冬日英倫的冷與暖

◇ 文圖|

聽說我們要在冬季的1月奔赴英國，在英國留學(xué)3年的大趙姐姐瞪大了眼睛：英國的冬天可冷了！

劍橋大學(xué)街道

接著，她花了大約10分鐘時間向我們講述，英國的天氣是如何潮濕寒冷，終年難見陽光；又花了大約10分鐘時間與我們分享，英國的食物是如何超越想象的難吃；最后，又花了剩下的10分鐘與我們感嘆，大英博物館如何集人類文明之大成，嘆為觀止。

幸與不幸，大趙姐姐的三個段落，在我們這一趟續(xù)命的年度旅行中，都得到了印證。

When we mentioned that we were about to visit Britain in January, Ms. Zhao who has studied in Britain for 3 years exclaimed with her eyes wide open, “The winter in Britain is freaking cold !”

She spent around 10 minutes talking about how wet and cold Britain was and how rare it was for you to catch a glimpse of sunshine; She spent another 10 minutes sharing her life experience in Britain and said that the disgusting food in Britain was beyond your imagination; Finally, she spent the last 10 minutes marveling at how the British museum has managed to capture the greatness of human civilization.

Fortune or not, we became the witness of what Ms.Zhao said in our journey to Britain.

風(fēng)雪不停，是對冬天最起碼的尊重

Formidable Wind and Snow:Minimum Respect for Winter

這一行的導(dǎo)游Mrs.Wang是四川人，嬌小可愛，五官精致，圓溜溜的眼睛眨巴眨巴，泛著“老司機(jī)”的光芒。

長年累月的英國線帶團(tuán)經(jīng)歷，為她積累了足夠豐富的經(jīng)驗來對付這幫游客。為了讓我們這幫任你如何提醒一定懶得塞一把雨傘在行李箱里、但一下雨就吵吵嚷嚷要找雨傘的游客從善如流，她會十分認(rèn)真地告訴我們，“純正的英國人，下雨都不撐傘?！?/p>

當(dāng)然，我們并不是一般的游客，我們大都隨身帶了一把精致的折疊傘。然而，后來的事實告訴我們，折疊傘在英國暴虐的寒風(fēng)中，就像是脆生生的枯樹枝，不堪一擊。愛丁堡城堡外，我們就像一朵朵花兒一樣，隨著翻來覆去的折疊傘在風(fēng)中旋轉(zhuǎn)。

劍橋大學(xué)圖書館

愛丁堡市區(qū)

在英國走了一路，風(fēng)雨幾乎沒停，但曼城卻給了我們最大的驚喜：入夜，竟紛紛揚揚地下起雪來。

因為下雪，天色昏暗了許多，風(fēng)雪之中，街燈閃爍，典型的歐式建筑低低矮矮地分布在街道兩側(cè)，黑色的老式出租車一閃而過，那一幕浪漫至極，只差25歲的裘德洛了。

說真的，如果我是王爾德，在遇見貌美如花的波西時，漫天風(fēng)雪里也只有把對方擁入懷中的情迷，哪還顧得上雨水濕衣衫呢。

“恨是盲目的，愛亦然?！?/p>

The tour guide, Mrs.Wang, a Sichuan native, was petite and cute. She had delicate features and round eyes.You could tell that she was an experienced guide when you made an eye contact with her.

After spent years of working as a guide, she has accumulated rich experience and was well capable of handling tourists. As visitors, we used to putting an umbrella in a luggage in case of raining, yet when it rains,we often find ourselves scrambling to find umbrellas.Knowing this, Mrs.Wang kindly reminded us that “Authentic Britons never use umbrellas when it rains”. ”

Of course, we are not ordinary tourists, most of us took a delicate folding umbrella. But as it turned out,folding umbrellas were like fragile and dry branches in Britain's formidable winds. And we were like flowers twirling in the strong wind with our folding umbrellas outside Edinburgh castle.

As we walked all the way in Britain, the strong wind and rain barely stopped. Yet our biggest surprise came from Manchester where snow started to fly as the night fell.

It was getting dark because of the snow. Street lights were flickering in the snow, when the black old-fashioned taxi flashed past the classic and lowrise European-style buildings lined on each side of the road, you felt like you were in the most romantic scene.It would be perfect if you had 25 year old Jude Law by your side.

Indeed, if I had been Wilde and had met the beautiful Pawsey, my mind would be focused on taking her into my arms regardless of being caught wet in the snowy day.

“Hatred is blind, as well as love. ”

食在英倫，意料之外的中餐館

Food in Britain, An Unexpected Chinese Restaurant

“英國大概有著全歐洲最好的中餐館。”Mrs.Wang這樣說的時候，我還沒意識到這件事會帶來的后果。直到旅行結(jié)束、回家上稱的那一刻，我才意識到，節(jié)制這件事，并不能因為舟車勞頓就有所松懈。

前年在西班牙噎下的那個散發(fā)著洗衣粉味道的饅頭，還在大腦溝回里縈繞不去。同樣是團(tuán)餐，英國的中餐體驗可以用“出人意料的好”來形容。

在北愛爾蘭，我們甚至吃到了特別地道的回鍋肉，感動得差點留下小費。

這一份出人意料帶來的另一個后果就是，全團(tuán)不少從國內(nèi)帶過去的咸菜老干媽，面臨被“遣返”的危險。

當(dāng)然，這個結(jié)果只能間接說明常住英國的中國人對自我有著更高的要求，除此之外的英國食物，都是“匪夷所思”的化身。

在溫德米爾湖區(qū)放風(fēng)的時候，Mrs.Wang格外用心地為我們安排了一頓英國傳統(tǒng)美食：fish&chips（炸魚和薯條）。如果是川渝以外的客人來品嘗，大概也就是一句“口味有點清淡”，但當(dāng)二樓坐滿了來自美食之都重慶的客人時，場面就變得十分滑稽：大家紛紛用各自帶來的辣椒面灑滿整條魚，桌面上的胡椒罐幾乎被掏空，有人還試圖把薯條泡進(jìn)酸菜罐里。我?guī)状晤┑铰眯袌F(tuán)的大巴車司機(jī)——一個肯尼亞裔的英國漢子，坐在角落里，嚼著炸魚，眼神飄忽，仿佛闖進(jìn)了一個新世界。

至于用餐感受，我腦海中反復(fù)響起那句“試了后悔一陣子、不試后悔一輩子”的文字雞湯。以至于當(dāng)天晚上我們膩得放棄了晚餐。

“Britain probably has the best Chinese restaurants in Europe. “As Mrs.Wang said this, I didn't pay much attention to what she meant. It wasn't until I got home from my trip and stood on the weighing scale that I realized that I couldn't let go of my restraint just because I was tired.

Memories of eating a steamed bun with washing powder smell in Spain were still fresh. What we had for food this time was also the group meal. Yet the Chinese food experience in the UK can be described as “Overwhelming”.

In Northern Ireland, we even had the authentic dish “Chinese double cooked pork”. We were so excited that we had strong intentions to leave tips.

Another unexpected consequence of this was that many of us who took Lao Gan Ma chili sauce with them risked of taking these chili sauce back to China.

Of course, the tasty Chinese food indirectly reflected higher requirements of those Chinese residents in Britain. In addition to Chinese food, other food in Britain were “outrageous”.

During our break at Lake Windermere, Mrs.Wang arranged a traditional English meal with utmost care: fish&chips. If you were not tourists from Sichuan and Chongqing, you might thought that the dish “tasted a bit light”; Yet it would hilarious when you had all Sichuan and Chongqing visitors packed on the second floor of the restaurant:everyone filled the fish with their own chili sauce,the pepper cans on the table were nearly empty, and someone even tried to dip the fries into the sauerkraut can. Several times I caught a glimpse of the tour bus driver, an English- Kenyan man, sitting in a corner, chewing Fried fish, his eyes wandering as if he was in a new world.

As for its dining experience, the poisoned chicken soup “You would regret for a while after trying this, yet you would regret for your lifetime if you don't try it at all.” kept ringing in my head. And that night we were so tired that we gave up dinner.

街頭巷尾，遇見現(xiàn)代與傳統(tǒng)的混搭

The Mix of Modernity and Tradition on the Streets

陰冷潮濕、食不知味以外的英國，亦有許多美妙之處。

轉(zhuǎn)角處偶遇的銀發(fā)老太太，綠色套裝、禮帽，單手挎著小坤包，踩著女王鞋在街頭漫步的樣子，優(yōu)雅得攝人心魄；倫敦街頭，三兩步就能遇到街頭賣藝者，就地而立，甩著頭發(fā)唱著歌，全情投入地還原著音樂本身的魅力；在城市街頭穿行的軌道電車是另一道風(fēng)景，狹窄的街道中間，傳統(tǒng)的歐式建筑與現(xiàn)代交通工具的混搭，時時給人以魔幻的錯覺，難怪哈利波特會出生在英國；沿襲至今的明信片文化，則是英國禮儀最溫情脈脈的表達(dá)，花樣繁復(fù)之中、一撇一捺之間，自是你來我往的深情厚誼。

以及，給了我致命一眼的是，我們最后一程的大巴車司機(jī)、一個干瘦的中年英國男子，穿著小馬甲與白襯衣，筆挺地坐在人聲鼎沸的中餐館里吃工作餐，不疾不徐，姿態(tài)優(yōu)美，仿佛在切割一塊上好的牛排。那一刻，我深感汗顏，默默地咽下了最后一口豬蹄。

至于大英博物館之宏偉、之雄渾、之震撼，確非文字所及。

溫德米爾湖區(qū)

這座外表并不起眼的英國建筑里，珍藏著我們對人類最誠摯的敬意?，F(xiàn)場匆匆一瞥，并未能觸及其鳳毛，便不在此班門弄斧了。

最后，不管怎么樣，我覺得沒有必要去嘗試炸魚和薯條。

There are also many wonderful places waiting to explore in this cold, wet Britain where people have light tastes for food.

At the corner, you would encounter a silverhaired old lady in green suit, top hat, and one hand with a small clutch, walking in her queen's shoes on the street, radiating the elegance; On the London streets, you would easily encounter street buskers.They stand on the spot, singing with devoted hearts and hair shaking, demonstrating the glamour of music; The tram running through the city streets is another scenery. In the middle of the narrow streets,the mixture of traditional European architecture and modern transportation tools always gives people a magic illusion. Little wonder why harry potter was born in Britain; The postcard culture inherited so far is the most gentle expression of British etiquette.You can find deep friendship from various floral patterns and beautiful characters in the postcard.

And, what impressed me most was the bus driver for our last-leg. The thin, middle-aged English man in a small waistcoat and white shirt, sat upright in a noisy Chinese restaurant for a working meal, unhurried and graceful, as if he were cutting a fine steak. At that moment, I felt ashamed and silently swallowed the last bite of pig's trotter.

As for the magnificent and marvelous British museum, it is beyond words.

What lies in this modest-looking British building is our utmost respect. As we only took a quick glance at it, I would save your time from describing it with my limited knowledge about it.

Finally, as for fish&chips dish, you really don't have to try.