2021年暑假的旅遊內容是“多瑙三鎮”。
多瑙三鎮是指匈牙利境內，多瑙河右岸的三個城市：埃斯泰爾戈姆（Esztergom）、維謝格拉德（Visegrád）和聖安德烈（Szentendre）。由於多瑙河在匈牙利北部轉了一個華麗的彎，而這三個小鎮又連接了多瑙河匈牙利境內最美麗多姿的一段，因此這三座小城通常又被叫作：曲灣三鎮（Danube Bend），這一段的多瑙河也被稱作“多瑙河之膝”。
對於一個旅居匈牙利已經四年的家庭來說，多瑙三鎮並不陌生。之前的日子我們也曾去過其中的兩鎮。可去聖安德烈（旅匈華人們，更喜歡叫它“山丹丹”）時，兒子在羅馬尼亞比賽，並未參與；去維謝格拉德時，未能完美看到多瑙河的曲灣，也沒能留下旅遊印記，總覺得不完美。所以今年暑假，當決定不進行長途旅遊之後，多瑙三鎮併成了全家一致的選擇。
第一站，便是聖安德烈。在匈語裏，小鎮名字的發音和“山丹丹”確實非常接近。這裏的華人把它親切地叫做“山丹丹”，多少也有一些思鄉情結。儘管它實際的名字，取自耶穌的第一個門徒。作爲耶穌的十二個使徒之一，安德烈當年主要在小亞細亞沿黑海傳道。因此當十七世紀後期，大批逃離土耳其戰火的塞爾維亞人、希臘人，來到這裏，便被這個親切的名字所吸引，並定居了下來。因此小鎮留下了很多美麗的東正教堂。事實上，我們這個年齡的國人，對這個小鎮都不陌生的。當年蔡依林的一曲《馬德里不思議》的MV就是在這裏拍的。只是那時候未出過國門的我們，傻傻分不清馬德里，與“山丹丹”，看過MV也就只有一句：“歐洲真漂亮”，便一言以蔽之了。小朋友自然是不認識蔡依林，也沒有聽過這首歌的。因此在出發前，特意搜了這首歌，先給他在腦海裏留個映像。雖然，現在的小鎮與2006年MV的場景比起來，還是漂亮些許。但對於幾百年如一日的歐洲來說，這裏仍然保留着18世紀巴洛克式的濃墨重彩。
漫步在富有歲月沉澱的石板道，可以品味到兩旁復古歐式建築裏，散發出帶有歷史沉澱的濃郁咖啡香氣。即使是一家小的甜品店，亦或是一家賣着入口即化的冰激凌商鋪，你都能感覺到歲月在口感上精美作用。美食隨着歲月的痕跡，變得更加精細與完美。
這裏的店鋪都很友善。遊人可以在任何一家擺設精美的小店門前拍照留影，而不需任何消費。夫人看中了一家餐廳門前擺放的鮮花。剛在門前的餐桌坐下準備拍照，熱心的服務員便就遞來菜單，當得知我們只是想拍照時，更是熱情的配合挪開影響畫面的桌椅。有着歲月沉澱的商家，都會有相同的宗旨，便是：賺錢不是我的目的，你開心纔好。
小鎮離布達佩斯市中心也就20--30公里。因此19世紀末大量的畫家、藝術家、手工藝人都來到了這裏，使得小鎮色彩異常豐富。各色的雨傘，燈籠，哪怕就是鍋碗瓢勺，經過藝術家之手，賦予色彩，掛在空中，人也就進入了畫家們的調色板。小鎮也因此變得復古而不沉悶。除了來自於中國義烏的旅遊紀念品之外，商鋪裏更多的是本地手工藝人親手做的食材，瓷器與木器。小店的老闆往往便是懷揣手藝的工匠本人。兒子買了一個機關重重的木製魔術盒，老闆便親自拿出刻刀，在木盒上爲小朋友刻上了名字。作爲一個國際化的旅遊勝地，這裏的老闆往往都會多種語言。我們如果要刻中文名字，他也是可以刻出來的。事實上，不光是刻字這樣照葫蘆畫瓢的活，中午時分走過飯店，面對中國遊客，服務員一樣的會操着歐式中文，喊着“牛肉湯、魚湯，土豆”來招攬客戶的。
細品聖安德烈也就用了2-3個小時。疫情對於小鎮還是有着不小的影響。關門的，待轉讓的店鋪倒也隨處可見。希望今後新入駐的商家，還將能繼續起這些建築的輝煌。
從聖安德烈開車只需40多分鐘，就可以到達埃斯泰爾戈姆（Esztergom）。這40多分鐘的車程裏，約有30分鐘，是在蜿蜒曲折的山中行進的。匈牙利的山，主要是丘陵爲主，埃斯泰爾戈姆最具代表性的地標建築：埃斯泰爾戈姆聖殿就依着山，建在山頂。車剛開進埃斯泰爾戈姆，遠遠的便可以看到聖殿。這時即使不看導航，沿着最寬大的主路，一路便可以開到聖殿所在的小山。山腳下有個很大的停車場，從停車場邊的垂直石階，也就三四十階臺階，便可以來到聖殿前的廣場。可能是臺階設計的太陡，幾十階臺階居然讓人有點氣喘。不過這裏景點的設計都非常人性化，即使不走臺階，也有電梯可供選擇。這樣坐着輪椅的老人們，也可以輕鬆欣賞美景。
聖殿廣場的四周和中央有很多雕像，兒子給我講解着雕像中人物手中所持物件的含義。雕像人物形態各異，但其手持之物，卻都與武力和權力相關。感覺應該都在講述着匈牙利王國的首任國王：聖伊斯特萬的相關故事。伊斯特萬，本名沃伊克（Vojk），就出生在埃斯泰爾戈姆。之前，作爲遊牧民族的馬扎爾人一直以部落爲單位，哪裏牧草肥美，就在生活在哪裏。直到他們來到了這片位於匈牙利西北部的潘諾尼亞平原，長期漂泊的人們，內心還是嚮往平靜的。打算定居於此的十個部落，之前自然都有各自的圖騰與首領。沃伊克掌權後，第一項重大改革便是統一大家的圖騰。最高的圖騰自然是神。沃伊克率先引入了天主教，並在全國加以推廣。沃伊克自己也開始使用教名伊斯特萬。大家有了共同的信仰，原先各自部落的小圖騰，自然就可以悄然淡化了。代之以“主權在君，君權神授”的伊斯特萬國王。據說匈牙利的國名，就在來於斯拉夫語系裏的“十箭聯盟”（每支箭代表着一個部落，七個馬紮兒部落和三個可薩部落）。“君權神授”的過程，自然也不可以太隨意，公元1000年，聖伊什特萬一世（I. (Szent) István）即位，教皇西爾維斯特二世親自爲其加冕，匈牙利升格爲王國。伊什特萬在位時期積極推動封建化進程，百姓們不再以之前的部落爲聚集單位，而代之以國王省的行政區劃。在他的帶領下，馬扎爾人完成了由遊牧部落向封建國家的轉變。
可以想象，1000多年前的那場加冕儀式一定聲勢浩大。有幸參與的民衆，必心甘情願的臣服於眼前的主教以及授予君權的國王。眼前這座外部高100米，內部高71.5米的建築，雖不是當年加冕儀式所在的教堂，但可以想象，當年的輝煌也一定不在此之下。
這裏是匈牙利最高的建築物，匈牙利第一大教堂，世界第18大教堂。迎面的8根22米高的石柱，便讓人感覺到在神的面前，人，自身力量的渺小。教堂的主入口，門並不大，平時也都是關着的。這個門應該是在盛大儀式時供主教及其他身份顯赫的人士出入的。作爲遊客，可以從側門進入。因爲這裏地勢很高，教堂的頂部便可以俯視整個小鎮。教堂登頂是需要額外購買門票的，而教堂參觀則是免費的。事實上這個教堂原名叫作：聖母昇天聖阿達爾貝特聖殿都主教座堂，裝飾祭壇的聖母昇天圖（13.5 × 6.6米）是世界最大的單幅油畫。但與教堂外的恢弘相比，教堂內部的裝修略顯簡陋。相比於，之前在捷克參觀過的諸多教堂，這裏更是樸素了許多。因此，我們並沒有在教堂裏做太多停留，而把剩下的時間都留給了教堂邊的城堡博物館。
城堡博物館就是之前的皇宮，來到入口時，博物館只剩1小時就要閉館了。工作人員耐心的與我們確認了參觀時間，確保我們能有充足的時間可以參觀，並告知其中一些配有特殊圖標的展品是不可以拍照的。事實上，博物館並不大，讓我覺得當時的國王生活其實也很樸素。皇宮也有個觀景臺。可以鳥瞰整個埃斯泰爾戈姆。多瑙河就在城堡山下川流不息，河上橫跨着馬利亞·瓦萊里亞橋（Mária Valéria Bridge），而橋那邊便是斯洛伐克了。在這裏多瑙河也成了國界線。事實上，匈牙利輝煌時，河對面的斯洛伐克也是在匈牙利的版圖範圍內的。歐洲大多都是天主教國家，當年都是打着“君權神授”這統一的教義。神也許授權的時候，就沒有對與疆土問題授得非常明確。以至於各個國君在擴大自己的勢力範圍時，不知是否會有悖於當年神的授權。事實上，部分教皇也確實參與到了授權的過程中。
神其實永遠不希望有人代言，而人總是希望能有神加持。
城堡博物館，主要陳列了皇宮各個時期的主要物件。與國內的博物館不同，這裏的展品多以實物爲主，並沒有很多當年的文字資料。不知是不是由於造紙術較晚才傳到歐洲的緣故。而且作爲馬背上的民族，是不是匈牙利人也不沒有記錄歷史的習慣。倒是埃斯泰爾戈姆聖殿1856年重建完成時，鋼琴家李斯特在此初演並指揮了彌撒曲，以音樂的形式對歷史做了記錄。
如果說多瑙三鎮是得名於多瑙曲灣的話，最佔曲灣地理優勢的要屬維謝格拉德了。身處另兩個小鎮，看多瑙河時，只是覺得清澈的河水從身邊靜靜的流過，波光中帶着兩岸的歷史沉澱傳遞。但在維謝格拉德山頂，將會明顯的看到多瑙河在這兒形成了一個巨大的S形彎。可能也是因爲這裏的山更高一些，山不轉，只好水轉了。拐了彎的多瑙河爲小鎮帶來更爲肥沃的土地，和更鬱鬱蔥蔥的山林。難怪十三世紀時貝拉四世會遷都於此，十五世紀時馬加什一世又將夏宮建在了這裏。從夏宮留下的斷瓦殘垣，我們不難感受到十五世紀時匈牙利雄厚的國力。白色的宮牆威嚴的高聳，而在宮牆內部庭院深深，噴泉、花園錯落有致。相比於剛建國時伊斯特萬的皇宮，權力在幾經易手之中得以壯大。身爲國王的國君們也更懂得如何玩味手中的權力，享受生活了。
維謝格拉德山腳下有一家文藝復興主題的餐廳，餐廳依然保留着中世紀的裝飾。餐具與餐食依然可以感受到當年的騎士風範。一家三口點一份騎士套餐，居然喫不完。餐廳還提供騎士服裝和道具，喫到興起，也可以來一場中世紀對決，消消食兒。飽餐之後，爬爬山絕對有利於消化。不過維謝格拉德的山很野，一路跟隨餐廳後的指示牌上山，過了山門，沒走兩步，便不再有水泥路的蹤影，石頭臺階更是找尋不到。要不是偶爾在樹上看到幾個箭頭和禁形的標誌，真以爲是走錯了路。沿着土坡，爬野山的感覺也是不錯的。手腳並用間，早已忘了中午的飽食，看來這騎士套餐相對於當年騎士的運動量，也就剛墊個肚子。
隨着樹上的指示牌，大約三四十分鐘的光景，終於來到了山頂。山頂已是一塊非常平坦和巨大的停車場。旅遊團的車輛往來不絕。隨着近年維謝格拉德四國集團在歐洲政壇的不斷活躍，這個十四世紀便孕育了聯盟雛形的小鎮，自然吸引着各國遊客。穿過停車場，位於山頂的西爾瓦努斯酒店，纔是我們此次維謝格拉德之行的重點。酒店的室外泳池正面向着多瑙大彎，多瑙秀色盡收眼底。
泡在泳池裏，陽光灑在身上，正好中和了池水的絲絲寒意。看着滿山翠綠，一條寬寬的銀帶灣流而下。灣流與一千多年前並沒有不同，而行賞着這美景的人們，和城堡裏的權力一樣已經早已物是人非了。
小朋友做了此文的英文版：
The three towns of the Danube river
Our summer vacation plan was to visit the three towns of Danube.
They are the three cities on the right side of the Danube river: Esztergom, Visegrád, and Szentendre.
Because the Danube river makes a gorgeous bend in the northern part of Hungary, and the three towns of the Danube connects the most beautiful part of the Danube in Hungary, these three towns are also called the three towns of the Danube Bend, and this part of the river Danube is called the Danube Knee.
As a family who has lived in Hungary for four years, we are not unfamiliar with the three towns of the Danube river. My family had been to two of them before, but when my family went to Szentendre (Which Chinese people in Hungary call “Shandandan”), I had a competition in Romania, so I couldn’t join my family. And when we went to Visegrád, we couldn’t see the complete Danube Bend, and we didn’t buy any souvenirs, we didn’t really consider it as a perfect trip. So in this summer vacation, we decided to go to the three towns of Danube.
Our first stop was Szentendre, which really sounds like “Shandandan” in Chinese. So as I mentioned before, Chinese people in Hungary prefer to call it Shandandan. Though it was named after one of the twelve apostles of Jesus. As one of the twelve apostles of Jesus, Szentendre mainly preached at Asia Minor along the Black Sea. So in the late 17th century, tons of Serbians and Greeks who were running from the Turkish warfare came and were attracted by this familiar name, so they settled down. Therefore, the town has left many beautiful Orthodox churches. In fact, Chinese people at my dad’s age are all familiar with this town. Because the music video for Jolin Tsai's "A Wonder in Madrid" was shot here. Those of us who hadn't been abroad that year weren’t able to distinguish Madrid from "Shandandan". After watching the MV, the only thing we could say was: "Europe is so beautiful". However, I didn’t know Joslin Tsai, and neither did I know this song. So my dad showed me the MV before going to Szentendre to get familiar with the MV and the town. Though the town looks way better by now, it still has the 18th century Baroque style.
Strolling along the stone road with rich history, you can taste the retro European buildings on both sides, exuding a strong coffee aroma with history. Even in a small dessert shop, or a shop selling delicious ice cream, you can feel the effect of time on the taste. With the traces of time, the food has become more fine and perfect. The shops here are very friendly. Visitors can take pictures in any beautifully decorated shop without any consumption. My mom liked the flowers in front of a restaurant, so we sat down at the dining table to take pictures. The enthusiastic waiter was just about to hand over the menu, and when she learned that we just wanted to take pictures, she helped us to remove the tables and chairs that affected the picture. Businesses with years of accumulation have the same motto, “making money is not our purpose, the point is to make you happy.”
The town is only 20-30 kilometers away from the center of Budapest, so a large number of painters, artists, and craftsmen came here at the end of the 19th century, making the town extremely colorful. Umbrellas and lanterns of various colors, even the pots, bowls, and spoons, are painted by artists and hung in the air, making people enter the palette of painters. Which makes the town retro and exciting. In addition to tourist souvenirs from Yiwu, the shops sell more of the ingredients, porcelain, and wood made by local craftsmen. The owner of a small shop is often a craftsman himself. When I bought a wooden magic box, the owner took out the carving knife and engraved my name on the wooden box. As an international tourist destination, the owners here are often multilingual. The owner told us that if we wanted to engrave the Chinese name, he could also have done it. In fact, they can do more than just copying words in Chinese, but when we walked through the restaurant at noon, facing the Chinese tourists, the waiters could even speak European Chinese like "niu rou tang, yu tang, tu dou" to get the customer’s attention.
It only took 2-3 hours to go through Szentendre. The pandemic still had a huge impact on the town. Closed shops that were waiting to be transferred could be seen everywhere. I truly hope that the newly settled businesses will continue the glory of these buildings in the future.
It only took over 40 minutes to reach Esztergom by car from Szentendre. During the 40-minute drive, about 30 minutes of it was traveling in the mountains. The mountains in Hungary are mostly dominated by hills. So Esztergom’s most representative landmark: the Esztergom Basilica was also built on the top of a hill. You can see the temple right after entering the city. Even if you don’t look at the navigation, you can still easily go straight to the hill where the Basilica is located with the main road. There is a large parking lot at the bottom of the hill. There are only 30 or 40 steps to the square in front of the temple from the stone steps on the side of the parking lot. Maybe it’s because the steps are too steep, it was quite tiring going up the steps. However, the design of the place is very user-friendly, and there are also elevators to choose from if you don’t want to take the steps so that even if you are in a wheelchair, you can still enjoy the view.
There are many statues around and in the center of Temple Square. I was explaining the meanings of the objects they are holding to my dad. The statues have different shapes, but the things they hold are nothing more than force and power, it feels like they are all about the first king of the Kingdom of Hungary: St. Stephen. Stephen, whose real name was Vojk, was born in Esztergom. Before the Magyars, as nomads, had always lived in tribes, and they settled in fertile lands. Until they came to this Pannonian Plain in northwestern Hungary, the people who had been wandering for a long time still wanted peace in their hearts. The ten tribes who wanted to settle here had their own totems and leaders before. After Vojk became the leader, he naturally wanted to unify everyone's totems, and the highest totem was God. Vojk took the lead in introducing Catholicism and spreading it throughout the country. Vojk himself also began to use the Christian name, Stephen. Everyone had a common belief, and the original totems of their tribes naturally faded quietly. It was replaced by King Stephen, who spread the idea of the "divine right of kings". It’s said that the name of the country of Hungary comes from the "Ten Arrows Alliance'' in the Slavic language family (each arrow represents a tribe, seven Mazar tribes, and three Khazarian tribes). The process of “divine right of kings” wasn't naturally too easy. In 1000 AD, Saint Stephen I came to the throne, Pope Sylvester II crowned him personally, and Hungary was elevated to a kingdom. During the reign of Saint Stephen, he actively spread the process of feudalization, when people no longer used the previous tribes as the gathering unit, but replaced the administrative divisions of the King Province. Under his leadership, the Magyars completed the transition from a nomadic tribe to a feudal country. It can be imagined, that the crowning ceremony more than 1,000 years ago must be huge, and the people who participated were surely willing to surrender to the bishop and the king who granted the monarchy. Though this building with a height of 100 meters on the outside and 71.5 meters on the inside is not the church where the crowning ceremony was located, it was surely greater than this.
This is the tallest building in Hungary, the largest church in Hungary, and the 18th largest church in the world. The eight 22-meter-high stone pillars facing us really make people feel the insignificance of man's own strength in front of God. The main entrance of the church has a tall door that is not usually open. This gate should be used for bishops and other important persons to enter and exit during the grand ceremony. As a tourist, you can enter from the side entrance. Because of the high terrain here, the top of the church can overlook the entire town. An additional ticket is required to reach the top of the church, while you can visit the church for free. In fact, the original name of this church was: Saint Adalbert church, decorated with The Assumption of the Virgin (13.5 × 6.6 meters) which is the largest single oil painting in the world. But compared with the magnificent view outside the church, the interior decoration of the church is a little too simple. In fact, compared with the many churches we visited in the Czech Republic before, this place is much simpler. Therefore, we did not stay in the church too much and left the rest of our time to the castle museum next to the church. The castle museum is the former palace. When we came to the entrance, we were told that the museum would be closed within an hour. The staff patiently confirmed the visiting time with us, ensured that we had enough time to visit, and informed us that some places with special icons cannot be photographed. In fact, the museum is not that big, which made me think that the life of the king at that time was actually very simple. The palace also had an observation deck. Where you can get an aerial view of the entire Esztergom. The Danube River flows constantly under the castle hill, crossing the Mária Valéria Bridge, and on the other side of the bridge is Slovakia. Here, the Danube has also become a national boundary. In fact, when in the time of Greater Hungary, Slovakia across the river was also in its territory. Many Catholic countries in Europe used the unified creed of "divine right of kings" back then. Perhaps God didn’t tell them so clearly when he authorized them so that when the monarchs expanded their influence, they didn’t understand that what they were doing wasn't good. In fact, even some popes participated in the authorization process. Actually, God never wants someone to represent, but people always want God to be with them.
The castle museum mainly displays the main objects of the palace in various periods. Unlike museums in China, the museums here are mostly physical objects, and there aren’t many textual materials from those years. I don't know if it is because the papermaking technology arrived too late in Europe. Or is it as a nation on horseback, Hungarians don’t have the habit of recording history. However, when the reconstruction of the Esztergom Temple was completed in 1856, the pianist Liszt performed and directed the Mass for the first time, recording history in the form of music.
If the name of the three towns of Danube is because of the Danube Knee, then the luckiest town would have to be Visegrád. When we were at the other two towns, we only saw the Danube river floating beside us, telling us the sedimentary history of both sides of the river in the waves. But at the top of Visegrad, it will be obvious that the Danube has formed several huge S-shaped bends here. It may also be because the mountains here are higher and they don’t want to turn anymore, so the river has to turn. The turning Danube river brings more fertile land and lush forests to the town. No wonder that in the 13th century, Bella IV moved his capital here, and in the 15th century, Matthias I built his summer residence here. From what’s left from the Summer Palace, it is not difficult for us to feel Hungary's strong national power in the 15th century. The white palace walls are majestic and towering, and the inner courtyard of the palace is where fountains and gardens are placed. Compared with the Stephen Palace at the time when the kingdom was found, power had grown after several kings. The monarchs began to know how to enjoy their power and enjoy life.
There is a renaissance themed restaurant at the bottom of Visegrad Mountain. The restaurant still retains medieval decorations. Tableware and meals still have the spirit of knighthood. As a family of three, we ordered a classic knight set meal and we couldn’t even finish it. The restaurant also provides knight costumes and props. Whenever you wish, you can also have a showdown to digest your food. After the meal, climbing mountains definitely helps with digesting it. However, the mountain in Visegrad is very wild. We followed the signs to the mountain from the restaurant, after passing the mountain gate, there is no more concrete road after a very close distance, and the stone steps are not easy to find. If it wasn’t because of a few arrow-shaped signs on the tree, I would have thought it was the wrong path. Along the soil slope, the feeling of using hands and feet to climb is also very good. After climbing the mountain, we already forgot the meal we had. It seems that the meal we had definitely wasn’t enough for a real knight.
Following the sign on the tree, about thirty or forty minutes later, we finally came to the top of the mountain. There was a huge parking lot on the top. The traffic of traveling vehicles has increased. While the power of the Visegrád Group is increasing in European politics in recent years, the 14th century gave birth to the embryonic form of the alliance, which naturally attracted tourists from all over the world. Passing through the parking lot, the Silvanus Hotel on the top of the hill is the most important thing of our visit to Visegrad. The hotel’s outdoor swimming pool faces the Danube Bend, and the beauty of the Danube is unobstructed.
While soaking in the pool, the sun shines on our bodies, just to neutralize the chill of the pool water. Looking at the green mountains, a wide silver belt flows through. The river is the same as it was more than a thousand years ago, but the people who admire the beauty are no longer the same, just like the power in the castle.