German couple tie knot in bride's 'spiritual hometown' Tainan

Berlin, Aug. 15 (CNA) A German couple had a quite Taiwanese wedding -- at a household registration office in Tainan Thursday -- after the bride discovered her "spiritual hometown" in the southern city on visiting last year and enlisted the help of Taiwanese officials.

Greta Ott and Martin Beck exchanged wedding vows and rings at the city's Zhongxi Household Registration Office, witnessed by tourism and Tainan City government officials.

The couple wore matching wedding attire with the groom's pink tie, and a ribbon of the same color around the bride's waist, according to a city government statement issued on Thursday.

In Taiwan, a marriage becomes legally recognized after a couple register their nuptials with a household registration office.

Hsieh Chang-ming (謝長明), director of the Taipei Tourism Office in the German city of Frankfurt, told CNA that he first heard about Ott's plan to get married in Taiwan from his colleague who asked about documents required for the wedding.

Ott recounted her trip to Taiwan to Hsieh when they met for a coffee, explaining her wish to bring Beck to experience the friendliness of the Taiwanese people and the warmth she felt in Tainan as the two planned their wedding, Hsieh said.

The stories she told Hsieh included how people helped her carry bags and gave her directions after she got off the high-speed train in Tainan, and even walked with her after she got lost, the Frankfurt-based official said.

Ott said she decided to visit Taiwan on her father's advice at a low point in her life. Her father, a physics professor who had visited Taiwan, often talked about enthusiastic people in Taiwan and the inclusive and diverse culture, Ott told Hsieh.

Meanwhile, Ott said she found Tainan's temple culture soothing, according to the statement.

The way people interact in Taiwan is very differently from Germany, yet the interactions are very natural and real, Ott said in the statement, calling Tainan her "spiritual hometown."

Promoting Taiwan can be done through just small things in daily life, Hsieh told CNA, citing Ott's experiences.