美国国家公共电台 NPR--Ukrainian refugee sells food and horseradish schnapps at a German Christmas market

Ukrainian refugee sells food and horseradish schnapps at a German Christmas market

Transcript¹

An 18th century Baroque Palace on the edge of Berlin is home to one of Germany's many Christmas markets. There are a variety of food stalls — not to mention a special kind of Ukrainian schnapps.

ROB SCHMITZ, HOST:

OK. I've been guest hosting MORNING EDITION all week. I normally cover Central Europe for NPR, and I brought back a little sample of what life is like there. This time of year, Christmas markets are everywhere.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

SCHMITZ: On the edge of Berlin, there's an 18th-century Baroque palace. It was once the summer residence of Prussian kings, but today, it's filled with the scents² of grilled³ bratwurst, mulled wine and the sound of a small brass⁴ band.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

SCHMITZ: This is the Charlottenburg Palace Christmas market. It's one of dozens of so-called Weihnachtsmarkts that are sprinkled throughout Berlin. This time of year, low, dark clouds obscure a sun that sets in the midafternoon. These neighborhood markets are like splashes of bright color on an otherwise film noir canvas.

WANRIY WOLF: (Through interpreter) When it starts to snow and it gets cold and dark, these markets lift my mood.

SCHMITZ: Wanriy Wolf is here to catch up with an old co-worker. For years, they worked at Tropical Islands, an indoor water park outside Berlin. It used to be a Zeppelin hangar used by the Nazis⁵ 85 years ago. Now it's a family resort with palm trees where the thermostat⁶ is always set to 80 degrees. Wolf grew up in Thailand. The tropical heat and man-made beaches of the water park made her feel at home during Berlin winters. The pandemic impacted business, and Wolf changed jobs this year. Like many here, she's re-emerging from lockdown. This is one of the first Christmas markets she's been to in years, and it's accompanied by a little sticker shock.

WOLF: (Through interpreter) When I used to come here, the new wine was always 4 1/2 euros, but now it's seven. The whole world has suddenly become expensive because of the war. Everything has changed.

SCHMITZ: Christmas market vendor⁷ Anastasia Benkovska knows this better than most here.

ANASTASIA BENKOVSKA: (Non-English language spoken).

SCHMITZ: She's making borscht inside her hut. It's built to look like a gingerbread house. A sign behind her reads Ukrainian kitchen. Benkovska arrived to Berlin Central Station after a three-day journey from Kyiv. She came by foot, bus, car and train last February, shortly after Russia invaded. She studied German for years and is now using it daily to sell Ukrainian goodies, sending the proceeds back home.

BENKOVSKA: And then I'm writing to all my family. Hello, how are you? Check, check, check, you know?

SCHMITZ: This is her morning routine, checking on each family member back home to see if they're still alive.

BENKOVSKA: Anastasia, everything OK. We are here. Don't worry.

SCHMITZ: That sounds really stressful to me.

BENKOVSKA: It is. It is. But Ukraine will win. Goodness will win, you know?

SCHMITZ: And you're fighting with food.

BENKOVSKA: Mmm hmm.

SCHMITZ: And Benkovska's hut is filled with food.

That looks really good to me. What is that?

BENKOVSKA: This is a meat like shashlik.

SCHMITZ: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

BENKOVSKA: This is special Ukrainian dumplings, I would say, with potato.

SCHMITZ: What is this called in Ukrainian?

BENKOVSKA: Vareniki.

SCHMITZ: OK.

BENKOVSKA: And also, we have some schnapps. This is grilled (ph). This is hot. And we make it with chili⁸ or with honey or with - I don't know - it's like meerrettich in German, meerrettich.

SCHMITZ: Horseradish - you actually have a horseradish schnapps?

BENKOVSKA: Yeah. According to Ukrainians, some drink to burn.

SCHMITZ: So if the schnapps doesn't burn you enough, the horseradish will just make sure that it finishes the job.

BENKOVSKA: (Laughter).

SCHMITZ: One must follow Ukrainian tradition, so I drink the horseradish schnapps.

All right. Cheers.

BENKOVSKA: Cheers.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Budmo.

BENKOVSKA: Budmo.

SCHMITZ: Budmo.

And as advertised, it burns.

Whoa. OK. That's a - wow. That's actually - I kind of like that.

The fire in my gut⁹ slowly fizzles, but the gentle warmth of its embers remains¹⁰. It's an antidote¹¹ to the cold, just like this Berlin Christmas market.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 scents   

n.香水( scent的名词复数 )；气味；（动物的）臭迹；（尤指狗的）嗅觉

参考例句：

• The air was fragrant with scents from the sea and the hills. 空气中荡漾着山和海的芬芳气息。
• The winds came down with scents of the grass and wild flowers. 微风送来阵阵青草和野花的香气。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 grilled   

adj. 烤的, 炙过的, 有格子的 动词grill的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• He was grilled for two hours before the police let him go. 他被严厉盘查了两个小时后，警察才放他走。
• He was grilled until he confessed. 他被严加拷问，直到他承认为止。

4 brass   

n.黄铜；黄铜器，铜管乐器

参考例句：

• Many of the workers play in the factory's brass band.许多工人都在工厂铜管乐队中演奏。
• Brass is formed by the fusion of copper and zinc.黄铜是通过铜和锌的熔合而成的。

5 Nazis   

n.（德国的）纳粹党员( Nazi的名词复数 )；纳粹主义

参考例句：

• The Nazis worked them over with gun butts. 纳粹分子用枪托毒打他们。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Nazis were responsible for the mass murder of Jews during World War Ⅱ. 纳粹必须为第二次世界大战中对犹太人的大屠杀负责。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 thermostat   

n.恒温器

参考例句：

• The thermostat is connected by a link to the carburetor.恒温控制器是由一根连杆与汽化器相连的。
• The temperature is controlled by electronic thermostat with high accuracy.电子恒温器，准确性高。

7 vendor   

n.卖主；小贩

参考例句：

• She looked at the vendor who cheated her the other day with distaste.她厌恶地望着那个前几天曾经欺骗过她的小贩。
• He must inform the vendor immediately.他必须立即通知卖方。

8 chili   

n.辣椒

参考例句：

• He helped himself to another two small spoonfuls of chili oil.他自己下手又加了两小勺辣椒油。
• It has chocolate,chili,and other spices.有巧克力粉，辣椒，和其他的调味品。

9 gut   

n.[pl.]胆量；内脏；adj.本能的；vt.取出内脏

参考例句：

• It is not always necessary to gut the fish prior to freezing.冷冻鱼之前并不总是需要先把内脏掏空。
• My immediate gut feeling was to refuse.我本能的直接反应是拒绝。

10 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

11 antidote   

n.解毒药，解毒剂

参考例句：

• There is no known antidote for this poison.这种毒药没有解药。
• Chinese physicians used it as an antidote for snake poison.中医师用它来解蛇毒。