Eight Thousand Miles of Clouds and Moon-Diary of a Journey to Eastern Europe (I)

Foreword In August 211, when I was resident in the Embassy of China in France, I used my holiday to sign up for a tour group organized by Chinese Travel Service in Paris, France to travel to Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Austria, Liechtenstein, Switzerland and France, with a journey of more than 4, kilometers, which lasted for 9 days and 8 nights. This is a diary I wrote all the way, recording some experiences of my journey. Now I take it out for everyone to enjoy.

When meeting at the entrance of McDonald's on the Champs Elysé es in Paris in the morning, I found that the tour guide for this trip to Eastern Europe turned out to be the same tour guide who went to Provence in southern France last time, so it was very lively when we met.

I enjoyed the rural scenery in northern France, where there are almost endless fields. You can imagine why it was so easy when Germany invaded France, because there was no danger to defend. This is one of the reasons why the French built maginot line after World War I, right?

The endless fields in northern France

(Photo courtesy of the author)

At two o'clock in the afternoon, the car passed the border between France and Germany. As they are both Schengen countries of the European Union, no one checked the border at all.

The 36 members of the delegation came from the United States, Britain, the Netherlands, French overseas provinces, Chinese mainland and Hong Kong SAR, and Paris, France. Everyone introduced themselves one by one in the car, and the distance was shortened.

After a long journey of more than 6 kilometers, I arrived at the first stop of my trip to Eastern Europe, Heidelberg, Germany. This is a small city with a population of only 15,, located about 8 kilometers south of Frankfurt. It is a famous historical and cultural city and university town. The famous University of Heidelberg was founded in 1386. As early as the 16th century, it became the center of European science and culture. The famous philosopher Hegel once studied and worked here. The poet Goethe once stayed here.

It is said that this is the youngest city in Germany, and one fifth of its population is students. The beautiful Neckar River flows through the city and meets the Rhine River in Mannheim, 2 kilometers northwest of here. The famous scenic spots in the city are: Knight's House, Old Town of Heidelberg, Ancient Bridge of Heidelberg, Philosopher's Path, Market Square, Bismarck Square, etc. Ancient buildings with white walls and red tiles everywhere are full of charming colors. On the hill, green trees are lush, and Heidelberg Castle looms among them. Walking in a small town is very pleasant. The poet Goethe said, "Leave your heart in Heidelberg". Mark? Twain said that Heidelberg was "the most beautiful place he has ever been".

Ancient Bridge in Heidelberg

(Photo courtesy of the author)

During World War II, Heidelberg was lucky enough to escape the bombing by the allied forces. Legend has it that there were graduates from the University of Heidelberg among the allied forces, and the buildings in the city were preserved. After the war, it became the seat of the US military headquarters in Europe.

Bridgehead

(Photo courtesy of the author)

When I visited the huge oak barrel for storing wine in the castle, I remembered that I had been here under the leadership of my German friends as early as 1993, so I had a different mood.

Big oak barrel

(Photo courtesy of the author)

I stayed in a Samsung hotel 21 kilometers away from Heidelberg at night, and the room was very big, but there was no air conditioning, and the grade came down at once.

set off at 8: a.m., cross Germany and go to Czech Republic. When I entered the Czech Republic through the border, I felt that I had crossed a period of history. The Czech Republic was originally a socialist country in Eastern Europe, and the imprint left by that era can be seen along the way. Matchbox-style buildings abound. Although it has joined the European Union and Schengen, it is still underdeveloped, and there are many wasteland and weeds on both sides of the road.

The Czech Republic was originally a country with a relatively developed industry, and its arms and automobile manufacturing are world-famous, like the Czech machine guns we are familiar with in film and television works. Later, it was liberated by the Soviet Red Army after World War II and joined the Warsaw Treaty Organization, which affected its development.

Czech light machine gun

The first stop today is Maria Hot Spring City, which is a famous hot spring town in Czech Republic. In the distance, beautiful peaks and pure European architecture reflect each other, and the ancient St. Bartholomew church and the old city hall in the city show their historical elegance.

The uniqueness of this city lies in the gushing mineral water on the streets. The musical fountain attracts tourists from all over the world to stay there and feel the charm of the musical fountain. You can taste all kinds of mineral water. It is said that beauty can cure diseases, and many celebrities, politicians and members of the royal family in the world come here to recuperate.

Music Fountain

(Photo courtesy of the author)

After the visit, I took a bus to Prague, the capital of Czech Republic. We stayed at the lbis Hotel near the old town. There is a large supermarket next to the hotel, so hurry to replenish supplies. The prices here are said to be the cheapest in Europe. Bread is only .1 euro each. For the same bread, Paris costs 1 euro. It even sells canned Merlin luncheon meat exported from China and Shanghai, which is only a few yuan equivalent to RMB, which is much cheaper than domestic ones.

Although the Czech Republic has joined the European Union, it has not joined the euro zone, and it also uses its own currency. One euro can be exchanged for 23.8 Czech crowns.

according to European laws, drivers can work continuously for up to 6 days, and must rest for 24 hours before returning to their posts. Rest must be 11 hours every day, and stop for half an hour every 2 hours, so as to ensure that drivers have sufficient rest time and strengthen safety. Every big car has a driving electronic recording disk, and the police will make a temporary spot check. If violations are found, a fine of more than 3,5 euros will be imposed and points will be deducted, and the driver's license will be revoked. We should also implement such laws in China to ensure traffic safety. Today, the driver had a rest. Under the guidance of the local escort, we took the tram and began to visit Prague, the capital of Czech Republic.

The first one to visit is Prague Castle and Presidential Palace. The guards at the gate remind people of the image of The Good Soldier Shuaike. Just as a handsome guard came over, he quickly grabbed a photo. The Czech Presidential Palace is in Prague Castle, and tourists walk by casually. It's a far cry from our heavily guarded government agencies. The tour guide told us that the flag flying on the roof of the presidential palace told everyone that the president was working in it. Once the flag was not hoisted one day, it told everyone that the president was either visiting or not in the capital, going out for a visit or on vacation.

Prague, the capital of Czech Republic

Prague is known as the architectural museum and the capital of thousands of towers, and it is red and yellow at first glance. Vltava river, which originated in Bohemia, passes through the city and flows into the Elbe River when it reaches Germany. We visited the scenery on both sides of Prague by boat, and also tasted the Czech national dishes "sauerkraut meat", roast pork elbow and Czech beer on board. Because the water level in the river is high and low, we also went through the lock twice and went up and down. After getting off the cruise, we visited the dvorak Opera House, the gunpowder tower, the old city square, the city hall and the astronomical clock. The astronomical clock made in 141, although it has a history of hundreds of years, still keeps good time. Every time the bell rings on time, the small window above the big clock will open, and the 12 followers of Jesus will go out in turn and never stop. We waited there specially to see this scene. It is said that when the clock was built, the king sent someone to blind the engineer's eyes, fearing that he would build the same clock for others again. In this way, this big astronomical clock becomes unique in the world.

The astronomical clock made in 141

finally returned by the subway built with the help of the Soviet Union, which is similar in style to the Beijing subway, but the elevator speed is fast enough. Be careful if you are old and your legs and feet are not neat.

I left Prague, the capital of Czech Republic, and went to Budapest, the capital of Hungary. On the way, I passed through Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, and said all the names that were not so smooth. In fact, Czechoslovakia used to be one country, but in 1993 it was divided into two countries. According to reports, Slovakia is a country dominated by agriculture, and its religious beliefs are different from those of the Czech Republic. In history, these two countries have been divided and merged many times. As the Romance of the Three Kingdoms said, "If we are separated for a long time, we will be separated if we are together for a long time". These days, the sun is shining high, there is no shelter, the temperature is as high as 4 degrees, and the greening is not good. We can still see the gap with western European countries.

Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia

Bratislava is built along the banks of the Danube, and the urban construction looks like a matchbox building. Some sculptures in the old city are quite distinctive. It is not easy to visit in the hot sun. Kutnahola Old Town, Bratislava Castle, michal Gate, Central Square and Paparazzi Bar are all good.

Sculpture of Plumber

It was only during a visit to Bratislava Castle that it was killed. The last bathroom cost .8 euros, which was the most expensive bathroom along the trip to Eastern Europe. It's equivalent to almost 6-7 RMB to pee, and the tour guide said that there was no charge when he came last time. Arbitrary charges are the same in many countries.

in the evening, we arrived in Budapest, the capital of Hungary, and stayed at Ibis Hotel near Heroes Square.

Budapest, the capital of Hungary, has always been my yearning place, and I finally came here to see it this time. The beautiful Danube divides the city into two parts, Buda on the left bank and Perth on the right bank, which together make Budapest.

Chen Qiang, a famous film actor, was inspired when he visited Hungary that year. He named his own child Chen Buda, and the other was the famous Peisi Chen, and made a name for Budapest.

Hungarian history also has some origins with China. As we all know, due to the defeat of the war with the Han Dynasty, part of the Huns assimilated with the Han nationality, the other part became the ancestors of Mongolia and Koreans, and the other one fought all the way from Asia to the west, hitting Rome, the capital of the western Roman Empire, and Hungary was also occupied. Part of the ancestors of Hungarians were Huns. Many Hungarians are Eurasian, not blond, but black. Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy's father is Hungarian and his mother is Jewish. It is not known whether he has Xiongnu descent.

After listening to the introduction of Fan Dao, a local escort who has been here since 199, it is another version. Many ancestors of Hungarians came from China, Xinjiang and Gansu, and the Yugur people in Gansu are their distant relatives. There are about three or four hundred words with the same pronunciation. Some ancient folk songs, if you sing the first sentence, they can sing the second sentence according to the tone. At present, 68% people agree with this view.

Budapest, the capital of Hungary

Fan Dao also told a short story about the name of Budapest. When the Hungarians decided to build the capital, the whole city was formed by the merger of Buda, Perth and another small city. At first, it was named Perth-Buda. However, because the royal nobles all live in Buda, while Pace is inhabited by civilians and businessmen. In the end, the imperial power defeated the civilians, so we had to put Buda in front, and Pace was pushed to the back, so we kept calling him down.

We first visited the castle hill in Buda, and then took a boat tour of the scenery on both sides of the Danube. Buda Palace, Fisherman's Castle and Matthias Church all left a deep impression. 1896 was the 1th anniversary of the founding of Hungary, which coincided with the World Expo being held in Budapest, and the scale of the whole city was laid at that time. Basically, it is a street that imitates the radial construction of Paris, France. It is very wide and is still in use today. The design of that year is out of date, which is really a century-old plan. The only difference is that due to the frequent flooding of the Danube, many underground rivers and spillway have been built in the city for flood control and flood discharge. Heroes Square was built in 1896. The sculptures on the square reflect the founding of seven tribal leaders 1, years ago. It is very interesting that their weapons are machetes, which are different from the long knives used in Europe. The four groups of statues behind represent production, war, peace and hope respectively.

Fisherman's Castle

There is also a group of sculptures made of 6 pairs of iron shoes of different sizes on the bank of the Danube, which records a dark history. In the last century, about 6, Jews were killed in Hungary. The perpetrators threw their bodies into the Danube, but their shoes were left behind and sold on the black market. In order to make people remember this history and alert the world, Hungarian artist Paul Gyulo created this group of sculptures to commemorate those who were killed.

Sculpture of shoes by the Danube

Hungary was a relatively developed country among the Eastern European countries. When I got there, I found that the buses running on the streets were very shabby and the trams were very long, which is said to be the longest in the world. There is still a big gap between the overall level and western Europe.

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Author | Cong Shan

Picture | Cong Shan, Network

Editor | Diplomat talks about Qingyan.