Translated by SFT
Todd cried out to his wife, Chu, ‘Incredible! I saw Taiwanese flags on the street in Budapest’.
After
we arrived in Budapest, the capital of Hungary, we shared some bread on
the banks of the Danube River and then went on the internet near a fast
food restaurant. Todd, an English professor of Kun Shan University in
Taiwan, spotted us and then took us to his rented house for a rest and a
shower.
Chu
went to America to study and later married Todd. Unlike most Taiwanese
who stay in USA after they are married to an American, Chu brought Todd
back to Taiwan instead. Todd said to us, ‘We went to Thailand and Cambodia for our honeymoon. My first present to my wife was to let her
shoot an AK-47 with real bullets.’ Even though they did not know how to
swim, they went rowing during their honeymoon. With such an adventurous
spirit, it’s no wonder they would enjoy traveling around the world
together.
We
hit it off with Todd and Chu and set out on a cross-Budapest tour
together. We first took a subway train to Buda. Budapest in fact was
once two cities: the west bank of the Danube was Buda; the right bank
Pest. In 1873 the two cities were merged into the Budapest we know
today.
There’re a lot of churches in Buda. From the ruins, you
can tell there had been heavy fighting and artillery fire during WWII.
If you look closely, you can even see the bullet holes on the walls.
Matthias
Church (Mátyás-templom), named after King Matthias, is at the heart of
the Buda Castle district. The Hungarian musician Liszt made his debut
performance here around 1870.
Surrounding the church, you can browse
some miniature models.
Old bronze statues seem to be everywhere. Situated nearby is
Fisherman’s Bastion, which is a viewing terrace.
From the towers of
Fisherman’s Bastion, you can enjoy a panoramic view of the city.
The
Bastion adjoins Buda Castle, part of the Budapest world heritage site,
which leads to the Széchenyi Chain Bridge.
The Chain Bridge is a
suspension bridge that spans the Danube between Buda and Pest. After
our sightseeing at Buda, we walked across the Bridge to visit Pest.
Todd
and Chu travel overseas every summer for their vacation and have
experienced all the ‘good’ and ‘bad’; therefore, they fully
understand the hardship we have had to endure and are deeply moved by
our courage to take on such a trip by bike. Not only had they treated us
to the local famous tourist spots, they also provided us with delicious
food and lodging. Chu even prepared breakfast for us.
Many thanks to
you, Todd and Chu, for your help in our encounter in a faraway foreign
country. We may cross our path again, in Taiwan or somewhere else in the world.
P.S. Before we left Budapest, we also visited Heroes’ Square and Ferenc Liszt Academy of Music.
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