Budapest2009[for GPS sake] It was my first visit to an ex-communist country. We cruised by the river. There was a statue of liberty, well lit, in sight. It must have a uniquely dear meaning to the Hungarians who fought their way out of communism. They even have a dedicated memorial park where they imprison all the toppled statues of communist leaders. I inquired at the hotel reception why were there nice and big religious statues (the Sacred Heart, the Holy Family, Our Lady, etc) in bold manifestation everywhere -- hadn't they been destroyed by the communists? She said no, they could destroy some but they couldn't possibly destroy everything! Her optimism made me feel good. The people are far from hardened; there was no smell of iron. Statue of Liberty. This came up again over a year later when I was in Lyon, where every guide speaks of the statue of liberty but they won't point to any\. Why? Because the lady is in fact in America -- that's right, THE statue of liberty. It is associated with Lyon by a common sculptor: Frederic Auguste Bartholdi. Then, suddenly, that icon identified herself to me as the same one standing tall in the balcony of Fatimah Hospital and over the roof-top of Mount Miriam Cancer Hospital (both of whom I am most familiar with) and of course elsewhere and everywhere. Indeed, the lady watches over. Germans refer to her as die Jungfrau. |
Ghent2006[for GPS sake] Ghent is the place where I've been there and back not knowing whether it is properly "Ghent" or "Gent". I flew via Brussels. On the return trip I could only find the direction to Brussels National Airport. Confused, I asked the attendant whether the national airport was in fact the international airport; he said yes. I sought further confirmation that there was only one airport in Brussels; he laughed, and I laughed. Ghent was just nice: compact and accessible yet not squeezy. There were people around but not too crowded. Locals cycle a lot -- without helmets, and mostly on upright / town bicycles (as opposed to bend-over mountain bikes). It took me awhile to realise why the cyclists looked funny. I had a room in Novotel, which was very nice but not too posh. I prefer this to Marriot's style of brass, shinny furnishing. The room window presented me with a full view of St Nicholas' Church. Some friends lodged at the boat hotels. I asked whether they woke up in the morning finding themselves having floating elsewhere, they said no. We went on a cruise. The river was much smaller than Budapest's, therefore the banks were far closer to the boat. The banks were dotted by lone women waiting by their door, some were smoking. I suddenly realized what their roles were, I turned to my friend and exclaimed, "Oh?" He started nodding in absolute confirmation. |
Contrasts help us see, don't they?
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