Ｊａｍｅｓ

Tokyo

東京

Tokyo is crowded. Even coming from Chinese cities, hardly wide open spaces themselves, you'll feel pressed in on all sides, surrounded by an ever-surging crowd. It's no wonder that the Japanese invented the 'capsule hotel', with tiny rooms barely big enough to fit a man! The really cheap stay in internet bars – for the equivalent of twenty dollars or so, you can get a whole cubicle to yourself, sleeping in the chair.

東京是擁擠的。即使你來自本身幾乎沒有開闊空間的中國城市,也會(huì)覺得東京四周皆逼仄,被日益增多的人群所圍繞著。難怪日本人發(fā)明了“膠囊旅館”,房間小得最多只能容納一個(gè)人!最便宜的是待在網(wǎng)吧里——花上二十美元左右,你就可以獲得一個(gè)屬于自己的包廂,然后在椅子上睡覺。

Originally a tiny little fishing village called Edo, it became the de facto centre of government in Japan after one of the Shoguns – the military leaders of Japan – built his castle there, and grew bigger and bigger, swollen by government and business. After the Meiji Restoration, when the previously powerless Emperors of Japan were returned to being heads of the country, the Emperor moved to Edo, renamed it Tokyo, and made it the official capital. Since then it's rapidly modernized along with the rest of the country.

東京原本是一個(gè)名叫江戶的小漁村,后來一名幕府將軍——日本的軍事首領(lǐng)——在那里建造自己的官邸,之后它就成了日本政府實(shí)際上的中心。由于政府和商業(yè)的發(fā)展,它變得越來越大。明治維新之后,原本無權(quán)的天皇重新成為國家首腦,并搬到了江戶,將此地改名為東京,將其作為正式的首都。這之后它和日本其他地方一樣,迅速走向了現(xiàn)代化。

Sadly, Tokyo has few remaining ancient buildings. A devastating 1923 earthquake killed over a hundred thousand people and ripped apart many sites, and the Americans finished the rest off in WWII. The firebombing of Tokyo, when incendiary bombs were used to set alight old wooden buildings, killed 200,000 people; more than the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki combined. Only the Imperial Palace was spared, as the Americans were concerned about the risk of killing the Emperor. As a result the Palace buildings survived, although they're still mostly closed off to the public – walking tours allow visitors to see parts of these beautiful old structures, however.

說來遺憾,東京幸存的古建筑很少。1923年大地震導(dǎo)致10萬多人喪生,并摧毀了許多古跡,美國又在第二次世界大戰(zhàn)期間將其他一些古跡破壞?；馃龞|京之時(shí),燃燒彈的目標(biāo)是老舊的木制建筑,也造成20萬人死亡;比原子彈轟炸廣島和長崎總共殺害的人還多。只有皇宮幸免于難,原因是美國人對(duì)殺害天皇有所顧慮。因此,皇宮里的建筑幸存了下來,雖然它們大多至今還不對(duì)公眾開放,但是在導(dǎo)游的帶領(lǐng)下,游客可參觀這些美麗古建筑中的一部分。

In 1945, Tokyo was a devastated moonscape of a city, all ash and ruins, but by the Summer Olympics of 1964, it was a gleaming metropolis of steel and glass, shown off to the world by a newly proud, and economically booming, Japanese people. It used to be that you could see construction everywhere but now, after the 'Lost Decade' of 1997-2007 and the recent economic crash, many of the sites are deserted. For tourists, the city is a sight in itself, but Akihabara Electric Town (commonly known as just 'Akiha') is especially popular for young visitors; the equivalent of Beijing's Zhongguancun, it's a mecca for geeks, filled with electronics stalls, the latest software, and peculiar gadgetry. If you're more into seafood than silicon, however, the Tsukiji Fishmarket is the place for you. The Japanese fishing fleet is the largest in the world – if you look out from the coastline at night its thousands of glowing lights look like the shores of another country – and this is the first place their catch gets sold. Bargaining starts at 4 am every morning, and tourists are advised to wear rubber boots, as water sloshes everywhere as still live fish thrash about in their tanks.

1945年,東京是一座荒城,滿目瘡痍,一片廢墟。但到1964年夏季奧運(yùn)會(huì)時(shí),它已經(jīng)成為一座鋼鐵與玻璃鑄成的耀眼大都市,恢復(fù)自豪感且日益富裕的日本人將其展示給全世界。曾經(jīng)你到處可以看到建筑場景,但現(xiàn)在,經(jīng)過1997-2007這“迷失的十年”和最近的經(jīng)濟(jì)危機(jī),許多工地都已廢棄。對(duì)于游客來說,這座城市本身就是一道風(fēng)景線,但秋葉原電器街(通常簡稱“秋葉”)非常受年青游客的青睞;它相當(dāng)于北京的中關(guān)村,是奇客們的圣地,到處是電子產(chǎn)品展臺(tái)、最新的軟件和奇異的玩意兒。但如果你喜歡海鮮勝過電子產(chǎn)品,那筑地魚市正適合你。日本有著全世界最龐大的捕魚船隊(duì),如果晚上你從海岸線抬眼望去,就會(huì)看到漁船上數(shù)千盞閃爍的燈光,像是在另外一個(gè)國度的海濱,而魚捕撈上來以后也先在這里進(jìn)行買賣。每天凌晨4點(diǎn)討價(jià)還價(jià)聲就開始響起,游客最好穿上膠鞋,因?yàn)槿曰钪聂~在魚艙里猛烈擺動(dòng),把水濺得到處都是。

Tokyo has various thriving subcultural scenes, with all the usual peculiarities of the Japanese. You can go to see thousands of people dressed up as their favourite anime characters in cosplay centres, play the latest arcade games, or check out Japanese punk or hip-hop artists in the many clubs. For those with a more traditional bent, the beautiful Ueno Park is an oasis of natural beauty in the middle of this urban frenzy, and has many fine museums. Unfortunately, like everything else in Tokyo, you'll be battling through the crowds to get there!

東京有著異彩紛呈、生機(jī)勃勃的亞文化,體現(xiàn)日本人一貫的特質(zhì)。你可以到角色扮演中心看數(shù)千人打扮成他們最喜歡的動(dòng)漫角色,在游戲廳玩最新的游戲,還可以到各色俱樂部看日本朋克和嘻哈藝人的表演。對(duì)于比較傳統(tǒng)的人來說,美麗的上野公園就是這座癲狂都市之中的一處自然美的綠洲,這里還有許多優(yōu)秀的博物館。很可惜,就像東京的其它任何地方一樣,你得奮力穿越?jīng)坝康娜肆鞑拍艿竭_(dá)那里!

New York

紐約

New Yorkers are famous in the rest of America for being an arrogant, snobby bunch who don't care about the rest of the country. In fairness, this is pretty much true – but after all, they have a lot to be arrogant about. By any reasonable standard, it's the first city in America, and everything you could possibly want is there – as long as you don't mind paying through the nose for it. As a visitor, you won't have to worry about the sky-high cost of rent – when I lived there, nearly a decade ago, I was paying $1000 a month for a room barely able to fit a single bed.

對(duì)于美國其他地方的人來說,紐約人傲慢,勢利,不關(guān)心國家其他地方是出了名的。說實(shí)話,的確是這樣,但話又說回來,他們確實(shí)有許多值得傲慢的地方。從各方面來說,它都是美國第一城市,無論你想要什么它都有——只要你肯出錢。我在紐約時(shí),大約十年前,一個(gè)月要交1000美元的房租,房間卻小得僅能放下一張單人床——不過你要是去旅游的話,倒不必為高昂的租金犯愁。

Still, everything passes through New York at some point. Art, music, technology, finance, the city's got them all. For first-time visitors, the first place to check out is Times Square. It's disappointingly cleaned up from the good old days, when you could be accosted by a transsexual hooker or have your wallet stolen within a few minutes of getting off the bus, but it's still a fine spot to see New York life passing by. New York's a good walking city, partially because it's so horrible to drive in, and one of the things that makes it so is the numerous public parks. Central Park, a great green rectangle in the middle of Manhattan, is the best, you should wander down to Washington Square as well, located in Greenwich Village (normally referred to just as 'The Village'), the centre of New York's artistic (and gay) communities. You get first-rate buskers around there, as well as old men playing chess for money, and normally a surreal piece of performance art or two.

盡管如此,任何事物都曾在紐約留下它的印記。藝術(shù)、音樂、技術(shù)、金融,這個(gè)城市應(yīng)有盡有。對(duì)于第一次去紐約的游客來說,要去的第一站就是時(shí)代廣場。令人失望的是,它已經(jīng)被肅清過了,在美好的往日時(shí)光,會(huì)有變性娼妓過來跟你搭訕,你下車之后才幾分鐘錢包就有可能被偷,但紐約的生活仍是一道美麗的風(fēng)景。紐約是散步的好地方,部分原因是開車到那里是很一件很恐怖的事,另外一方面是因?yàn)榧~約有很多公園。中央公園是其中的佼佼者,它位于曼哈頓中心地帶,呈綠色的巨型長方形狀。你還應(yīng)該漫步至華盛頓廣場,它位于格林威治村(通常簡稱“村”),是紐約藝術(shù)家(還有同性戀者)的聚集地。那里到處是一流的街頭藝人,還有下棋賭錢的老人,通常還會(huì)有超現(xiàn)實(shí)主義的藝術(shù)表演。

New York also has spectacular museums. Perhaps the best is the Metropolitan Museum of Art, a far superior experience to most art galleries because of their dedication to putting things in context, rather than just hanging paintings on the walls. You'll see, for instance, a complete reconstruction of an Egyptian temple. The 'Met' specializes in older pieces, from Babylon to Picasso. If your tastes are more contemporary, you can visit the Guggenheim, or the Museum of Modern Art, both with astonishing collections of their own.

紐約還有蔚為大觀的博物館。最好的可能要數(shù)大都會(huì)藝術(shù)博物館,在這里您所領(lǐng)略到的遠(yuǎn)勝于在大多數(shù)藝術(shù)展覽中的見聞,因?yàn)樗o你身臨其境的感覺,絕非僅把畫幅掛在墻上。比如,你會(huì)看到一座完整重建的埃及神廟。大都會(huì)藝術(shù)博物館的藏品歷史比較久遠(yuǎn),從巴比倫到畢加索,應(yīng)有盡有。如果你的口味比較現(xiàn)代,可以參觀古根漢,或者現(xiàn)代藝術(shù)博物館,這兩個(gè)地方都有數(shù)目驚人的展覽品。

The city's most famous tourist attractions, of course, are the Empire State Building and the Statue of Liberty. You have to take a ferry out to the Statue; a strange reminder that New York, where you can go weeks without seeing the sea, is essentially a port city at room. It seems disappointingly small at first, but fairly colossal when you're standing at the base. The Empire State Building – well, it's really, really tall, and that's about it, but it's a nice thing to have seen anyway. If you've got a morbid bent, you can go and check out the ruins of the World Trade Centre, where a new memorial is being constructed. We've barely scratched the surface of things to do here, but that's one of the joys of the city; there're always new things to discover.

這座城市最著名的旅游景點(diǎn)非帝國大廈和自由女神像莫屬。要去自由女神像得乘船;給你一個(gè)你不知道的提醒:你在紐約可能呆上幾星期都看不到海,但它的確是一座港口城市。自由女神像乍一看小得令人失望,但如果你站在雕像底部,就會(huì)覺得它十分龐大。帝國大廈——真的,非常非常高,僅此而已,不過也算是個(gè)好去處。如果你心理不太正常,可以去看看世貿(mào)中心遺址,那里已建成一座新的紀(jì)念館。我們僅介紹了紐約的“皮毛”,但這就是這座城市的樂趣之一;總有新事物有待發(fā)現(xiàn)。

Berlin

柏林

If you're over thirty or so, your first memories of Berlin are of a divided city, cruelly split between East and West Germany. The Berlin Wall was one of the most infamous sites in the world, a notorious symbol of tyranny and an armed border that, in its four decades of existence, claimed at least 100 lives. It was torn down in a joyous frenzy in 1989, after the state of East Germany collapsed virtually overnight in the face of mass public protest and shouts from both Eastern and Western crowds of 'Wir sind ein Volk!' ('We are one people!') . The capital, which for the last forty years had been in sleepy, provincial Bonn, was moved back to Berlin, amid qualms from some Germans. Berlin, after all, had been the capital of Nazi Germany – but also the capital of the old, pre-Nazi Germany, and people were still proud of that heritage. The Reichstag, where the German Parliament used to sit and the Soviets triumphantly hung the hammer and sickle in 1945, was reconstructed as a bright, well-lit modern building, a symbol of the new, open Germany. The Wall itself is but a memory, though you can still buy chunks of it to take home.

如果你是三十多歲的人,那你對(duì)柏林的最早記憶是一座分裂的城市,被東德和西德殘忍地分開。柏林墻是世界上最臭名昭著的景點(diǎn)之一,它象征著專制統(tǒng)治,還是一個(gè)有武裝駐扎的邊境,在它存在的40年間,有100多人在此喪生。1989年,東德幾乎在一夜之間解體,在大規(guī)模公開抗議和東德與西德人群齊聲高喊“我們是一個(gè)民族!”的情況下,柏林墻被狂喜的民眾拆除。四十年間,德國(西德)首都都是在死氣沉沉的邊遠(yuǎn)小城波恩,如今終于又搬到柏林,卻令許多德國人感到不安。柏林畢竟曾是納粹德國的首都,但也是納粹之前老德國的首都,人們?nèi)匀粸檫@一遺產(chǎn)感到驕傲。國會(huì)大廈曾是德國議會(huì)所在地,1945年前蘇聯(lián)曾耀武揚(yáng)威地將旗幟和鐮刀插在它上頭。重建之后的國會(huì)大廈是一座輝煌的現(xiàn)代建筑,象征著嶄新而開放的新德國的。而今柏林墻只是一種回憶,不過你仍可以買幾塊(墻磚)回家。

Nowadays Berlin is a beautiful, prosperous city. It was bombed to pieces in WWII, but many of the buildings were solid stone, and so could be rebuilt afterwards. It's got a thriving nightlife, including a particularly good electronic music scene; Berliners like their music loud and repetitive. There are the normal museums and memorials, including many commemorating the city's Jewish heritage. The Jewish population today is small, but Berliners, like other Germans, feel understandably guilty about the Holocaust. Berlin was the centre of Kristallnacht ('Crystal Night', so-called because of the broken glass left on the pavement) from smashed windows in 1938, a vicious pogrom against the city's Jewish population, and many plagues and small museums commemorate the Jewish synagogues and businesses destroyed then – and the tens of thousands deported from Berlin to a horrific death in the concentration camps later. You'll also find small memorials elsewhere to other victims of the Nazis, from Communists murdered by SS thugs to the disabled people murdered in a so-called 'euthanasia' program.

如今的柏林是一座美麗而繁榮的城市。二戰(zhàn)期間它被炸得斷壁殘?jiān)?但許多建筑都是由堅(jiān)硬的石頭所造,因此可以重建。柏林的夜生活興旺繁榮,有美妙絕倫的電子音樂表演;柏林人喜愛吵鬧而重復(fù)的音樂。這里有普通的博物館和紀(jì)念館,其中許多是為了紀(jì)念這座城市的猶太人遺產(chǎn)的?，F(xiàn)在當(dāng)?shù)鬲q太人不多,但柏林人跟其他德國人一樣,理所當(dāng)然地對(duì)大屠殺感到愧疚。柏林是1938年水晶之夜的中心(“水晶之夜”一詞源于走廊上的碎玻璃),當(dāng)時(shí)不計(jì)其數(shù)的窗戶被砸碎。這是一項(xiàng)針對(duì)柏林猶太人的惡毒計(jì)劃,許多小博物館紀(jì)念當(dāng)時(shí)被毀的猶太教會(huì)堂和商店——以及之后被從柏林驅(qū)趕到集中營受死的數(shù)萬名猶太人。你在其他地方還會(huì)見到一些小的紀(jì)念館,紀(jì)念納粹受害者、被殘忍的黨衛(wèi)軍謀殺的共產(chǎn)主義者,以及被“安樂死”計(jì)劃殺害的殘疾人。

Berlin has notably beautiful parks, including the luscious green Tiergarten, where you can stroll among a miniature forest or take a boat out to islands in the lake. The Zoological Gardens, which have one of the widest ranges of species in the world, are also more than worth a visit if you like exotic animals. It also has some gorgeous churches, ranging from great cathedrals to small, intimate seventeenth-century chapels; even if you're not devout, they're fantastic works of architecture. The art scene is fun – you should check out the Kunsthaus Tacheles, a nightclub and art centre that shows off some of the best work of young Berlin performers. Spectacular graffiti is common, a tradition deriving from the old habit – in the West- of spray painting the Wall as an act of protest.

柏林有美麗非凡的公園,如芬芳滴翠的提爾公園,你可以在小森林里漫步,還可以在湖泊上泛舟至小島。柏林動(dòng)物園是全世界物種最豐富的動(dòng)物園之一。如果你喜歡異域動(dòng)物,這里就值得去參觀一下 。柏林還有一些漂亮的教堂,從宏偉的大教堂到小巧私密的17世紀(jì)小教堂不一而足;即使你不是教徒,也可以欣賞其建筑之美。柏林的藝術(shù)場景也是趣味橫生——你應(yīng)該去塔赫勒斯藝術(shù)中心,這是一個(gè)夜間俱樂部,也是一個(gè)藝術(shù)中心,柏林年青藝人在此展示一些最優(yōu)秀的作品。精彩的噴繪涂鴉隨處皆是,這是老傳統(tǒng)了——在西德——人們常在柏林墻上涂鴉,以此表示抗議。

Sydney

悉尼

For anyone coming from China, Sydney looks absurdly small.It's actually a remarkably big city in terms of land area; Australians like bungalows, and they like big houses and big gardens, so the suburbs sprawl for tens of miles, all the way from the coast up to the Blue Mountains. But it retains a feel as a city of villages. The city centre is small enough to walk across in fifteen minutes without trouble, and all the major shops are within a few minutes of each other. There are a dozen or so pleasant town centres within the city, though, of which the Centre is only one.

對(duì)于任何中國人來說,悉尼看起來都小得有點(diǎn)荒謬。但從土地面積來說,它其實(shí)是一座非常大的城市;澳大利亞人鐘情于別墅,喜歡大房子和大花園,所以郊區(qū)綿延數(shù)十英里,從海岸一直延續(xù)至藍(lán)嶺。但它給人的感覺就是一座村落。市中心很小,只需15分鐘就可以輕松穿越,所有主要店鋪之間的距離都不過幾分鐘步行的路程。悉尼市內(nèi)有十多個(gè)怡人的中心,但中心區(qū)只有一個(gè)。

Sydney's main attraction is the sea. Endless, glittering, it has to be one of the most beautiful ports in the world – it certainly has some of the finest beaches. Bondi Beach is the most famous, but there's a few dozen good ones. They fill up with swimmers, surfers, and sunbathers pretty fast in the summer, but you can always drive along the New South Wales coastline and find miles of gorgeous sand all to yourself. If you can't swim, don't worry – you can always paddle, and Sydney has excellent lifeguards to keep an eye out for those in trouble. Don't be put off by tall tales of marine horrors either; the great white sharks have been gone for ten years or so.

悉尼最吸引人的地方是海。大海廣闊無垠、波光粼粼。悉尼港肯定算得上是世界上最美麗的港口之一,也有一些最漂亮的海灘。邦迪海灘是最著名的,但還有一些其他海灘也不錯(cuò)。夏天在此游泳、沖浪、沐浴陽光的人絡(luò)繹不絕,不過你總可以驅(qū)車沿(著)新南威爾士海岸線,找到數(shù)英里的優(yōu)質(zhì)沙灘,并獨(dú)自享受。如果你不會(huì)游泳,別著急——你可以劃船,悉尼有優(yōu)秀的救生員,專門負(fù)責(zé)看護(hù)遇到困難的人。也不要被荒誕的海上恐怖傳說嚇倒;大白鯊在大約十年前就已經(jīng)沒了蹤影。

The harbour itself is expensive if you want to eat or stay there – indeed, Sydney isn't a cheap city as a whole – but you can always stroll along it for free, perhaps heading down from Centennial Park, often full of courting couples. Along the harbour you'll see two of Sydney's most famous attractions; the great arch of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Opera House. The Harbour Bridge is sometimes called the 'Coathanger', and, indeed, it does look rather like one. The Opera House itself is one of the most well-known buildings in the world; it resembles a spray of water or a cluster of shark's fins coming out of the ocean. Even if you've never heard one before, you should go to the opera or a play there, just to have the experience. Taronga Zoo, built on a hillside – you take a cable car up, passing over alligator cages and lion enclosures – is also a must-see.

如果你想吃住在悉尼港,那么花費(fèi)是很大的——確實(shí)如此,悉尼整體上是個(gè)奢華的城市,但你可以經(jīng)常免費(fèi)到處漫步,可以去世紀(jì)公園,那里滿是談情說愛的情侶。沿著港口,你就會(huì)看到悉尼兩處最著名的景點(diǎn):悉尼港大橋的巨大拱門和悉尼歌劇院。悉尼港大橋有時(shí)被稱為“衣架”,的確,它確實(shí)像衣架。歌劇院是全世界最著名的建筑之一;它好像濺起來的水,或者從海里露出的鯊魚鰭?？v然你從未聽過歌劇,你也應(yīng)該到歌劇院里頭參觀,或者在此看一場演出,親自體驗(yàn)一番。塔朗加動(dòng)物園也是必去景點(diǎn),它建在山坡上,你得乘坐纜車上去,沿途經(jīng)過鱷魚籠和獅子圈。

One of Sydney's peculiarities is the mixture of extremely staid Victorian names – George, Albert, Edward – and names drawn from local Aboriginal languages - Bondi, Maroubra, Coogee. That's just part of the ethnic variety of the city, where the Greek, Russian, and Italian communities have all maintained some degree of their own identity. You'll see Greek Orthodox schools, Russian orthodontists, and Italian churches. Nowadays Asians have been added into the mix, and Kingsford, for instance, has shops that wouldn't be out of place in Guangzhou or Seoul. No matter where you're from, you'll probably be able to find your home cuisine in Sydney.

悉尼的特點(diǎn)之一是,這里混雜著許多典型的維多利亞時(shí)代的人名,如——喬治、阿爾伯特、愛德華——還有來自當(dāng)?shù)赝林Z言中的名字——邦迪、馬魯巴和庫奇。這只是這座城市民族多樣性的一部分,希臘人、俄羅斯人和意大利人在這里都多少保持了其自身的特性。你會(huì)看到希臘正教的學(xué)校、俄羅斯的矯正牙醫(yī)和意大利教堂。如今亞洲人也加入其中,例如金斯福德國際機(jī)場就有在廣州或首爾才可以見到的店鋪。無論你來自何方,在悉尼都可能找到你的家鄉(xiāng)菜。

St Petersburg

圣彼得堡

OK, we have to admit, the Russians aren't the most hospitable people in the world. In fact, they look on visitors rather as if they were unwelcome invaders, best dealt with through hostile shrugs and harsh glares. It's always better to go to Russia with a Russian friend; once they know you, they're some of the most hospitable people on earth. A stereotypical Russian will walk by you dying in the street if you're a stranger, but happily throw himself in front of a bus to save you if you've been invited to his house. St Petersburg is better than most Russian cities, mind you – people there will actually talk to you, and the service is halfway decent, but it's still not exactly friendly. You should put that aside, though, and go to explore one of the most starkly beautiful of Russian cities.

好吧,我們必須得承認(rèn),俄羅斯人不是世界上最好客的民族。其實(shí),他們總將游客視為不受歡迎的侵略者,對(duì)待游客的最好方法是不懷好意的聳肩和嚴(yán)厲的瞪眼。去俄羅斯最好有俄羅斯的朋友陪著;一旦他們了解你,俄羅斯人就會(huì)成為地球上最友好的民族。一個(gè)典型的俄羅斯人,如果他不認(rèn)識(shí)你,即使你危在旦夕他也置若罔聞,但如果你曾受邀去他家,他會(huì)冒著被巴士撞的危險(xiǎn)趕去救你。請(qǐng)注意,圣彼得堡比大多數(shù)俄羅斯城市都好,服務(wù)也差強(qiáng)人意,但仍算不上友好。不過你應(yīng)該把這些拋諸腦后,去探尋圣彼得堡——俄羅斯最美麗的城市之一。

Built by Peter the Great, the city was designed to be a modern, European capital, with panoramic squares and wide avenues, a contrast to the then cramped, medieval Moscow. It was the Russian capital for nearly 200 years, until the Bolsheviks moved the government back to Moscow, wary of Petersburg's proximity to the vulnerable Finnish border. They also renamed the city to Leningrad, a choice never popular with the locals, who promptly voted to go back to the old name after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. In WW2 it endured a terrible siege for over two years, during which time over a million and a half people were killed or starved to death.

圣彼得堡由彼得大帝建造,目的是建設(shè)一座現(xiàn)代的歐洲首都,有廣闊的廣場和寬闊的道路,跟當(dāng)時(shí)中世紀(jì)擁擠的莫斯科形成巨大反差。它作為俄羅斯的首都長達(dá)近200年,直到布爾什維克警覺到圣彼得堡靠近易受侵?jǐn)_的俄芬邊境,才將政府搬回莫斯科。他們將圣彼得堡更名為列寧格勒,可當(dāng)?shù)厝藚s從不喜歡這個(gè)名字,1991年前蘇聯(lián)解體之后民眾立即投票把名字改回去。二戰(zhàn)期間,圣彼得堡曾遭受兩年多的圍困,這期間有150多萬人餓死或被殺。

It's still a beautiful city, with no skyscrapers and an amazing low-lying skyline of churches and museums. The Neva river cuts through the city, freezing up enough to skate on in winter, and a pleasant spot for boating in summer. I wouldn't recommend the nightlife, unless you're young, energetic, and have a high tolerance for mean-looking, shaven headed bouncers; crime in the city, though not as bad as in some other parts of Russia, is still very high, and you should be careful about your safety.

圣彼得堡仍然是一座美麗的城市,沒有摩天大樓,卻有著教堂與博物館勾勒出來的低矮而美麗的天際線。涅瓦河穿城而過,冬天結(jié)的冰厚到足夠在上面滑冰,夏天是劃船的好去處。我不推薦當(dāng)?shù)氐囊股?除非你年輕、精力足,并且能忍受長相鄙俗的光頭保鏢;當(dāng)?shù)氐姆缸锫孰m然沒有俄羅斯其他地方那樣糟糕,但依然很高,你得十分注意自己的安全。

The sights, however, are amazing. Your first visit should be to the Hermitage, an astonishing, gigantic museum complex created by Catherine the Great. There's enough here for days worth of visits, with everything from great European paintings and sculpture, like Canova's The Three Graces or Raphael's Madonna, to Egyptian antiquities and Ming dynasty vases. There are normally queues to get in, but it's more than worth it, as are the gardens around the site.

然而,圣彼得堡的景色還是非常棒的。你應(yīng)該先去冬宮。這是一座宏偉大氣的巨型博物館,由凱瑟琳皇后修建,值得你花幾天的時(shí)間觀賞。從杰出的歐洲畫作與雕塑,如卡諾瓦的《三夫人》或拉斐爾的《圣母》,到埃及文物和明代花瓶,琳瑯滿目,應(yīng)有盡有。要進(jìn)去通常得排隊(duì),但它仍然值得一看,周圍的花園也是。

If you're a military buff, the Peter and Paul Fortress, an eighteenth century citadel which guards the river, is fascinating. The incredibly ornate Orthodox churches, especially the 'Church of the Saviour on Blood', built to mark the site of the assassination of the Russian Tsar Alexander II in 1881, are quite astonishing; you can spend hours just gazing at their complex beauty. There are dozens of gardens and parks to stroll through, numerous historical sites to visit, and, once in a while, the locals will even say hello to you – more than you can expect anywhere else in Russia!

如果你是軍事迷,那彼得保羅要塞肯定會(huì)吸引你,這是一座18世紀(jì)古堡,依涅瓦河而建。裝飾華麗的東正教教堂美得驚人,尤其是“滴血大教堂”,這座教堂是因1881年俄羅斯亞歷山大二世在此遇刺而建造的;你可以花數(shù)小時(shí),僅僅為了欣賞它們繁復(fù)的美麗。你還可以在眾多的花園和公園里漫步,參觀不計(jì)其數(shù)的歷史遺跡、當(dāng)?shù)厝伺紶栆矔?huì)向你打招呼,這可是你在俄羅斯其他地方享受不到的禮遇。