pianist from the sea

Chapter 313 Elb Concert Hall

Germany is cold in winter. This coldness does not only refer to the air or temperature in Germany, but also to the clothes they wear.

Fu Tiao was wearing a thick jacket. After putting the suit his agent brought him into his suitcase, he yawned and walked out of his room.

The sky outside the house is not completely bright yet, even though it is already seven or eight o'clock in the morning.

But the feeling outside makes people always feel that it may only be three or four in the morning.

Densely packed vehicles have begun to drive on the dim streets, just like the evening rush hour at night, speeding past with orange headlights.

Countless people also gathered under Fu Tiao's door. They wore uniform cold-colored jackets and walked through the triangular square in front of the house, walked to the nearest subway station, and got into it.

In the iron car that looks like a sardine can, you turn on the heater to keep your body warm.

They already belong to a group of people who go to work late. The real kings of rolls have already arrived at the class and started working as early as four or five in the morning.

It's not that they want to be so curled, just because...

After working at four or five in the morning, they can get off work at twelve o'clock in the afternoon, before the sun has completely set, and then lie on the lawn in the city center and enjoy this last tenderness.

Fu Tiao is different from this group of people. He does not need to go to work so early.

All he needs is to catch the train from Berlin to Hamburg with this group of migrant workers.

At [-]:[-] in the morning, under the pitch-black night, the transparent Berlin main fire shone brightly, illuminating the surroundings like a gem.

It's just that this light seems particularly cold.

Fu Tiao followed the crowd to the station where he wanted to go and waited.

After just a few minutes of waiting, the train from Berlin to Hamburg had already broken through the night and arrived in front of Fu Diao.

Rarely, the car was not late.

And when Fu Tiao got on the car, the car actually started at the scheduled time, smashing through the fog in the night and rushing towards the north.

As the vehicle drove by, the dark sky in the distance gradually lit up with a trace of white light.

There was no spectacular sunrise, but in an extremely slow change, the surrounding darkness gradually dissipated, and the light returned to this cold land.

This is Germany.

It was just after eight o'clock in the morning in Germany.

The heating in the ICE carriage was turned on fully, and Fu Tiao had already taken off his clothes as soon as he entered, wearing only a simple plush shirt.

He sat by the window of the carriage and looked out the window.

The slowly rotating wind turbine stands alone in the distance.

Although it is already winter, you can still see some green in the sky and earth.

Fu Tiao didn't know how many times he had seen this scenery, but every time he took the train through this land, he always felt that he couldn't get enough of this scenery.

"Hello sir, your coffee!"

A gentle life sounded from Fu Diao's side.

Fu Diao was sitting in the first class cabin, where free coffee was available, and Fu Diao was the only one in the entire first class cabin.

Therefore, after the vehicle drove smoothly, the staff member walked over directly with the machine in his hand, holding coffee in one hand and controlling the machine with the other hand, and spoke to Fu Diao.

"Then, sir, could you show me your ticket?"

"OK……"

Fu Diao nodded and handed over the ticket QR code on his mobile phone. After the staff quickly scanned it, he breathed a sigh of relief and smiled at Fu Diao.

"This is your coffee. Do you want normal black coffee, coffee with foam, latte, or cappuccino?"

"Cappuccino! Thank you."

Fu Tiao nodded.

After the staff selected the coffee in their hands, they handed Fu a cup of cappuccino and a brown sugar cookie, and said with a smile.

"Please take it easy, sir."

"Thank you."

Fu Diao smiled and took the coffee handed over by the staff. After taking a sip, the rich aroma of milk and black coffee mixed in his mouth. It was obvious...

This is made with a machine and then some frothed milk. It sells for about [-] euros on the roadside outside, but only costs [-] euro for a regular cappuccino in the supermarket.

The brown sugar cookies on hand are extremely sweet.

But this sweetness can just complement the bitterness of the coffee.

After Fu Diao took a sip, he asked the staff member who had not left yet.

"By the way...haven't there been so many first-class seats lately?"

"of course."

The staff apologized helplessly: "First-class seats are not twice as expensive as ordinary seats, so few people will choose first-class seats. You are the only one who purchased this train. That's why I came to check the tickets." .”

"so……"

Fu Diao nodded to show that he understood.

The staff member seemed to have found something to talk about, and complained directly to Fu Diao.

"I don't know why Deutsche Bahn still supports so many first-class seats on each train. The most commonly used first-class seats are either frequent travelers or MPs! Do you know the Green Party MPs recently? They are making a show It even reached our Deutsche Bahn!"

"Listen to what you say...you're not from the Green Party?"

"I'm from the CDU, but I still support the Green Party, but this time the Green Party's show is a little too much."

Seeing that Fu Diao seemed willing to chat with him, the staff member continued.

"People from the Green Party actually took photos and said that their Green Party members are like everyone else. They have to sit on the ground because there are no seats in the second-class seats. Are you kidding me?"

"Are you kidding?" Fu Diao was a little confused. He was not particularly clear about this: "Is there anything wrong with this?"

"This is a big problem!"

The staff member complained directly: "That person is a member of the Green Party. No matter what party they are, as long as they are members with serious positions, they all have railway passes jointly issued by Deutsche Bahn and the Deutsche Bundesliga. This certificate is the same as that of the Green Party. Like Deutsche Bahn 100, you can ride unlimited times. Although I also support the Green Party, this behavior is too outrageous."

Deutsche 100 is a type of ticket sold by Deutsche Bahn.

There are six types in total.

There are six types: German first-class and second-class 25, German first-class and second-class 50, and German first-class and second-class 100.

数字就是折扣，25的意思就是减25%，50就是减50%，至于100……那就是减100%。

The member's card is a transportation card issued by the Council, and its effect is equivalent to the German First Class 100.
This price is very expensive. The price of Deutsche First Class 100 is a full 7356 euros per year.

Maybe for those who travel around Germany all day long, this price is still a good deal.

But for normal people, it is basically difficult to use such a card, and there is no way to fully repay the money after buying it.

The reason why Fu Tiao has some impression of this kind of card is that...

His teacher Klaus had a Deutsche 100 like this.
Although it is second class, it only costs more than 4000 euros.

He often saw his teacher take his luggage and start running to other places after class. He almost traveled all over Germany, holding exchange meetings with various schools. If he had something to do, he would ask Fu Tiao if he wanted to go with him.

But Fu Tiao was reluctant to spend so much money. Apart from the round-trip ticket sent by the brokerage company, he rarely went out, so he bought a German second-class 25 for use.

This made his impression of Deutsche 100 even deeper.

Fu Diao touched his chin and nodded slowly.

"It's really a bit of a show."

"Really? And you have also seen that the first-class seats are empty. Today, most of the bus from Berlin to Hamburg is empty. There are only a few stops where people will get on the bus. It is impossible for first-class people to appear. The seats were full, so I really couldn’t understand what the congressman was doing.”

The staff member shook his head and sighed.

"I know the importance of environmental protection, but this is not the basis of their show. Even if I have a good impression of the Green Party, I can't keep up with their congressmen's show."

"really."

Fu Tiao smiled and said nothing more.

He is not German, he is just an ordinary artist working in the music industry.

After the staff member complained about the council to Fu Tiao for a while, he shook his head and turned to leave.

When leaving, he told Fu Diao that if he had any questions, he could come to him.

It’s not just about drinking coffee, but you can also ask him about travel guides to Hamburg. He is from near Hamburg and often goes to Hamburg, so he knows a lot about Hamburg.

According to him, the most interesting thing in Hamburg is the bus boat.

As a port city, it is definitely rare for citizens to use boats as a common means of transportation.The last time he saw such a scene was in the city next door, Venice, Italy.

Fu Tiao naturally remembered it in his heart and thanked him.

The vehicle continued to move forward, and a few old people came to the first-class carriage in the middle. They seemed to be celebrating something, and excitedly distributed cakes to everyone who saw them.

When he came to Fu Tiao's side, Fu Tiao didn't like cakes that much, so he didn't ask for them.

As a result, the old man looked at Fu Tiao's young appearance and thought that Fu Tiao was a member of the Green Party, so he kept explaining that this was from Vagen, which was vegetarian and did not harm any animals at all.

"I know that you young people all like vegetarian food and support the Green Party. Although I don't like the Green Party that much, I always feel that they are very boring, but you young people like it. I have specially made vegetarian snacks, try them! My son is getting married today!”

Seeing the beaming expression on the old man's face, Fu Diao hesitated and thanked the old man. He took a piece of the pastry that seemed to be Turkish or Arabic and took a sip.

The taste is slightly rough, but very thick.

The densely packed fruit inside is paired with syrupy milk and the bottom layer of meringue, giving such a small candy a layered texture.

I don’t know if I’m eating pastries or candies.

It's very interesting.

but……

Is the support rate for the Green Party among young people in Germany actually so high?
Fu Tiao listened carefully to what the group of people said for the first time, and then he realized what the distribution of support among various parties was.

Older people will be more willing to support the CDU and the like. After all, these parties are in coalition and have been in power for so many years, so everyone has some feelings for them.

People like red-necks in beautiful countries, that is, middle-aged people with middle incomes, will be more willing to support right-wing parties like the AfD, hoping not to recruit so many refugees and reduce exorbitant taxes.

As for young people...

The Green Party seems to be the most popular among them. Even when they go to McDonald's or KFC, they always order vegetarian burgers and vegetarian fried chicken (fried tofu).

I don’t know if it’s just a show, or just following the crowd, or maybe I really like vegetarian food and want to lose weight.

This makes it difficult to comment.

But all this has nothing to do with Fu Diao. He just looks at this group of people from the perspective of a bystander and observes them.

Such a small disturbance is just a very small and interesting incident during the trip that will not cause any fluctuation at all.

The only thing worth mentioning is that the train from Berlin to Hamburg is extremely rare, arriving in Hamburg only 10 minutes late.

Fu Tiao stood in the main fire of Hamburg, looking at everything around him with a little surprise.

The main fire in Hamburg is ridiculously large, even somewhat similar to the main fire in Frankfurt.

The densely packed station gates handle countless vehicles, with vehicles entering and exiting all the time.

The crowd was so dense that Fu Diao suspected that he was not in Hamburg now, but in Frankfurt.

It wasn't until Fu adjusted the main fire of the burger that he realized what real...

Classical and trendy intertwined.

Between the skyscrapers, there are densely packed traditional European buildings.

The new building reflects the sun's rays, casting them over the nearby Baroque church.

It's big and beautiful.

Just as Fu Tiao walked out of the station with his suitcase, his cell phone rang.

When he answered the phone, a serious staff member spoke.

"Hello, is this Mr. Fu Dior?"

"Ah."

"You're on fire in Hamburg now, aren't you?"

"Yes."

"Okay, please wait for me behind the main fire door in Hamburg. In 3 minutes, I will come to pick you up wearing a black solid color suit and a white shirt. You should be able to see me, and I will also pay attention to your location. !”

"Ok."

Fu Tiao nodded.

After confirming Fu Diao's information, the other end of the phone hung up the phone.

Just as what was said on the phone, three minutes later, a young man wearing a solid black suit with a white shirt and a full beard walked up to Fu Diao, looked at him and said cheerfully.

"You are Mr. Fu, right? I am the staff member sent by the city hall to pick you up. Because we knew that you did not drive here, we arranged a car for you... You asked me to take you Take a look at the overall situation in the city of Hamburg?”

"It's troublesome."

Fu Tiao looked at the city and nodded slightly.

He was really curious about what the city was like.

This port city seems different from the port city he imagined...?
You can't see anything special in this place.

All you can see is a very flat land. From the main fire side, you can't find any elements related to the sea.

Even watching it all makes you a little skeptical.

Did you really come to a seaside city?
You say you are a seaside port city, but what about your sea?

Fu Diao felt that he had not seen the sea for a long time.

But when Fu Tiao got on the vehicle sent by the city hall, he finally understood...

The seaside city lives up to its reputation.

The vehicle in the city hall is a Mercedes-Benz. The specific model is not clear to Fu Tiao, but the Mercedes-Benz logo engraved on the front of the car is particularly conspicuous.

The overall look is a bit like a minivan, except that the two rows of seats in the back are not facing forward, but facing each other.

After Fu Diao got on the bus and sat in the forward direction, the man from the city hall sat opposite Fu Diao and asked the driver to take a look around the city.

The driver understood and took Fu Tiao and the man from the city hall to wander around the city.

Everything here seems very calm and gentle.

The soft sunshine in winter shines inside the car, and you can actually feel a trace of warmth instead of the cold outside.

The densely packed ancient buildings and churches all demonstrate the strength of Hamburg.

The per capita salary here is the highest in Germany, even higher than Munich.

But the standard of living here is not like that.

In addition to slightly higher housing prices, the normal consumption level is similar to Berlin, or even slightly lower.

After everyone wandered around the city for a while, the driver started driving towards the river.

After passing through modern and ancient buildings, everyone suddenly felt cheerful.

Rows of glass walls like sails are stacked on top of the quaint and old red warehouse.

Like a needle that anchors the sea, it sticks into the port on the Elbe River in Hamburg.

When you leave the reinforced concrete building and come to the river, you can see this building that took more than ten years and cost nearly [-] million euros to build.

When Fu Diao saw this building, he finally understood...

Why can this kind of building be called one of the three most unfinished buildings in Germany?

because……

It was spectacular!

Fu Diao didn't know how to describe this concert hall.

Even just looking at it from a distance, he could imagine what it would be like to play in it.

German designers only think about how spectacular and majestic they are, and they only think about some wonders.

But there was no thought at all about how to reasonably plan the construction route.

The combination of various factors led to the recent unveiling of this masterpiece of modern architecture.

beautiful, really beautiful.

The person in charge of the city hall looked at the buildings in the distance and couldn't help but sigh.

"This is our new landmark in Hamburg."

"Hamburg, Elb Concertgebouw."

(End of this chapter)