Is this really Hué, the city that suffered the most severe bombardments during the Vietnam War?
One of the worst combat zones of the Vietnam War. It's hard to believe, but Hué, this ancient city, with its UNESCO World Heritage listed sites, was heavily bombarded for a long time. Including the huge citadel with its palaces, the Imperial Enclosure, the Forbidden Purple City, and much is still in ruins today.
Night Train
The city of emperors awaits us. Until then, however, the expected restless night. I am not a giant by God, but even for my barely 175 centimeters the so-called soft bed (soft??) is too short. And so I sleep with my legs pulled up, it's pretty cold, especially at the beginning, and one of the two Vietnamese snores as if he could win a war with it. Despite everything, I love train rides, the steady rattling of the wheels, the rolling on the tracks ... and so I nod off despite everything, fall into a restless sleep and wake up to my own astonishment at the first glimmer of dawn.
Summer clothes - finally
Outside the window the scenery seems to be the same as ten hours before. Rice fields, dusty roads, crowded by the usual suspects, oddly narrow houses, the width of a not too large bed at best. But something is definitely different: There are people on the street in short-sleeved shirts! My God, we’re back in the warmth!
The intellectual, spiritual and historical center of Vietnam
Indeed, Hué welcomes us with all the joys of an early summer morning.
But a short time later there is a wistful farewell to lament, for here I have to say goodbye to Nadèche with whom I have become so familiar ... The hotel is acceptable, not exactly cheering, but it's okay. A hot shower later, sunglasses on the nose and the inevitable city map in hand, I set off ... to the sun. It burns from the sky so wonderfully and dissolves the last remnants of the Hanoi winter.
But there is construction going on and some of the wonderful buildings dating back to the old imperial times have already been reconstructed and restored. It is a walk through time, a past that, amazingly, did not end until the last century. Until then, the emperor gathered his household in the Thai Hoa Palace, a huge hall supported by eighty carved and painted columns.
The Russian MIGs or the downed U.S. aircrafts, proudly presented in a park nearby, have certainly played a role.
A happy city
It is a cheerful city that immediately captivates me. Although the sun burns mercilessly on my head, I enjoy the slow walk along the river (whose name I have forgotten), crossing numerous bridges, drinking coffee or beer in dark and chilled bars, watching aging men surrounded by young girls in very short dresses, and once again I wonder how these guys dare to lose so much of their dignity playing the role of wrinkled and fat Casanovas ...
PS Matching film: Hayao Myazaki - Spirited away
And here the journey continues ...
