舌尖上的航海丨第21集 酒壇子浸泡的輪船

梅姐是位資深的海乘（郵輪服務(wù)員）。

十幾年的海上郵輪生涯，足跡幾乎跑遍全球；《亞洲之星》《海上皇宮號》《瑪麗皇后號》《環(huán)球旅行者號》一這些設(shè)備齊全，豪華舒適的郵輪上都留下了梅姐的身影，那些形形色色的，來自世界各地的游客，五花八門的故事，稀奇古怪的習(xí)俗…都給梅姐留下了深刻的印象：郵輪不愧為《流動的聯(lián)合國》，世界真是太神奇！太奇妙了！

做為郵輪服務(wù)員，梅姐積累了豐富的服務(wù)經(jīng)驗(yàn)和洞察能力：不通過語言，她只通過顧客的身著行動，就能識別對方的國藉和身份；有秩序排隊(duì)登上郵輪，清一色戴著寬沿帽的老頭老太太，老太太妝化的象“妖婆”，老頭帶看金絲眼鏡，那是日本游客。穿著象女星一般，手里搭著VV包是歐卅的女游客，西服革履，腰里搭著皮制的“零錢包”，皮帶上扣著鑰匙串的準(zhǔn)是中國游客，裹著羽絨服，短髪染成紫紅色，紅褐色的百分之百是俄羅斯大媽_。

梅姐的精明和勤奮，受到外派勞務(wù)公司的好評和重視。一次，她被選派到往返與歐洲各國的，一艘特殊的號稱《酒壇子浸泡的輪船》的《月亮王子號》做服務(wù)員。

為啥稱做《浸泡在酒壇子的輪船》呢？

登上《月亮王子號》之前，梅姐有所耳聞：這艘以芬蘭為中心的近海航線的豪華郵輪，主要游客是芬蘭人。芬蘭人對酒己達(dá)到了瘋狂崇拜的程度，幾乎聊天十句間沒有不提到酒的。人們戲笑著說，十句不提酒就不是芬蘭人！還盛傳一則笑話，一個(gè)芬蘭男人整天泡在酒壇里，一天不喝酒就活不下去。一天喝得酩酊大醉回到家中，驚嘆地對妻子說，一個(gè)酒友醉后騎車摔了個(gè)滿臉花。妻子聽后，驚喜地連聲說，你該戒酒了吧！誰知回答使人哭笑不得：“你給我準(zhǔn)備個(gè)頭盔，下次出門好戴上！“這雖然是則笑話，卻說明芬蘭人對酒的留戀和依賴。中國有句俗話，無酒不成席，芬蘭人卻“歺歺必備酒“，人們調(diào)揩芬蘭成了“浸泡在酒壇子的國家。

難道《月亮王子號》也與酒有關(guān)係嗎？為啥叫《浸泡在酒壇子里的輕船》？

梅姐登上《月亮王子號》不久就有了答案；果然名不虛傳，地地道道《酒壇子浸泡的輪船》！。創(chuàng)造了《舌尖上航?！凤嬀频氖澜缂崴褂涗?！

《月亮王子號》豪華郵輪上下共有八層，每層都有都有足球大的歺廳，酒吧，啇場，游樂園，賭坊，游泳池，觀景臺鱗次櫛比一應(yīng)俱全…，一艘名符其實(shí)的海上樂園，是芬蘭有名以來最大最豪華的郵輪，來往北歐幾個(gè)國家的近海航線。

隨著歐州老年化的發(fā)展，許多國家的老年人走上了郵輪。一是養(yǎng)老金足夠在郵輪上開支，更重要的是郵輪不僅提供優(yōu)質(zhì)服務(wù)，還能供老年人健身娛樂活動的沒備，更何況“游山玩水”呢！

但是，梅姐登上的《月亮王子號》卻是另番景象。

此刻正值歐州春暖花開的季節(jié)?！对铝镣踝犹枴废咸菖詳D滿了等侯登輪的游客：男的，女的，老的少的，焦急地等待舷梯開放的時(shí)候。這與梅姐以往服務(wù)過的郵輪不同。據(jù)說游客中絕大多是芬蘭人。

原來這些芬蘭人登輪的目的不是旅游而是為了買酒。一位海乘告訴梅姐，芬蘭政府為了控制國民對酒的消費(fèi)，對夲土出售的含有酒精的飲料得以極高的稅率，所以芬蘭夲土出售的酒價(jià)遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)高于周邊國家，尤其在免稅的豪華郵輪上，酒價(jià)只有本土價(jià)格的一半，因此嗜酒的芬蘭人把《月亮王子號》視為價(jià)廉的“酒桶”，不是去觀光去旅游，而是成葙成葙|(zhì)購酒，然后躲進(jìn)船艙開懷暢飲。所以，人們戲稱《月亮王子號》1是“浸泡在酒壇里的輪船”。更讓梅姐未想到的是，這些芬蘭人為了買上價(jià)康的酒，往往在郵輪開航前幾小時(shí)，在舷楊口排上長長的隊(duì)伍，舷梯剛一打開，人們就蜂擁而上。如果行動遲緩掄不到酒，船票就打了水漂。有人為了購酒，把《月亮王子號》的內(nèi)部裝飾圖背得爛熟，以便用最短的路經(jīng)找到船上的免稅酒城。

這次《月亮王子號》是由芬蘭的赫爾辛基開往瑞典的斯德哥爾摩。

梅姐按排好游客后，被喚到酒城維持秩序。

免稅酒城》設(shè)在船歺廳一隅。此刻歺廳里已經(jīng)擠滿了人，長長的購酒大軍足有幾十米長

《月亮王子號》在碧蘭的大海里緩緩行駛看，人們並沒有被眼前波光粼粼景色吸引。而是手里拿到酒并子的人立刻開始了”酒精派對”：三五成群，歺廳里，走道里，艙室里…甚至廁所里，成伙結(jié)隊(duì)地聚在一起，邊說笑邊狂飲。

整個(gè)船艙充滿了濃郁的酒精味，《月亮王子號》成了名行其實(shí)的《酒桶》世界！

梅姐將一對半醉的芬蘭青年夫婦扶坐在椅上，方才知曉這對夫婦為趕到《月亮王子號》上喝上一頓酒，專程座飛機(jī)趕來的…。

幾個(gè)航次后，梅姐找到了芬蘭人嗜酒的原因：芬蘭人愛酒與其居住的環(huán)境和地理位置有密切關(guān)系。芬蘭人居住在歐州平均緯度最靠北的寒冷地區(qū)，冬季長達(dá)六個(gè)月之久，很少有機(jī)會開展室外活動，暫短的夏季，人們利用放假的機(jī)會躲進(jìn)森林小屋里和寶貴的大自然生活在一起。大多數(shù)芬蘭人性格內(nèi)向，喜歡孤獨(dú)和獨(dú)居生活。一般都是喝酒，桑拿，烤香腸，唱酒…漸漸芬蘭成了人們常說的“酒壇子里浸泡的國家”。

在“酒壇子“里生活久了，許多芬蘭人養(yǎng)成了嗜酒的習(xí)慣，認(rèn)為喝酒不是壞事，尤其是年青的帥哥，酒不喝到一定程度，連開口搭訕女孩子的勇氣都沒有。芬蘭政府明文規(guī)定，午夜12奌之后不得派對擾民，酒吧凌晨3點(diǎn)前必須關(guān)門。但是這一規(guī)定，並沒有阻止芬蘭人的嘻酒愛好，成群結(jié)隊(duì)地躲進(jìn)遍布芬蘭森林各角落的森林小屋，這里配有燒烤屋和桑拿房。每到周未，成群結(jié)隊(duì)穿流不息的人群趕到這里，隨看森林小屋的裊裊輕煙，一股股酒香飄然而至…。

為了控制國民對酒的消費(fèi)，芬蘭政府大幅度提高了酒的稅率，嗜酒的芬蘭人最終選擇了免稅的豪華郵輪《月亮王子號》。

《月亮王子號》最終成了《浸泡在酒壇子的輪船》，而享譽(yù)世界航運(yùn)界！

Mei is a veteran seafarer and a cruise attendant.

After a decade of drifting at sea, Mei left her mark on countless cruise ships all over the

world: The MV China Star, The SS Palace, the RMS Queen Mary, and the SS Globetrotter -

Mei had worked on all of them, interacting with guests from all cultures and backgrounds,

listening to their riveting stories, and taking part in their unique customs… She believed that

cruise ships could be compared to a United Nations Assembly room at sea, where she could

learn from and speak to anyone she wanted to.

As a cruise attendant, Mei had accumulated an abundance of experience in recognizing

and deducing the personality and nationality of her guests before they even utter a single

word. For example, the old couple wearing straw hats with golden-rimmed sunglasses who

waited patiently to board the ship in an orderly manner, had to be from Japan. The tall woman

dressed like a movie star with a designer handbag on her arm was probably from Europe, the

man who wore a suit and leather shoes with a pair of keys attached to his belt buckle was

definitely a Chinese tourist, and the middle-aged lady who had the hair dyed purple with a

down jacket was 100% from Russian.

Mei’s work ethic and cheerful attitude was often praised by the cruise company.

Eventually, she was promoted and assigned to a luxurious European cruise ship named The

Moon Prince, which was nicknamed “The Steamship Soaked in Wine” by some of her

coworkers.

“But how did it get this fascinating nickname?” Mei asked her colleagues, but no one

could give an exact answer.

Before starting her position on the Moon Prince, Mei was informed that since this

beautiful cruise ship centered its route around Finland, a majority of its guests were Finnish.

People from Finland are well-known for their fondness for alcohol, and some cruise

attendants joked that if the guest could speak ten sentences without asking where the alcohol

was, then they were definitely not Finnish.

So perhaps the nickname of the Moon Prince had something to do with how its guests

loved to drink…

Mei had her answer shortly after she stepped onboard the ship. The Moon Prince was

definitely soaked in wine, and even won a world record for the largest amount of alcohol

consumed on a cruise ship.

The grand interior of the Moon Prince had eight stories in total, with a famous

restaurant, bar, shopping district, children’s play area, casino, swimming pool, and

observation deck on each floor. The Moon Prince was a playground on the ocean, and was the

most sizable cruise ship from Finland.

Not only did the energetic youths of Finland love the Moon Prince, older generations

liked to visit, too. Retired individuals could buy a ticket for the Moon Prince with just their

retirement bonus, and more importantly, the Moon Prince provided both high-end service for

the elderly and specific equipment and activities that catered to older people’s interests!

However, the Moon Prince that Mei boarded was vastly different from her expectations.

Mei began her new position on the Moon Prince at the beginning of spring, when the

ocean breezes blew a little warmer and the flowers at the port slowly blossomed. The ramp

leading up to the cruise ship was filled with guests: both men and women, young and old

waited excitedly for the gangway to open. The majority of guests appeared to be Finnish,

which was different from other cruises that Mei had served on.

It turns out that these Finnish guests boarded the Moon Prince not to travel, but to buy

alcohol. One of the seafarers told Mei that in order to control the consumption of alcohol in

Finland, the Finnish government highly increased the tax rate of alcoholic beverages sold in

the country. So the price of drinking in neighboring countries was much lower for Finnish

people, especially on tax-free cruise ships where the cost of alcohol was only half of what it

was in Finland. That’s why Finnish nationals who loved drinking liked to sail on the Moon

Prince not to go sightseeing, but to buy alcohol by entire boxes and crates, and then retreat

back to their cabins and drink themselves under the table. That was the reason why people

jokingly referred to the Moon Prince as the “Cruise Ship Soaked in Wine”.

What was even more astounding to Mei was that many of the Finns would line up hours

before the gangway opened just to get a good deal on alcohol. They flocked onto the ship as

soon as the doors opened, and if they were even a minute too late to the bar or the liquor

store, then they considered their tickets wasted. The most extreme drinkers even memorized

the interior design of the Moon Prince so that they would get to the duty-free liquor store

before anyone else.

This time, the Moon Prince was sailing from Helsinki, Finland to Stockholm, Sweden.

Mei was assigned to manage the liquor store after checking in her guests.

The duty-free liquor store was situated next to the onboard restaurant. The queue to the

store extended all the way into the restaurant, and could probably measure to several miles

long. Even though the Moon Prince sailed on a borderless ocean of beaming blue, the guests

didn’t pay a single ounce of attention to the exceptional scenery, and cheered as they got their

hands on cheap alcohol, setting their party into motion straight away. In the restaurant, in the

cabins, on the observation deck, in the casino - friends and even strangers gathered together,

gulfing down shots and exchanging stories and laughter with one another.

The smell of alcohol filled every corner of the Moon Prince, quickly transforming the

luxurious cruise ship into a heaven for alcoholics.

Mei stayed around the restaurant to ensure the safety of her drunk crew members. One

couple quickly became wasted and unable to stand for a minute longer, so she helped them

back to their cabin. On their way, the couple drunkenly told Mei that they had flown to

Helsinki from a small town in Finland just to get a taste of the cheap alcohol.

After a few voyages with the Moon Prince, Mei figured out that the reason why Finnish

people loved to drink so much may have something to do with the environment and

geographical location of Finland. Finland stood at the northernmost point of Europe, where

the weather was persistently cold and chilling. Winter in Finland extended for half of the

entire year, sometimes preventing the citizens from holding activities outdoors, and during

summer the Finns made use of this precious time and liked to camp out in forest huts and

appreciate nature. A majority of Finnish people were also quite introverted, and preferred to

live in peace and silence. They generally enjoyed drinking, going to saunas, eating sausages,

and singing with one another. Alcohol was essential to their way of life.

Many Finns believe that drinking wasn’t actually a bad thing, but instead an honorable

tradition. Particularly for younger, introverted men, they may not even have the confidence to

speak to people they’re interested in without the help of a little alcohol.

The Finnish government had set down many rules that conflicted with Finnish drinking

habits: no parties were allowed after 12am, and bars must be closed after 3. But these

regulations did not stop the Finnish people from drinking: after closing hours, they retreated

back home or to their vacation houses in the forests, which were complete with barbecue

grills and sauna rooms. On the weekends, the delicious smell of meat and alcohol flowed out

from numerous houses, and the sound of laughter could be heard almost everywhere…

No matter how the government tried to stop Finns from drinking, they always seemed to

find a way. Now, the Moon Prince, which allowed them to drink cheap alcohol however they

wanted to, became the Finns’ second home.

The Moon Prince was undoubtedly a cruise ship soaked in wine, and was a strange yet

endearing cruise that grew to be beloved all around the world.