5.恶魔山
This relic of the Cold War sits silently atop the highest peak in West Berlin. A listening station, it once kept an ear out for all radio traffic coming in and out of the Soviet half of the city. The hill itself was built in 1963 with the rubble left behind after World War II. The site was originally a Nazi military training school, which the Allies tried in vain to demolish and instead decided to bury under 120 meters of debris and wrecked houses which later became known as Devil's Mountain.
在西柏林最高的恶魔山山顶上,静静地伫立着一个冷战的遗址。那是一座监听站,它曾经被用来监听苏联控制的东柏林收发的所有无线电。而恶魔山本身则是于1963年用二战后留下的断壁残垣堆成的。这里原本是一座同盟国未能成功摧毁的纳粹军校,他们决定将其埋在120米高的房屋残骸与碎片下,故而后来这里又被称作恶魔山。
Today, this derelict, graffiti covered building has exchanged many hands since the fall of the Berlin Wall. Among its owners was David Lynch, who had plans to build a meditation university, but the municipality of Berlin scuttled the plan. Others planned to build a luxury hotel and restaurant as well as a spy museum, but chances are that nothing will happen anytime soon. That's good news for Cristopher McLarren, a former Teufelsberg employee who's organizing weekend tours for spy enthusiasts.
柏林墙倒塌后,这座涂鸦满壁的无主建筑已几经易手。其中一位主人大卫·林奇曾计划将其改建为一所冥想学校,但这个计划被柏林市政当局阻止了。也有人计划将其建成豪华旅馆、餐厅或间谍博物馆,但在短期内这些都不太可能发生。对于曾在恶魔山工作的克里斯托弗·麦克拉伦来说这是好事,因为他正组织面向间谍爱好者们的恶魔山周末游。
4.普利茅斯
Discovered by Christopher Columbus back in 1493, the 40 square mile Caribbean island of Montserrat is actually growing with each passing day. This may come as good news given the size of this tiny speck of land, but it's also the reason why the entire southern part of the island is abandoned.
普利茅斯所在的蒙特塞拉特岛于1493年被哥伦布首先发现。这座位于加勒比海的40平方英里大的岛屿每天都在扩大。对于一个弹丸之地来说这是好事,但这也正是整座岛的南部被遗弃的原因。
In 1995 and again in 1997, the once dormant Soufriere Hills volcano erupted and covered the city of Plymouth and the surrounding area in 4.6 feet of hot ash. Like the ancient city of Pompeii, most of Plymouth's buildings, streets and cars are permanently locked into pyroclastic flows as hard as concrete. Luckily, most of the citizens were safely evacuated to the northern half of the island, but its tourist economy is literally in ashes, and with no hopes of revival in the near future given the state of the desolate land left behind.
曾经沉寂的苏弗里埃尔火山在1995年和1997年两度喷发,为普利茅斯及其周边地区盖上了一层4.6英尺厚(约1.4米)的火山灰。冷却的火山灰碎屑如混凝土般坚硬,将普利茅斯绝大多数的建筑、街道和车辆永远吞没,就像庞贝古城那样。万幸的是,绝大多数市民安然无恙地被疏散到岛屿北部。不过普利茅斯的旅游经济就真的灰飞烟灭了,火山爆发之后这里一片荒芜,短期内看不到任何复苏的迹象。
3.米兰达城堡
A once beautiful castle built in southern Belgium near the French border, this Neo-Gothic chateau now lays in ruins. During the French Revolution the politically active Liedekerke-Beaufort family had to leave their castle and move to a nearby farm to lay low and await the aftermath. Once everything was settled, they were ready to start anew and began the construction of Chateau Miranda in 1866.
米兰达城堡坐落于比利时南部,近法国边境。这座新哥特风格的城堡曾经美丽动人,但现在已成一座废墟。在法国大革命时期,活跃于政界的利德凯尔克-波弗特家族不得不离开自己的城堡,去一处附近的农场避避风头。风波一平息,他们就准备好东山再起,并于1866年开始建造米兰达城堡。
Years passed by quietly until the last stages of World War II, when German troops occupied the region during the Battle of the Bulge. After the war, the Belgian National Railway company used it as a summer retreat for orphaned children up until the 1980s. With rising maintenance costs, the castle was abandoned in 1991. Four years later, a fire destroyed portions of the roof and the family stripped it of valuables, hardwood floors and Italian marble, relocating them to another castle in Italy. Today, even after several offers to purchase and transform it into a hotel, it remains empty. Furthermore, the Liedekerke-Beauforts have put forward a formal request to demolish it. Whatever the outcome, Chateau Miranda is currently living its last days as a ruin.
时光流逝,这里的安详维持到了二战末期。德军在突出部战役中占领了这片区域。从战争结束到20世纪80年代,比利时国家铁路公司将米兰达城堡用作孤儿们夏天避暑的场所。而随着城堡维护费用的上涨,它在1991年被彻底抛弃了。四年后,一场火灾烧毁了城堡部分房顶,利德凯尔克-波弗特家族随即带走堡内值钱的物件,将硬木地板和意大利大理石拆下,安置到另一座位于意大利的城堡中。今天,即使几次有人有意购买城堡并将其改造为旅馆,城堡依旧空空如也。利德凯尔克-波弗特家族甚至正式提出要拆毁这座城堡。不论结果如何,已成废墟的米兰达城堡正在度过它的最后一程。
2.美国圣地
In 1958, a Waterbury, Connecticut man named John Greco built a Bible theme park with reused materials. Surprisingly, the amusement park was a hit in the 1960s and '70s, attracting more than 40,000 visitors every year. Among its main attractions were a miniature Bethlehem, the Nativity scene, Jerusalem, Christ's crucifixion, Herod's Palace, a 50 foot stainless steel cross visible from everywhere, and many Bible verses written in stone. In 1984, Mr. Greco decided to temporary close the park for refurbishment and expansion, but two years later he passed away and the park never re-opened.
1958年,来自美国康涅狄格州沃特伯里市的约翰·格列柯用二手物料建造了一家圣经主题的公园。令人惊讶的是,这家主题公园在20世纪60、70年代很受欢迎,每年都吸引了超过4万名游客来访。其主要景物有:伯利恒的微缩模型、耶稣诞生、耶路撒冷、耶稣受难、希律王宫殿,以及一个可以从园内任何角落都看到的五十英尺高的不锈钢十字架,还有许多刻在石头上的圣经章节。1984年,为了翻修和扩建公园,格列柯先生决定暂时闭园,但两年后他不幸去世,这个公园也就再也没开放过了。
1.阿布哈兹火车站
Once a popular tourist destination for the Russian elite, including Stalin himself, the region of Abkhazia just off the coast of the Black Sea has seen a steep decline in popularity and economic fortunes. Declaring independence from Georgia in 1999, Abkhazia is still a disputed territory. Its economic problems can be seen everywhere, including the beautifully ornate train station at Sukhumi. Despite two decades of neglect, it still offers us a glimpse of what life for the Soviet upper class looked like. Mahogany shelving, beautiful marble columns and intricate plasterwork can still be seen, albeit in a state of decay.
阿布哈兹地区毗邻黑海海岸,这里曾经是包括斯大林本人在内的俄罗斯精英们的热门旅行目的地。而现今,阿布哈兹的人气和经济状况都急转直下。阿布哈兹在1999年宣布从格鲁吉亚独立,但在其领土问题上依旧存在争议。阿布哈兹的经济问题随处可见,连华丽漂亮的苏呼米火车站也不例外。不过即便已废弃了20年,我们依旧可以在此一窥苏联上层阶级当年的生活——红木制成的货架、漂亮的大理石柱、精致的石膏装饰陈旧破腐,依旧可见。
The station is still occasionally visited by passenger trains, but because it's close to the ceasefire line with Georgia it's the end of the line. The region has seen major investments from Russia lately, which is looking to consolidate its influence in Abkhazia. Maybe it will be a bustling train stop once more.
现在偶尔还有客运火车经过这座火车站,但由于它位置靠近俄罗斯与格鲁吉亚的停火线,所以这里也是终点站。不久前,俄罗斯对阿布哈兹地区进行了一大笔投资,希望借此巩固在阿布哈兹的势力,增强影响力,这或许会让阿布哈兹火车站再度热闹起来。