聰明旅行家 第一季 1080P 中文字幕 Smart.Travels.S03E13.歐洲偉大城市 中文字幕Europe's.Great.Cities

Hi, I'm Rudy Maxa. They say that great cities seldom rest. It's true, which makes them great destinations. Say you have 24 hours in London or Paris or Brussels. What to do? Where to begin? Well, hang on. Next, it's four great cities of Europe on Smart Travels. Smart Travels is a grand tour of the old world, the people, places, sites and distinctly European flavors. Our host is travel writer and columnist Rudy Maxa, public radio's original savvy traveler. Now, tips, trips and secret places on Smart Travels. The hullabaloo of European cities first burst upon the scene in the 11th century with a revival of worldwide trade. By the 13th century, feudalism was fading and life in the Middle Ages was shifting away from the countryside. Before you knew it, the Industrial Revolution came along with large-scale manufacturing. Europe's cities grabbed hold and never looked back. In this half hour, we'll visit a quartet of extraordinary metropolitan centers. We start our city's tour in London, England, hop across the Channel to Amsterdam in the Netherlands, head south to Brussels in Belgium and end in France's international city of lights, Paris. It's been said that cities take the nonsense out of people. They're crowded, expensive and noisy with traffic. But if we do our homework, keep our wits about us, we can dig into the vitality and awesome works of Europe's heartbeat, its great cities. First up, it's Londontown. One of Europe's great cities majestically straddles the River Thames. For many visitors, this capital of Britain is known for its icons. Big Ben, named for a 13-ton bell. The formidable Houses of Parliament. The Tower of London, notorious for grisly tales. And the Windsor family's Buckingham Palace. But symbols of New London run rampant. And it's hard to miss the contrast of old tradition cuddled up to 21st century innovation. Think of London as a nation, not a city. Consider its world influence, languages, great arts, theater and multilayered history. London teems with grit and sophistication, an urban culture you can see and feel. But its traditions are bending in the face of new generations. We're talking 21st century London. 1,600 tons and what do you get? The highest observation wheel ever built. The eye was sketched first at the kitchen table of a husband and wife architect team. Marx and Barfield pushed their impossible dream until they won the backing of British Airways. Their mission? To create an exciting new way to see and understand one of the greatest cities on earth. In March of 2000, mission accomplished. The eye almost never closes and more than 200 workers keep it safe and waiting for visitors. For dreams realized, London's Millennium Year 2000 stands tall. Two months after the London Eye welcomed the public, a major new Tate Gallery opened. On its seven floors, the Tate Modern holds international modern and contemporary art from 1900 to the present. The works often depict a passionate response to headlines of the day. In the late 1930s, Spanish artist Pablo Picasso ripped the public with images condemning fascist General Franco's regime in the Spanish Civil War. Weeping Woman, done in 1937, relates to Guernica, a series of Picasso's paintings that toured England to bring attention to the suffering of Spain's war victims. About the same time, a younger Spaniard, surrealist Salvador Dali, was shocking the art public with bold, startling pictures inspired by Freud and a new psychoanalysis. Thirty years later, in the 1960s, Andy Warhol, the king of pop art, produced his version of objects from tomato soup cans to celebrity portraits. Once you see the old-timers, don't miss today's innovators. The no-holds-barred contemporary exhibits are an ever-changing highlight at the Tate Modern. For bonus fun, you can cruise from the modern Tate to the original Tate Britain by way of a 220-seat catamaran. After a full day in London, I like to wind down in a great hotel. The Athenaeum is another sample of the new butting up against the old. The 75-year-old structure was remodeled in the 1990s. It's luxurious, modern, and yet so old British. To enjoy a proper cup of tea, figure on a few extra calories. This is Devonshire clotted cream, which you can only get in this country. So thick. It's very thick. It's probably quite fattening, but it is utterly... Probably. Utterly delicious. Now, here's a dollop of cream. Let me try it without the jam for the moment. Just do a dollop of cream. Strumptious. I think I feel a heart attack coming on. No, one or two won't hurt you, I'm sure. From here, it's a short walk to the upbeat Green Park District. And don't miss trying an Indian meal. You'll find all kinds of good restaurants. We had dinner at the fancy Tamarind near the hotel. Featuring tandoori meats and complex spicy Vindaloo dishes, the Michelin-starred Tamarind offers some of London's best Indian cuisine. So I'm going to start with the chicken. From garlic or ginger chicken to an exotic pickled spinach to traditional spiced lamb, the menu is packed with tough choices. Top your favorite with chutney, the Tamarind House specialty. Oh, my goodness. For London nightlife, the city is a theater lover's dream. The only questions being what to choose and will there be tickets? Take chocolates with you. In London, you eat chocolate at intermission. A sweet ending to a whirlwind look at Great Britain's great city. Across the channel, other cities are calling. It's been hundreds of years since rural folk drawn to fresh opportunity poured into Europe's urban world. By the late 19th century, artists and poets were trying to lure people back to the simplicity of the countryside. But to no avail. The giant cities grew like crazy. One of the craziest is Amsterdam. The village named for the dam on the Amstel River 800 years ago thrives today amidst busy canals, 400 bridges and hordes of people. It's a major port, an international financial hub, and one of Europe's top tourism magnets. The city, built up over soggy land, sits in a county called Holland in a country called the Netherlands. And the national language is called Dutch. Confusing? Relax. It's a welcoming metropolis. A quick take on Amsterdam. Canals, bicycles, an open-door attitude. Exactly. But none of it came easily. To get a sense of the city's legacy of tolerance and its passion for arts, we have a full day ahead. And I promise you, it'll end with an international culinary flair, Indonesian rice topple. Grab a free bicycle and take a spin. You'll quickly get a sense of the maze of canals and the ethnic diversity bearing out the country's hospitality. Foreigners have always been a familiar sight here. As early as 1602, Dutch merchants traded around the world, and religious refugees have long made a beeline for the Netherlands. Despite off-the-scale population density, the Dutch insist on a people-friendly, high standard of living. The Van Gogh Museum houses the world's largest collection of the Dutch artist's work. Vincent van Gogh lived mostly in France, and only in his final ten years, 1880 to 1890, did he take up drawing and painting. He moved from urban Paris to rural France, from rich, heavy colors to vibrant light, and from Impressionism to his famous linear style. Plagued by turmoil much of his life, Van Gogh killed himself at age 33. His grief-stricken brother brought hundreds of his paintings and drawings back home to Amsterdam. Today, Van Gogh's art is among the most recognized in the world. But for pure Dutch, if you see nothing else in Amsterdam, you must visit the Rijksmuseum. In the city's long-lived passion for art, the country's eclectic past and culture unfold in vivid, detailed images. Lucky for us, Amsterdam's 17th-century boom meant work, a livelihood for artists. Commissioned by the rich to immortalize the upper classes, the painters focused on landscapes, faces, costumes, whatever portraits depicted ownership and the good life. Johannes Vermeer lit magically the most ordinary daily routine. Franz Hals created with attitude. He captured the moment, often with vitality and humor. But Rembrandt rules. Known as the greatest master of the Dutch school, Rembrandt reigns as genius artist-historian. At all hours, crowds gather around this painting, the shooting company of Captain Franz Banning Coke, completed in 1642. Well known as the Night Watch, Rembrandt's piece caused an uproar. He had not posed the soldiers in a dignified lineup, but made them men on the move, expressive and in perpetual motion. Rembrandt's universal appeal lies in his profound mastery of the richness of human character. We promised a sublime finale in Amsterdam. As Dutch as windmills and canals, a feast of Indonesian dishes or rice taffle will cap our day. Ranging from mild to highly spiced Indonesian food, the rice table includes fish, meat, vegetables, rice, and a spicy sauce called sambal. This is the fried coconut powder and this is the fried potato. Both of them you can sprinkle also a little bit on your rice, also a little bit on your food. For coconut powder, the taste is sweet. Enjoy your meal, gentlemen. Thank you very much. You're welcome. Today the Indonesian rice taffle is a full-grown feature of Dutch cuisine. With tasty spices under our belts, we head south to another fast-paced hub of Europe. Great cities thrive on pushing the edge in architecture, the arts, commerce and technology. On any great city square, you can feel the vitality of the self-assured urbanites. Rich or poor, they seem to carry on confidently in the midst of what a stranger might want to call chaos. It's a city that's 1,000 years old, headquarters to NATO, a legendary magnet for writers and artists, and oh, yeah, it's the capital of a country known for chocolates. Brussels takes pride in its hospitality, and Belgians take pride in their capital. The heart of the city is the Grand Place, and the very best place to start. Set in Brussels' lower town, this is one of Europe's most beautiful town squares. The medieval setting lends a dramatic backdrop to this hub of international politics. Today, the European Commission, NATO and the Council of Ministers of the European Union all call Brussels home. On the 400-year-old guildhouses, each façade is different, a handcrafted legacy of past artisans and merchants. In 1695, all but one of the original buildings crumpled under torrential bombing by Louis XIV. Miraculously, this 14th-century structure survives. The Gothic Town Hall, or Hotel de Ville, is the city's showpiece. And we're in the right place. The Tourist Information Office is in the Town Hall. You'll need a map to plan the day. At our first stop, the Art Nouveau architecture gets my attention. The Grand Magasin Woukei building offers a prime example of open space created by light and glass and wrought iron. Designed in 1906, the structure has evolved from department store to enchanting city museum. Within its airy pockets sits the Belgian Center for Comic Strip Art, starring Tin Tin, beloved reporter and quick-trick artist, and his furry pal Snowy, both always in trouble, both always escaped. Here visitors wander through Belgium's comic strip origins and lighter history. Even with just 24 hours, this museum is a must-see. Other Belgian specialties are profoundly edible. Two blocks from the Grand Place, the famous Butcher's Street positions assertive waiters and competing stacks of sea life to lure you inside. The Falstaff Restaurant offers the robustness of Shakespeare's tale along with mounds of local mussels cooked in wine sauce and served with piles of fries. The visitors' dilemma lies in deciding which of the 300 Belgian beers should enhance the traditional meal along with Belgian chocolates. This famous specialty offers instant energy for sightseeing and of course, each calorie evaporates when you leave the country. Now, switching gears for the last of our fabulous four cities, we could keep sampling chocolates or turn to 1,000 French pastries. After all, we're in Paris, the sophisticated city of lights, cafes, and buttery croissants. The Seine River separates the upscale right bank from the Bohemian student-centered left bank. Standing among gargoyles on the top of Notre Dame Cathedral, we can get ideas for the day's agenda. Never fear. It's a manageable and exciting task. One day in Paris? Okay. What can we explore that we can't find anywhere else? Well, you can't miss the sense of style or Bohemian flavor or the cuisine. We'll get to that. But first, let's check out a structure that 30 years ago had Parisians aghast and protesting. Today, it's a landmark of Paris. 24 hours? You can't miss this one. It's fun to walk from Notre Dame to the Pompidou Center. Imagine this apparition bursting onto the scene in the late 1970s. Pipe systems traditionally hidden, electricity and water and ventilation, are featured design. Intricate detail lit up with coated colors. Escalators carry visitors around, their trail blazed bright red. People flock to see the National Modern Art Collection inside. Right next door, the Stravinsky Fountain accents the museum's mood. Vitality, movement, and fantastic colors dedicated to composer Igor Stravinsky. A natural resting spot before a stroll to the river. If you check out the Latin Quarter along the river, in between book stalls, you'll come across cafes and restaurants with menus posted. I like the smaller places. Often exquisite cuisine, but informal. Among friends, it's fun to try a little of everything. From here, it's an easy walk or short taxi ride to the excellent Musée d'Orsay. Transformed from the old Paris train station into a stunning space, the D'Orsay Museum specializes in art from mid-19th century to World War I. The Impressionist Collection greets visitors with one renowned artist after another. The vitality of Paris was a constant theme among Impressionists, as was changing light and movement. Mavericks of their time, these artists created images with new vision and ambiguity, leaving realistic renderings to the classicists and the grumbling to their critics. A short stroll from the D'Orsay, the Rodin Museum honors a contemporary of the Impressionists, sculpture Auguste Rodin. The museum holds great art, including Rodin's personal collection, but the magic is outside, behind the museum, in the Rodin Sculpture Garden. A great sculpture makes cold stone look alive, and Rodin's bronze statues seem to breathe. He worked seven years on Monument de Balzac, catching perfectly an intense moment. Burgers of Calais recreates a 14th-century event. The city fathers, about to turn the keys of Calais over to their English invaders. And Rodin's most famous, The Thinker, part of his Gates of Hell series, sits strong, natural, and more flesh-like than bronze has a right to be. Great artists bring to life stone and images and new ways of seeing. Great cities preserve their art. A great city finds ways to make awesome structures and provides efficient ways to get around. It draws millions through its diversity. It can exhaust you, energize you, or provide a wake-up call to new possibilities. For me, the close of a day in a great city calls for a relaxed meal, good wine, and great company. Sure, it might take a lifetime to know a city, but in 24 hours, you can make a lot of memories. Until next time, I'm Rudy Maxa.