2017-07-11

【Aiden in English】

        Final day? No problem. To be honest, the small cruise ship was never my style. Fine dining and conversing all night was too mature to my taste. I personally don't really care all that much about amazing, out-of-the-park food or services. What I want a cruise line to excel at is their shore excursions, especially during major ports. Such port like the capital of Hungary, Budapest.

        Fun fact: Budapest used to be two separate cities: Buda and Pest. Split by the Danube River, the city features great architectural feats along its riverbanks. The Hungarian Parliament is the largest in Europe, sitting on the Pest side. These cities, once divided, grew so much that combining was the only option, resulting in becoming the capital in recent history. Not that I know much about Eastern European history.

        Once again, we were going on a short panoramic tour, featuring the Gothic Matthias Church in front of Fisher's Bastion. From the exterior, much of the cathedral appeared to be normal, albeit a beautiful scene with the diamond pattern roof tiles and gargoyles laden spire in the 14^th century. On the contrary, at first glance of the interior, one would think that it would actually be a mosque. This was because of the eastern style of the paintings and artwork on the walls. The colorful medieval paintings, stone carvings, and curvy styled decor demonstrate the eastern intentions. One particular portrait along the main entrance showed King Matthias, as well with his bearing of arms, a raven with a gold ring. By his side, two knights dressed in black armor, symbolizing the black army of Hungary. Formerly working for the Hungarian Habsburg King, after his death, the black army became mercenaries and raided their own country. Fun fact, Vlad "the Impaler" Dracula once was general of this army.

        To lay it on the line, I'm very grateful for this style of cathedral. Ever since I began touring this trip of the Danube Castles and Legends, it's been stained glass, marble pillars, symmetry, and squares. This cathedral, not only was decorated completely differently from the rest of Roman Catholic, but it also wasn't perfectly symmetric. If one was keen enough, he or she might notice the slightest shifts of the door and windows to the left. An outside view revealed nothing, yet the interior gave away the lacking technology at the time of construction. Minor points, but all evidence of the spectacular had the difference between this cathedral and others.

        Today, however, marks the end of my European journey. The Danube River, our main objective, was complete, even though only traveling a small portion of is depressing. The silver lining: There is a further opportunity in the future. This river flows along some of the most musical and historic areas in the world, and I'm glad mom and I went on this stretch of the river, experiencing great moments in music, history, and scenery.

        Granted, it is becoming a familiar sight, visiting Europe. To be straight with you, this continent deserves more attention, especially with such a vibrant history. The Asian cultures, even with older age, is nothing like the interactions of early western civilizations. North America, with an exciting three hundred years, has way too short a history. So, if there is a continent to continuously explore, I can't think of a better place than Europe.

        Final fun fact: I'm coming back to Europe next month for another river cruise. With Viking River Cruise once again, mom and I are going to discover the Rhine River. Spoilers, mom believes the Rhine River is much better. I guess I'll have to see.

【紅霞譯文】

        到了最後一天？ 沒錯。說句心裡話，小型遊輪從來都不符合我的風格，正式點餐徹夜長聊並非合乎我的胃口，其實本人根本不在意高大上的食物與服務，關鍵在於遊輪能否提供優質岸上遊覽項目，特別是在停靠像匈牙利首都布達佩斯這樣的主要港口期間。

        趣聞軼事之一，布達佩斯原為兩座獨立的城市：布達與佩斯，多瑙河把它們分割開來，河岸兩側各自彰顯輝煌的建築成就。位於佩斯一側匈牙利議會大廈堪稱歐洲第一，兩城合併之前，雙方發展迅速，彼此結合已然大勢所趨，布達佩斯這樣才在近代史上成為一國之都，我對東歐歷史了解僅此而已。

        我們再次選擇短時全城巡遊，重點參觀漁人堡前的哥特式馬加什教堂，儘管十四世紀安裝的鑽石圖案瓦及滴水嘴尖頂養眼好看，但外表整體形象顯得非常普通。相反地，乍看它的內部結構還以為是一座清真寺，畢竟牆上不乏東方繪畫風格和藝術作品，色彩斑斕的中世紀繪畫、石雕以及曲線式裝飾帶有東方元素。從主門入內，馬加什國王畫像格外引人注目，以及盾徽與上面罩有金色光環的烏鴉，國王身邊有兩位身着漆黑盔甲的騎士，象徵着匈牙利黑軍，黑軍曾效力於哈布斯堡國王，在他死後搖身變成僱傭軍並轉而突襲自己的國家。趣聞軼事之二：弗拉德三世曾任這支部隊的將軍。

        老實說，見到這種類型的大教堂我深感喜悅。自從“多瑙河城堡與傳說”之旅開始即日起，一路上看過不少彩色玻璃、大理石柱子、對稱結構和街心花園，這座大教堂不僅一反羅馬天主教建築常規，而且也不完全對稱。假如有人真喜歡內部布局，那麼他/她或許會注意到門窗有點偏左，從外面看不出有什麼名堂，可在裡面卻能發現當初修建時技術水平有限，附帶提一下，正因其獨到之處才使得它與眾不同。

        然而今天標誌着我歐洲之行全部結束，雖然整個旅途因涉足區域不大而有所惋惜，但我們終究實現了主要目標──多瑙河，凡事總尚存一線希望：將來有機會再來。多瑙河流經天底下一些最具音樂性最富歷史性的地區，很高興我和媽媽一起順流而下，共同體嘗音樂、歷史、美景所帶來的愉悅時刻。

        誠然，只有到歐洲來才會對它的一切逐漸熟悉起來。直白好了，這片土地一向充滿活力，值得引起更多關注。亞洲歷史悠久，傳統文化不像早期西方文明相互聯繫。北美洲三百年間日新月異，畢竟歷史太短。由此說來，如果想要不斷探索新大陸，我沒法想出比歐洲更加合適的地方。

        最後趣聞軼事：下個月我要來歐洲另外一條航線，依舊是維京河流遊輪，到時我和媽媽將去萊茵河採風。燒包族喲，媽媽堅信萊茵河更好玩，我還是看後再做定論。

Today in History(歷史上的今天):

2016: Belfast—Linenopolis, NIR(北愛爾蘭貝爾法斯特—亞麻大都會)

2016: Gaelic Towns, NIR(北愛爾蘭愛爾蘭蓋爾村鎮)

2016: Glens of Antrim, NIR(北愛爾蘭安特里姆峽谷)

2016: Antrim Coast Road A2, NIR(北愛爾蘭安特里姆海岸A2公路)

2016: County Antrim the Lone Ridge, NIR(北愛爾蘭安特里姆郡—孤獨的農場)

2016: Giant's Causeway of NIR, UK(北愛爾蘭巨人堤道)

2014: YMCA Camp—Outdoor Pool-2(基督教青年會營戲水池之二)

Crosslink(相關博文):

Hungary (出遊匈牙利)

Europe(歐洲掠影)