The middle of August was a perfect time for a trip to Hungary. It’s such a waste not to make good use of the long weekend and the Hungarian colleagues who were having their holidays back home.
八月中有一連三天的長週末，又正值兩個匈牙利同事回鄉度假，正是前往匈牙利遊玩的最好時候。
A Chinese colleague in my department joined me on this trip and took an additional day off before the long weekend. We left for Budapest late at night on 13th August and arrived in Budapest the next day. Our plans for our first day was to visit the Danube Bend region (Dunakanyar) which isn’t too far away from Budapest, in particular the two or three towns recommended by one of the Hungarian colleagues. We had wanted to head off earlier, but the late arrival of our overnight train and settling into our accommodation had kept us past midday before we were ready to go.
我和實驗室另一個中國同事，額外請了一天假，8月13日晚上乘過夜火車，翌日到達首都布達佩斯，打算在火車站附近的旅館安頓後馬上出發往鄰近的多瑙河灣（Dunakanyar）流域，遊覽同事推介的兩、三個城鎮。不過行程剛開始已有點延誤，由於過夜火車遲了個多小時才到達，我倆出發時已過了中午。
Our trip got off to a bumpy start from the city centre of Budapest to the town of Szentendre (i.e. St. Andrew in English). The 40 or so minutes on the trip gave our bodies a thorough shake-up as well as the sensation of riding on a galloping horse. When I described this to another Hungarian colleague later in the trip, he joked that many Hungarian railways, roads or pavements were deliberately kept this way since the Hungarian people were known to love horse-riding!
我們乘火車從布達佩斯前往行程第一站聖安德列（Szentendre），「顛簸」了大半小時——是真的顛簸，經過好些路段時車廂震得很厲害，仿如坐在馬背上疾步般，後來其中一個匈牙利同事開玩笑說，匈牙利人愛騎馬，所以不論鐵路、馬路或行人路都得保留這個特色！
After reaching Szentendre at about 14:00, we first took a stroll in the main street of the town and came to the St. John Roman Catholic Parish Church atop a small hill following the recommendations of the tourist centre. As we were in search of food after visiting the church, we let our sense of smell guide us to a laneway where there was a shop selling langos (deep-fried Hungarian bread dough with various toppings). The laneway led us directly to the bank of the Danube (called Duna in Hungarian). It was the best place to enjoy a lunch, in a relaxing atmosphere and scenic backdrop of a tranquil flow of water across the breadth of the Danube.
兩點多抵達聖安德列後，先到市內的大街逛逛，按旅客中心介紹到小山上的聖約翰天主教堂區聖堂，下山後飢腸轆轆，憑着嗅覺摸到一小巷，買了匈牙利炸麫包Langos，從小巷出來正是多瑙河畔，寬闊的河面，緩緩的流水，我倆便對着這樣恬靜怡人的景色，悠閑地吃午飯。
The main street of Szentendre, Bogdányi utca
聖安德列的大街Bogdányi utca
The marzipan museum with its delicious displays
以杏仁漿製作展品的博物館
The triangular Fot Square
三角形的Fot廣場
St. John Roman Catholic Parish Church
聖約翰天主教堂區聖堂
The view of roofs from the Parish Church - notice how some of the ridges have become curved
從聖堂看到的一列屋頂，不少的屋脊已變彎曲
Serbian Orthodox Church
塞爾維亞東正教教堂
The streets of Szentendre were lined with textiles and crafts shops
聖安德列市內的街道有不少賣服飾和手工藝的商店
My langos topped with ewe's cheese and bacon pieces
我的匈牙利炸麫包上面塗了母羊奶酪和鋪了煙薰肉塊，口感像油條
The picturesque lunch stop
吃午飯有河景相伴
It was time to head to the next town of Esztergom after our meal, but we missed a bus by 10 minutes and had to wait for another 50 minutes until 16:10 for our bus. It was 17:40 at the end of the bus ride, and according to the information we gathered, we could only stay in Esztergom for 1 1/2 hours.
飯後一心想前往下一個目的地埃斯泰戈姆（Esztergom），怎料剛錯過了一班公車，等下一班要五十分鐘，結果四點十分才能出發，到達埃斯泰戈姆時已是五點四十分，由於一早已詢問了回程的時間，所以我們在該鎮祇能逗留一個半小時。
Not far from where we alighted was the Szechenyi Ter (Szechenyi Square), which was spared of hustle and bustle as the day was winding down. The overall layout of the square was pretty lively while the fountains and benches all displayed meticulous craftsmanship.
下車後不遠便是Szechenyi廣場，黃昏的廣場人煙稀少，看起來份外寬敞，上至整個佈局，下至每個噴水池和長椅，都設計得很精緻。
The houses leading to the square
廣場鄰近的房屋
The town hall at one end of the square
在廣場其中一端的市政廳
Sculpted benches
長椅兩側有雕刻
Fountains 噴水池
Then we climbed up the nearby Szent Tamás hegy (St. Thomas Hill) which provided one of the best viewing points of the whole town. On top of this hill was the Kápolna a Szent Tamás hegyen (Chapel of St. Thomas Hill), whose white walls was particularly glaring under the blue skies. On top of the hill across the road was the Basilica of Esztergom. As we walked downhill from the Chapel en route to the Basilica, we came across a series of sculpted plaques depicting the scenes of Crucifixion.
之後登上附近的多瑪斯山（Szent Tamás hegy），沿途可飽覽全市景色，山頂有座小教堂（Kápolna a Szent Tamás hegyen），白色的牆身在藍天下特別鮮明，與這座山隔了一條馬路的是市內的大教堂，下山前往大教堂時，路邊豎了一列石碑，刻有耶穌受難的一幕幕。
Some sort of military commemoration midway uphill
上山中途的某個軍事紀念
The view of Esztergom from the hill
從山上觀看全市景色
Kápolna a Szent Tamás hegyen
多瑪斯山小教堂
The Basilica on the hill
山上的大教堂
The Basilica is more than simply an important religious establishment due to its significance in Hungarian history. This largest church of Hungary (and one of the largest in the world) was where the first King of Hungary (known as Szent Istvan, or St. Stephen) was born and baptised. As such, Esztergom was actually the first capital of Hungary. We reached the Basilica at one of its side entrances. We had a brief look inside and made a walk along its perimeter until coming across the main entrance. Only then did it dawn on me what an imposing building it truly was, as I had to try hard to see the roof of the Basilica beyond the top of the columns. The dimensions and architecture of the main entrance had just left me in awe.
大教堂的來頭可不少，既是匈牙利最大，也是匈牙利第一任國皇（後稱聖士堤反，匈牙利語Szent Istvan）出生和受洗之地，埃斯泰戈姆亦因此是開國首都。我們登上山頂之處是大教堂的側門，進內匆匆參觀後，繞着教堂走了一圈，來到正門，看到一根根筆直的圓柱，把頭抬到高高的才看到屋頂，便深深感受到教堂有多高，有多宏偉，頓時令我不住讚嘆。
Want to invade? Ask me first!
想入侵？問過我才算！
The way to the Basilica (as well as the castle nearby)
前往大教堂（及附近的城堡）之道路
The Basilica on its side (left) and from the front (right)
大教堂的側門（左）和正門（右）
The interior of the Basilica
大教堂的內部
Views from the Basilica, comprising the twin-spired Parish Church and the adjacent Primate's palace in the Vizivaros (Watertown) district and the Maria Valeria bridge that crosses the border into the Slovakian town of Parkany - so much we have missed! (See also the video below.)
從大教堂遙望山腳的水城區，其堂區教堂及大主教宮殿，河上的Maria Valeria橋直達鄰國斯洛伐克的Parkany鎮，我們統統錯過了！（亦可看以下短片）
If time permitted, we’d have loved to see the Basilica in greater depth and venture into other parts of Esztergom, but we had to leave for the town of Visegrad by bus again. We didn’t have so much luck with the way from Szentendre to Esztergom, and it could have been much worse leaving Esztergom! We were smart enough to look for the bus stop for Visegrad as soon as we arrived in Esztergom, but we could not find any sign for our bus either in the stop directly opposite to where we alighted or the one 300 metres down the same road. Where we alighted had no such sign either, and thus we thought the correct bus stop would most likely be the one directly opposite to it. So we waited at that bus stop 10 minutes early, and the bus did come on time, but it chose to ignore us and kept going! Fortunately the bus did pull over at the stop further down the road, and with a long queue there, we could still make it after a quick dash. It could have been a disaster if we had to wait for at least another hour not knowing where the bus stop would be!
其實教堂本身及埃斯泰戈姆還有不少地方值得參觀，不過時間無多，又要趕車往下一個目的地維舍格拉德（Visegrad）。坐車來埃斯泰戈姆時已不太順利，離開時更有點驚險，其實我們在埃斯泰戈姆甫下車，便馬上找回程的公車站，但不論是剛好在下車地點對面的車站或是沿路離三百米左右的下一站都沒有標示我們坐的路線，下車那站也沒有，我們因此推斷，回程的車站應是下車那站對面那個吧。我們提早十分鐘等車，公車準時到來，我揚手向司機示意，車子卻不顧我們而去！可幸車子在下一站停下來，那裡擠了一班人等上車，我們趕緊飛奔過去，也趕得及上車，不然一小時一班車，如又不知站在哪裡，就真的令人徬徨了！
It was already 20:00 when we reached Visegrad, so we didn’t even have to think if we could go all the way to the castle which stood on top of the mountains overlooking the town. All we could do was to have a good look at it and imagine what it would be like up there. We took to the little beach by the Danube, and there we let time slip by, as the town on the opposite bank gradually faded before lighting up and the castle started putting on its lights as well. It wasn’t long before another bus took us back to Szentendre and away from the three pretty towns of the Danube Bend.
到達維舍格拉德已是八點，夕陽西下之時，要登上市內最有名的城堡是絕不可能的事，唯有好好遙望一番，想像城堡是甚麼樣子。維舍格拉德的多瑙河畔有個小沙灘，我們望着彼岸的小鎮逐漸變暗後又再亮起來，遠處的城堡亦點了燈，沒多久回聖安德列的公車也來了，我們就如此離開了多瑙河灣流域和那三個幽雅的小城市。
The castle of Visegrad 維舍格拉德的城堡
The Danube as night falls
夜幕低垂下的多瑙河
八月中有一連三天的長週末，又正值兩個匈牙利同事回鄉度假，正是前往匈牙利遊玩的最好時候。
A Chinese colleague in my department joined me on this trip and took an additional day off before the long weekend. We left for Budapest late at night on 13th August and arrived in Budapest the next day. Our plans for our first day was to visit the Danube Bend region (Dunakanyar) which isn’t too far away from Budapest, in particular the two or three towns recommended by one of the Hungarian colleagues. We had wanted to head off earlier, but the late arrival of our overnight train and settling into our accommodation had kept us past midday before we were ready to go.
我和實驗室另一個中國同事，額外請了一天假，8月13日晚上乘過夜火車，翌日到達首都布達佩斯，打算在火車站附近的旅館安頓後馬上出發往鄰近的多瑙河灣（Dunakanyar）流域，遊覽同事推介的兩、三個城鎮。不過行程剛開始已有點延誤，由於過夜火車遲了個多小時才到達，我倆出發時已過了中午。
Our trip got off to a bumpy start from the city centre of Budapest to the town of Szentendre (i.e. St. Andrew in English). The 40 or so minutes on the trip gave our bodies a thorough shake-up as well as the sensation of riding on a galloping horse. When I described this to another Hungarian colleague later in the trip, he joked that many Hungarian railways, roads or pavements were deliberately kept this way since the Hungarian people were known to love horse-riding!
我們乘火車從布達佩斯前往行程第一站聖安德列（Szentendre），「顛簸」了大半小時——是真的顛簸，經過好些路段時車廂震得很厲害，仿如坐在馬背上疾步般，後來其中一個匈牙利同事開玩笑說，匈牙利人愛騎馬，所以不論鐵路、馬路或行人路都得保留這個特色！
After reaching Szentendre at about 14:00, we first took a stroll in the main street of the town and came to the St. John Roman Catholic Parish Church atop a small hill following the recommendations of the tourist centre. As we were in search of food after visiting the church, we let our sense of smell guide us to a laneway where there was a shop selling langos (deep-fried Hungarian bread dough with various toppings). The laneway led us directly to the bank of the Danube (called Duna in Hungarian). It was the best place to enjoy a lunch, in a relaxing atmosphere and scenic backdrop of a tranquil flow of water across the breadth of the Danube.
兩點多抵達聖安德列後，先到市內的大街逛逛，按旅客中心介紹到小山上的聖約翰天主教堂區聖堂，下山後飢腸轆轆，憑着嗅覺摸到一小巷，買了匈牙利炸麫包Langos，從小巷出來正是多瑙河畔，寬闊的河面，緩緩的流水，我倆便對着這樣恬靜怡人的景色，悠閑地吃午飯。
The main street of Szentendre, Bogdányi utca
聖安德列的大街Bogdányi utca
The marzipan museum with its delicious displays
以杏仁漿製作展品的博物館
The triangular Fot Square
三角形的Fot廣場
St. John Roman Catholic Parish Church
聖約翰天主教堂區聖堂
The view of roofs from the Parish Church - notice how some of the ridges have become curved
從聖堂看到的一列屋頂，不少的屋脊已變彎曲
Serbian Orthodox Church
塞爾維亞東正教教堂
The streets of Szentendre were lined with textiles and crafts shops
聖安德列市內的街道有不少賣服飾和手工藝的商店
My langos topped with ewe's cheese and bacon pieces
我的匈牙利炸麫包上面塗了母羊奶酪和鋪了煙薰肉塊，口感像油條
The picturesque lunch stop
吃午飯有河景相伴
It was time to head to the next town of Esztergom after our meal, but we missed a bus by 10 minutes and had to wait for another 50 minutes until 16:10 for our bus. It was 17:40 at the end of the bus ride, and according to the information we gathered, we could only stay in Esztergom for 1 1/2 hours.
飯後一心想前往下一個目的地埃斯泰戈姆（Esztergom），怎料剛錯過了一班公車，等下一班要五十分鐘，結果四點十分才能出發，到達埃斯泰戈姆時已是五點四十分，由於一早已詢問了回程的時間，所以我們在該鎮祇能逗留一個半小時。
Not far from where we alighted was the Szechenyi Ter (Szechenyi Square), which was spared of hustle and bustle as the day was winding down. The overall layout of the square was pretty lively while the fountains and benches all displayed meticulous craftsmanship.
下車後不遠便是Szechenyi廣場，黃昏的廣場人煙稀少，看起來份外寬敞，上至整個佈局，下至每個噴水池和長椅，都設計得很精緻。
The houses leading to the square
廣場鄰近的房屋
The town hall at one end of the square
在廣場其中一端的市政廳
Sculpted benches
長椅兩側有雕刻
Fountains 噴水池
Then we climbed up the nearby Szent Tamás hegy (St. Thomas Hill) which provided one of the best viewing points of the whole town. On top of this hill was the Kápolna a Szent Tamás hegyen (Chapel of St. Thomas Hill), whose white walls was particularly glaring under the blue skies. On top of the hill across the road was the Basilica of Esztergom. As we walked downhill from the Chapel en route to the Basilica, we came across a series of sculpted plaques depicting the scenes of Crucifixion.
之後登上附近的多瑪斯山（Szent Tamás hegy），沿途可飽覽全市景色，山頂有座小教堂（Kápolna a Szent Tamás hegyen），白色的牆身在藍天下特別鮮明，與這座山隔了一條馬路的是市內的大教堂，下山前往大教堂時，路邊豎了一列石碑，刻有耶穌受難的一幕幕。
Some sort of military commemoration midway uphill
上山中途的某個軍事紀念
The view of Esztergom from the hill
從山上觀看全市景色
Kápolna a Szent Tamás hegyen
多瑪斯山小教堂
The Basilica on the hill
山上的大教堂
The Basilica is more than simply an important religious establishment due to its significance in Hungarian history. This largest church of Hungary (and one of the largest in the world) was where the first King of Hungary (known as Szent Istvan, or St. Stephen) was born and baptised. As such, Esztergom was actually the first capital of Hungary. We reached the Basilica at one of its side entrances. We had a brief look inside and made a walk along its perimeter until coming across the main entrance. Only then did it dawn on me what an imposing building it truly was, as I had to try hard to see the roof of the Basilica beyond the top of the columns. The dimensions and architecture of the main entrance had just left me in awe.
大教堂的來頭可不少，既是匈牙利最大，也是匈牙利第一任國皇（後稱聖士堤反，匈牙利語Szent Istvan）出生和受洗之地，埃斯泰戈姆亦因此是開國首都。我們登上山頂之處是大教堂的側門，進內匆匆參觀後，繞着教堂走了一圈，來到正門，看到一根根筆直的圓柱，把頭抬到高高的才看到屋頂，便深深感受到教堂有多高，有多宏偉，頓時令我不住讚嘆。
Want to invade? Ask me first!
想入侵？問過我才算！
The way to the Basilica (as well as the castle nearby)
前往大教堂（及附近的城堡）之道路
The Basilica on its side (left) and from the front (right)
大教堂的側門（左）和正門（右）
The interior of the Basilica
大教堂的內部
Views from the Basilica, comprising the twin-spired Parish Church and the adjacent Primate's palace in the Vizivaros (Watertown) district and the Maria Valeria bridge that crosses the border into the Slovakian town of Parkany - so much we have missed! (See also the video below.)從大教堂遙望山腳的水城區，其堂區教堂及大主教宮殿，河上的Maria Valeria橋直達鄰國斯洛伐克的Parkany鎮，我們統統錯過了！（亦可看以下短片）
If time permitted, we’d have loved to see the Basilica in greater depth and venture into other parts of Esztergom, but we had to leave for the town of Visegrad by bus again. We didn’t have so much luck with the way from Szentendre to Esztergom, and it could have been much worse leaving Esztergom! We were smart enough to look for the bus stop for Visegrad as soon as we arrived in Esztergom, but we could not find any sign for our bus either in the stop directly opposite to where we alighted or the one 300 metres down the same road. Where we alighted had no such sign either, and thus we thought the correct bus stop would most likely be the one directly opposite to it. So we waited at that bus stop 10 minutes early, and the bus did come on time, but it chose to ignore us and kept going! Fortunately the bus did pull over at the stop further down the road, and with a long queue there, we could still make it after a quick dash. It could have been a disaster if we had to wait for at least another hour not knowing where the bus stop would be!
其實教堂本身及埃斯泰戈姆還有不少地方值得參觀，不過時間無多，又要趕車往下一個目的地維舍格拉德（Visegrad）。坐車來埃斯泰戈姆時已不太順利，離開時更有點驚險，其實我們在埃斯泰戈姆甫下車，便馬上找回程的公車站，但不論是剛好在下車地點對面的車站或是沿路離三百米左右的下一站都沒有標示我們坐的路線，下車那站也沒有，我們因此推斷，回程的車站應是下車那站對面那個吧。我們提早十分鐘等車，公車準時到來，我揚手向司機示意，車子卻不顧我們而去！可幸車子在下一站停下來，那裡擠了一班人等上車，我們趕緊飛奔過去，也趕得及上車，不然一小時一班車，如又不知站在哪裡，就真的令人徬徨了！
It was already 20:00 when we reached Visegrad, so we didn’t even have to think if we could go all the way to the castle which stood on top of the mountains overlooking the town. All we could do was to have a good look at it and imagine what it would be like up there. We took to the little beach by the Danube, and there we let time slip by, as the town on the opposite bank gradually faded before lighting up and the castle started putting on its lights as well. It wasn’t long before another bus took us back to Szentendre and away from the three pretty towns of the Danube Bend.
到達維舍格拉德已是八點，夕陽西下之時，要登上市內最有名的城堡是絕不可能的事，唯有好好遙望一番，想像城堡是甚麼樣子。維舍格拉德的多瑙河畔有個小沙灘，我們望着彼岸的小鎮逐漸變暗後又再亮起來，遠處的城堡亦點了燈，沒多久回聖安德列的公車也來了，我們就如此離開了多瑙河灣流域和那三個幽雅的小城市。
The castle of Visegrad 維舍格拉德的城堡
The Danube as night falls
夜幕低垂下的多瑙河
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