, a full rotation occurs within the clock, producing a circle of life. From morning to morning, cycle after cycle of life after life goes by, hinting at God's eternity.

        The 2^nd half of the day was spent in the Mercedes-Benz assembly line in Rastatt, Germany. More than three million Mercedes have been built here since the plant opened in 1992. This was my first time in a manufacturing facility, and I was glad it was for the best. No, I'm not saying Mercedes is the "best." It's just their slogan.

        After watching a highly biased introductory video, we entered the plant to see how luxurious it was. Inside, no pictures were allowed to respect the proprietors. There is a critical secret that the company doesn't want to disclose, yet Google has plenty of images lying around. The process was a complex one, involving intricate machines and robots that worked in tandem throughout the facility, slowly assembling a complex puzzle. This required manual labor to check and tend to complex problems and perform finer tasks. The tour took us above the process in a pathway hanging from the ceiling. A chain of moving carts was directly beside us, rigged to a track system, transporting pieces of the cars for insertion. Below, machines were fed parts from conveyor belts, much like a buffet line, adding them to approaching car skeletons. I could follow the process until the end, when I lost track of the car's path. It's not like I will remember the building of a car anyway.

        Eventually, I finished the tour and saw perfect-looking Mercedes GLS550s rolling out of a dark tunnel, shiny and ready to be destroyed in a drunk driving accident by a spoiled, underage American kid in a bet with his friends for ten dollars that his friends stole from his wallet three days ago while he was hungover. 

        In 1988, the cities of Strasbourg, Grande-Île, and Neustadt were inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

【紅霞譯文】

        今天我和媽媽進入法國境內，不對，德國，呃……法國，也許德…，不對、不對，肯定是法國。自兩次世界大戰結束以後到目前為止，斯特拉斯堡“交叉道城”的民眾對反覆更換國籍麻木不仁，幸虧兩國全都使用歐元，無論斯特拉斯堡歸屬哪個國家至少貨幣一致。

        作為浪漫萊茵河上最大的城市之一，斯特拉斯堡可謂德國遇見法國的熱點地方，雙邊文化密切交融，絕對要比之前所到各處更有特色，不僅新城的歐洲區是歐盟許多機構和歐委會所在地，以至於很多居民區房價昂貴，而且老城的小法蘭西區歷史底蘊深厚，到處散發着“巴黎”氣息。不出所料，這裡每條狹窄的巷子胡同均由鵝卵石鋪就而成，走在路面禁不住深一腳淺一腳，街上出現不少路障及分散精力的玩意，加之騎單車者和扒手也愛湊熱鬧，因此遊覽斯特拉斯堡並非輕而易舉的事情。

        我們來到主要廣場參觀，本市最為雄偉的聖殿──斯特拉斯堡聖母大教堂即刻映入眼帘，附帶提示一下：萊茵河上每座城中心無不建有規模可觀的神地，並且冠以特殊字號，但沒有一個直呼其名，歸根結底都是“大教堂”，而眼前這座稱雄於十二世紀的大教堂高達466英尺/142米，獨居歐洲中世紀榜首。斯特拉斯堡老城附近沒有任何摩天大樓，因此即使方圓幾里路外大教堂主塔仍然依稀可見，說實在的，無論身處老城何方，人們都能看清高懸其上的鐘樓，它宛若尖針直插雲霄，顯得有點行單影孤。也許對乏味景觀嗤之以鼻，建築師們決定於南耳堂加蓋大天文鐘，用以象徵上帝指定的生命之路，每個小時在音樂不停地伴奏下它展示人生各個階段，時光循序漸進，生命周而復始，從早晨起不斷輪迴，暗示上帝永恆。

        下午我們趕回德國參觀位於拉施塔特的奔馳（梅賽德斯─奔馳“仁慈—智慧力量”）組裝線，新廠自從1992年投入生產以來已製造300多萬輛奔馳汽車，這是我首次親臨生產基地，有幸見識“天下無雙”的高端產品，我可沒說奔馳是“最棒的”，剛才那詞不過借用廠家標語口號而已。

        看完頗有爭議的視頻之後，我們深入車間實地考察高端奢飾品究竟是怎樣打造出來的，因為技術專利，內部一概謝絕拍照，顯然公司不想外泄某些重要機密，好在谷歌網站上提供大量備用圖片。組裝過程是全套複雜的流水工藝，一環扣着一環，利用精密機器和智能機器人把零件一個個安置在盤枝錯節的迷宮裡面，採取人工檢查手段以求針對特殊問題找出合理解決辦法。我們沿着倒掛在天花板上的通道行進，身邊生產線排滿等候安裝的車輛，腳下零件先通過一個像自助餐傳送線似的運輸帶遞給安裝機，然後再被放進空殼車身，我從頭至尾幾乎一步不落地走完整個流程，末了沒太經意車的去向，反正我也記不住車庫地點。

        參觀終於結束，我看到一輛標緻的奔馳越野型GLS550款正從黑色過道疾馳而出，油光鋥亮，馬上要被寵壞的美國未成年酒駕者撞毀，他正跟手中握有10塊大洋的哥們打賭，而這10塊美金恰是三天前那幫狐朋狗友趁他喝得酩酊大醉從其錢包里偷來的。

        1988年，斯特拉斯堡、大島和新城被聯合國教科文組織納入《世界遺產名錄》。

Today in History(歷史上的今天):

2017: Strasbourg Kouglof, France(法國斯特拉斯堡·奶油圓蛋糕)

2017: Strasbourg, the Crossroads of Europe(法國斯特拉斯堡·歐洲的十字路口)

2017: Strasbourg, Petite France(法國斯特拉斯堡·法蘭西縮影)

2017: Strasbourg, the Capital of Europe(法國斯特拉斯堡·歐洲首府)

2017: Strasbourg Cathedral, France(法國斯特拉斯堡“交叉道”城大教堂)

2017: Kehl, the Rhine Throat in Germany(德國凱爾·萊茵河的咽喉)

2015: Forbidden City in Beijing, China(北京紫禁城)

2014: YMCA Camp─Dodgeball-3(基督教青年會夏令營─躲避球之三)

Ancienne Douane-Pont du Corbeau-Cathédrale Notre-Dame

(舊海關大樓—渡鴉橋—斯特拉斯堡大教堂 08-21-2017)

Old Customs House, Museum of Modern & Contemporary Art

(老海關─現代與當代藝術博物館 08-21-2017)

Old Butchers’ House, Museum of History

(舊肉店·歷史博物館 08-21-2017)

Pier du Marché-aux-Cochons-de-Lait

(乳豬市場碼頭 08-21-2017)

Place Gutenberg w/ Statue of Gutenberg & Carousel 

(古騰“好山”堡廣場·德國畫家雕像與旋轉木馬 08-21-2017)

La Taverne Du Quai (碼頭小酒館 08-21-2017)

Restaurant Le Lohkäs (洛卡斯“棕奶酪”餐廳 08-21-2017)

Maison des Tanneurs (製革商之家 08-21-2017)

Rue du Bain-aux-Plantes (植物浴路 08-21-2017)

Pont Saint-Thomas (聖托馬斯“雙”橋 08-21-2017)

Restaurant Marco Polo

 (“戰神·謙卑”餐廳 08-21-2017)

Barrage Vauban, a Bridge, Weir, & Defensive Work Erected in the 17th Century on the River Ill

(沃邦河壩·建於17世紀、位於伊爾“溪流”河的橋梁、堰壩和防禦工事 08-21-2017)

Ecole Nationale d'Administration (ENA), the Cradle of French High-Ranked Politicians 

(國家行政學院·法國政界搖籃 08-21-2017)

River Ill through the Petite France Quarter

(小法蘭西區·伊爾河 08-21-2017)

Pont du Bain aux Roses (玫瑰浴橋 08-21-2017)

Cathedral of Our Lady of Strasbourg

(斯特拉斯堡大教堂 08-21-2017)

Place de la Cathédrale (大教堂廣場 08-21-2017)

West Façade of Strasbourg Cathedral

(斯特拉斯堡大教堂·外觀)

Apse, Strasbourg Cathedral

(斯特拉斯堡大教堂·後殿 08-21-2017)

 Rose Window, Strasbourg Cathedral

(斯特拉斯堡大教堂·玫瑰花窗 08-21-2017)

Astronomical Clock (Orig. 1570-1574)

(原作於1570-1574年的天文鐘 08-21-2017)

Jesus on the Mount of Olives in the 15^th Century

(建於十五世紀的耶穌在橄欖山上 08-21-2017)

Palais de l'Europe (歐洲宮)

European Parliament (歐洲議會)

Mercedes-Benz Rastatt Plant

(梅賽德斯-奔馳拉施塔特“休息處”工廠)

2017 Mercedes-Benz S-Class Sedan

(2017年型奔馳S級轎車 08-21-2017)

Mercedes-Benz Robot (奔馳機器人 08-21-2017)

Mercedes-Benz 150H Sportroadster W30-1935 

(1935年型奔馳150馬力運動跑車W30 08-21-2017)

Mercedes-Benz F1 W03-2012 

(2012年型奔馳世界一級方程式賽車W03 08-21-2017)

Crosslinks(相關博文):

2017: Munich—BMW & Hofbraeuhaus, DEU(德國慕尼黑─寶馬總部與宮廷啤酒館)

France(出遊法國)

Germany(出遊德國)

Europe(歐洲掠影)

8th Grade(初中三年級)