欧游杂记__引子
古人说，‘读万卷书，行万里路’，这也曾是我的人生理想。一个偶然的机会把我送到远在天边的瑞典，开始了我的游学生涯。此后五年，在求学之余，游历了大部份欧州国家，见识了不少风物人事，也积累了颇多的感想，来到美国后，感觉大大的不同，在努力适应的同时，也不断地留恋过去；因此杂杂碎碎记录下来，以备来日重温旧梦。许多没去过欧洲的人都把她想作梦幻之地，连美国人也不例外，欧洲真的有如此魅力吗？
‘I traveled and I saw many things, I understand more than I can express.’
欧游杂记__比较
每个人都有好奇心，我们作研究的更喜欢问为什么。初到异邦，见到与本国不同的地方总要琢磨一番。早有学者作中西文化比较的研究，观点学说也不计其数，但每个人经过自己亲身体验后都有一点自己的看法。我在见了些许瑞典人后作了第一个比较，东方人与西方人的饮食与居住环境的不同决定了他们不同的个性和哲学思想。西方人以肉食为主，所以生得高大健壮，皮肤粗糙，个性凶猛外向，鼓励探索创新，更象食肉的狮子，老虎；东方人则以草食为主，生得纤巧柔韧，皮肤细腻，个性温柔内向，倡导中庸之道，更象食草的牛羊。西方建筑自埃及，希腊，罗马起，主要都是石建筑，虽然木屋也不在少数，但主要的宫殿，城堡，教堂寺庙都是石建筑；而东方一直热衷于木料建筑，即使皇宫也不例外，这大概与自然环境有关。设想一下，在西方长大的东方人与在东方长大的西方人会有什么不同呢？
到了德国后，见识了更多的西方人，在游历了意大利，葡萄牙后，我作了第二个比较，低纬地区的人个子矮小，高纬地区的人个子高大。在欧洲，北欧的人最高，然后是德法英， 南欧的人最矮；在中国，北方人个子高，南方人个子矮。这是人口流动相对小的两个州，所以对于移民国家可能不适用。刚到德国时，实验室里一个法国同事还开玩笑地说，‘你说北方的中国人高，南方的中国人矮，那中部的中国就是middle了？’事实确实如此。其实人的体型受环境影响早有人类学家研究，最有影响的假说就是气候调节学说。体型高大的人有相对小的表面积/体积比，利于保暖；而体型矮小的人则相反，利于散热。考古学发掘的骨骼测量也证实了这个假说。
在德国时，结识了不少意大利朋友，在几次意大利之行后，我作了第三个比较，如果比较亚欧国家的民族相似性，则德国对应日本，意大利对应中国。首先以饮食为例，Spagetti和Pizza就不用说了，我还发现了茄合(Parmigiana di Melanzane，饺子(Ravioli)，青椒充肉(Peperoni Imbottiti)，菜肉卷(Lasagne),有这么多创意相同的食品！有一次我们讲谚语，我把中文谚语用英文表达出来，他们把意大利谚语用英文表达出来，居然每句都相对应，虽然语言不通，语义却惊人的相似。还有意大利人对待朋友的热情，对待事情的随意灵活，重视家族的裙带关系，根深蒂固的传统观念，官僚作风和Mafia特色等等，真是太象中国人了！我有一个意大利朋友来自南方的那不勒斯，是他们家族里第二个旅行最远的人(从那不勒斯到慕尼黑)，他的祖父二战时曾作为英军战俘从北非旅行到巴基斯坦。他只吃真正的Pizza (with cheese and tomato)，只喝Espresso， 在慕尼黑一年没喝过一滴啤酒，每天接母亲两次电话，烹饪的原材料也大部分寄自意大利，坚决不吃外国饭，真有不食周粟的古风啊！
有一次跟同事聊天，比较起了称呼。西方人亲戚间不分伯仲都直呼其名，中国人亲戚间则复杂的多。同事问如果不叫名字那四，五个姨娘怎么区分呢？我说，数数，’Aunt one, aunt two, aunt three……’因为我的博士论文主题是作小脑与海马颗粒细胞的发育比较研究，所以对于比较特别敏感，一次去葡萄牙作工作报告，因为前一天看了一处古城堡，就借题发挥说，这个城堡的建筑风格与中国的长城很像，可惜自己不是建筑学家，不能作两者的比较分析，但是很幸运能在这里讲小脑和海马的比较分析……
比较来，比较去，觉得还是共同的东西居多，毕竟是一母所生吗！
欧游杂记_收藏
小时候从收藏里看世界，长大了满世界找收藏。每个人都有不同的爱好，童年的爱好有时会影响你的一生。我小的时候喜欢种花养草，收集邮票，没想到一收集就是二十多年，而且收藏成了一种癖；在欧洲的几年里除了收藏过邮票，还收藏过明信片，旧书，领带，画，工艺品，树叶，以及旅游时用过的机票，船票，火车票，地铁票，参观票，甚至住过旅馆的火柴盒。不过我的收藏没什么经济价值，就是闲时把玩欣赏，分门别类的一种乐趣；而且可以睹物思人，思地，作一番白日梦。
刚到瑞典时问同事的第一个问题就是哪儿有集邮品商店，同事惊诧之余给我找来电话簿查到了几家，去买了几次邮票后，很快我就对当地的邮市活动了如指掌了，还参加过一个著名邮票设计家的签名售票活动。瑞典邮票最有特色的是每年发行一套的诺贝尔奖邮票，起自上世纪六十年代一直延续至今，设计简洁，用色简朴，制作精细，这也是北欧及德国的民族特征；还体现在建筑设计，服装设计及工业产品中, 象丹麦的H&M，Eccor，瑞典的Volvo，Ericsson，芬兰的Motorola， 德国的BMW，Bens, Simens等。由于专业的原因，我把收藏局限在生物医药领域，第一次到慕尼黑就发现了一家邮品丰富的小店，收购了大量的奥地利实寄首日封。奥地利不仅是音乐之都，也是医药重地，出了不少杰出医生，每年都有重要的国际医药学会在此召开。不过我只知道Freud，去参观其故居时花二十欧元买了一本传记漫画书，算是我的一种收藏，也感叹不管生前死后，名人永远是摇钱树啊！ 在德国时，我的教授知道我有收藏邮票的爱好后，就把他所有的通信邮票送给我；每天早晨我的桌子上都会有一些信封上撕下来的邮票，后来他太太也把废邮票送给我，如此积累下来，竟然积累了几大信封，我废了 一天的时间浸泡，除胶，整理。尽管大部分都是重复的普通邮票，有的有一百多张copy，但其中的乐趣只有喜欢收藏的人才会体会到。德国的邮票主题主要是各地的建筑，民居，桥梁，城堡，宫殿等，或是名人；其中用量最大的是一套八十年代发行的普通邮票，主题是德国杰出妇女，其中有著名的作曲家，演员，哲学家，政治家，作家，教师，医生等，几乎涵盖了各个领域，从中可以窥见德国妇女的影响，就象德国国歌里唱的，‘Deutsche Frauen, deutsche
Treue, Deutscher Wein und deutscher Sang； Sollen in der Welt behalten Ihren alten schuen Klang, Uns zu edler Tat begeistern Unser ganzes Leben lang - Deutsche Frauen, deutsche Treue, Deutscher Wein und deutscher Sang! Deutsche Frauen, deutsche Treue, Deutscher Wein und deutscher Sang! (German women, German fidelity, German wine and German song, Shall retain, throughout the
world, Their old respected fame, To inspire us to noble deeds; For the length of our lives. German women, German fidelity, German wine and German song. German women, German fidelity, German wine and German song. )。女权运动在北欧是最发达的，妇女占议会席位的30-50%(中国是20%)，虽然职业妇女仍然受到男性的压制，但与南欧的妇女相比，北欧妇女显得更独立，坚强。
每到一个城市，我第一件事就是要寄明信片给父母，也同时寄给自己，所以几年下来也攒了不少。在大部分国家，可以同时买到明信片和邮票，很容易找到邮筒。但有些国家象捷克，俄罗斯，邮票只能到邮局去买。记得在布拉格时，只有一个邮局，排号等了一个小时；在莫斯科时，和领养老金的人排在一起等了一个小时，因为只有一个服务员。明信片种类繁多，风格各异，但大小形状基本相同，也有不少形状奇特的或色彩特殊的，我曾寄过一张意大利维苏威火山的明信片给实验室，因为火山口中间低陷，远看象女性的乳房，这张明信片的上沿就设计成乳房，凸出纸面。还有在德意志科技博物馆，寄过一种变换颜色的明信片。我所寄过的最远的明信片发自北极圈里的瑞典小城Kiruna，最高的发自德国的极顶，阿尔卑斯山的Zugspize，2963米；最慢的发自埃及的Hunghada，耗时三个月才到达目的地；最浪漫的发自埃及的尼罗河，还带着象形文字的签名……
在瑞典时生活比较清闲，经常去附近的旧书店，跳蚤市场和植物园，所以收集了不少旧书，小工艺品和树叶。我收集到的两本我最喜欢的旧书是林语堂的’My country and my people’, 和蒋彝的’The silent traveler in London’；都是五十年代精装版本，他们都是最早的接触西方文化，介绍中国文化的中国人，许多观点今天读起来还是很有见地。跳蚤市场里什么都有，我经常买的是一些小工艺品，泥的，陶瓷的，木头的，玻璃的，与中国的工艺品比更简洁，粗糙，但别具特色。有些跳蚤市场有福利性质，所有物件都是居民捐送的，所得收入用作福利基金；这些国家虽然富裕，但都很简朴，吃穿用度都是物尽其用，很难见到浪费行为。在植物园里经历了春夏秋冬，也去过好几个城市的植物园，所以我的树叶也收藏了不少版本。欧洲的植物园多是以自然环境为主，适当开辟异域植被。瑞典哥德堡的植物园原是皇家狩猎领地，后来皇室捐给市民用作植物园。其依山而见，大约2/3是自然森林，另1/3为人工养殖，花草树木来自世界各地，其中还有中国园，日本园等。瑞典最多见花的是大叶杜鹃花，好象与台湾的一种相似，四季常青，不怕冻。德国慕尼黑和法兰克福的植物园则以温室为主，所以全世界的植物都可以在这里生长，而且每年都有蝴蝶展，与花木争奇斗艳。李白曾有诗云，“草不谢荣于春风，木不怨落于秋天”，但对于喜欢植物的人来说，他们之间可是有着丰富的情感的……
欧游杂记 III
“我说不上再过多少年，不过在卡佩尔纳村将会发生一桩的人好久都忘不了的神话般的盛事。那时候你已经长大了，阿索莉。一天早晨，在远远的海上突然有一面红帆在阳光下闪耀，一艘白船扬起巨大的、光焰四射的红色帆篷乘风破浪径直向你驶来；这艘奇妙的海船既没有喊声，也听不见枪响，静悄悄地行驶著；岸上聚集了好多人，个个都赞叹不已，惊讶万分，你也站在那儿。那艘船在美妙的乐声中巍巍壮观地驶近岸边；一艘装饰著地毯、鲜花和金色饰物的富丽堂皇的快艇从海船旁边驶将过来。岸上的人们问道：‘你们来这儿做什么？要找什么人？’于是你就会看见一位英俊的王子，站在那儿向你伸出双手。‘你好，阿索莉。’他说，‘我在离这儿很远很远的地方梦见了你，所以就来到这里，为的是把你带往我的王国里去，你将永远和我一起住在一个玫瑰深谷里，而且会得到你所希望的一切。我们会生活得十分和睦和快乐，你的心永远都不会懂得什么是悲伤和眼泪。’他把你安置在小艇里带上海船。你将和他去到一个光辉灿烂的国度，那儿太阳冉冉升起，繁星自天上落下，为的是祝贺你的到来。” __张佩文 译 亚历山大.格林<<红帆>>
就象苏联电影<<红帆>>给我的印象一样，欧洲永远是玫瑰色的，浪漫的，充满王子，公主，巫师，城堡，森林的童话的世界。这里是安徒生与格林 兄弟的故乡，是美人鱼，豌豆公主，白雪公主，灰姑娘，睡美人的故乡，是青蛙王子，匹诺曹，小红帽，卖火柴的小女孩的故乡……
在瑞典北方小镇Kiruna有一处冰旅馆，冬天时河水结成厚厚的冰块，他们用冰块砌成一座冰的宫殿，有旅馆，有酒吧，有教堂，这可是真正的建筑，有好多游客从世界各地来到这里体验冰天雪地的生活，还有在冰教堂举行的婚礼。春天来了，这冰的宫殿也融化了，重新回到河里；每年如此，象人生一样周而复始，循环往复……夏天是北欧最美的季节，也是节日最多的季节，因为经历了一个漫长的，黑暗的冬天后，人们争分夺秒地享受夏日的阳光，海滩，帆船，在森林湖泊湿地间穿行，感受美丽的旷野，亲近麋鹿，驯鹿，海鸥，雷鸟等野生动物。绿色的草地，蓝色的海水，金色的油菜田，红墙白窗的小木屋，几株丁香花，杜鹃花和山榉树，草地上吃草的牛羊，海边嘻戏的水鸟，远山的积雪和瀑布，近处城堡上的流云和农舍里的炊烟，所有这一切只能引起诗意的暇想……
“In a far land you will never see, there lies a castle, and in that castle stands a temple filled with light. Within that temple is the holiest of relics─the Grail, used at his last supper by our Lord. Brought to earth by angels, its holy power each year is renewed by a dove come down from Heaven.The guardians of the Grail are a brotherhood of the purest knights. When the Grail calls a knight to this service, it arms him with a power no evil can defeat. This power he keeps even if he is sent abroad to defend virtue. But so subtle is the blessing that it flees the presence of unholy men if ever the knight’s identity is revealed."_____Lohengrin, The Tale of the Swan Knight retold by Aaron Shepard from the Opera by Richard Wagner.
在德国南部阿尔卑斯山脚下有一个巴伐利亚王国，年轻英俊的国王Ludwig II耽于幻想，对政事不感兴趣，他的精神世界总是遨游于古代德国的神话和骑士的时代，并以带有银色光晕的月亮用作自己的标志。在看了Wagner的歌剧Lohengrin和Tannhaeuser后，他决定在阿尔卑斯山脚下的一处隐逸的深山里建一座理想中的城堡，他的梦幻中的圣殿；这个工程在他死后才得以完成，耗时二十多年，这就是著名的新天鹅城堡__白色的城堡耸立在山颠，面对悬崖，碧蓝的湖水嵌在山间，衬托于后，多彩的秋叶，和远处呼应的雪山，构成了美轮美奂的现实中的童话世界……
欧洲的富足也使得这里民风纯朴，社会祥和，人们生活得无拘无束，但似乎大多数人仍然依恋过去的王国，保持著童话世界的梦想。儿童也是这里生活最快乐的一群，没有家庭作业，不用参加奥校，只有做不完的游戏，和不断的欢声笑语。除了非洲酋长，欧洲恐怕是保留君主国家最多的地方了。虽然不能参政，但王室的活动也是大众关注的焦点，婚礼，寿辰，丑闻，慈善娱乐，典礼仪式……俨然是儿童过家家的游戏，现实的童话故事，我们不是经常会听到王子公主与平民结婚的爱情故事吗？
在德国时曾听过有关柏林墙的故事。冷战时柏林被一道墙隔成东西两半，东边的人羡慕西边的自由世界，便想方设法偷跃柏林墙。一个工程师每天在家里的密室偷偷工作，十年后终于制成了一艘能够容纳全家三口的微型潜水艇，趁著夜深人静由一条流到西边的河顺利越境。还有一个工程师也是偷偷摸摸做了一个热气球，带领全家公然越境，等到东边的士兵发现，开枪射击，气球已飘到了西边。这个故事除了说明德国工程师优秀外，是不是也有一点童心在里面呢？
我一直以为童话会激发幻想和探索精神，欧洲有这么多的童话故事，和喜欢童话的人民，难怪会有看了荷马史诗<<伊利亚特>>去寻找特洛伊城的人，会有看了圣经去寻找诺亚方舟的人；也难怪会产生理想国，乌托邦，共产主义的理论，难怪会有探索地球，月球，火星的动力，以及我们东方一直奋起直追的科技。中国的童话象童谣一样稀少，直到近代才有叶圣陶，张天翼等作家开始重视，难怪记忆里的都是西方的人物，童心从小就受到礼教的束缚，哪里还有想象的空间呢？
埃及游记
8月16日_18日 开罗
我们于周五下午乘飞机从慕尼黑到开罗，大约5小时，到开罗机场时已经是晚上11点了。开罗国际机场不大，一个出关大厅挤满了人，没想到晚上还有那么多班次。另一个没想到就是刚下飞机就遇到了麻烦。我们中国人必须在旅行前申请埃及签证，花费30欧元；而德国人只要在开罗机场花5欧元就办好落地签证。本以为我们已经有了签证，可以很快入关，但刚交了护照，就被拦住，要我们等候查证。等到同机的德国人都已经进去了，我们还在外面等。我们又找到旅游公司的导游帮我们催，一个小时后，我们终于拿到护照过关了。机场里等候查证的都是阿拉伯人，很奇怪埃及人对自家人倒象敌人一样对待。我在欧洲还没体会到中国护照的麻烦， 没想到在埃及体会到了。出了机场，上了旅游公司的大巴，很快到了下榻旅馆Pyramids，已经是凌晨2点了。埃及的五星级跟中国的四星级差不多，外观不是很豪华，室内装饰也很简单，不过房间很大，我们两个人住的房间有3间卧室5张床，后来得知埃及富人一般有四，五个妻子，所以有那么多室。
第二天上午吃过早饭后随团到国家博物馆参观，这里收藏了很多埃及法老的木棺，石棺，雕像，陪葬品等。最有价值的是3000多年前一个法老Tutankhamun的木乃仪棺罩和金面具，精雕细刻，一点不比现代工艺品差。虽然是国家博物馆，一点保护措施都没有，跟欧洲的博物馆真是天壤之别，室内没有空调，窗子四敞大开，好在藏品多是石头，不好搬动。回到旅馆，吃过中饭后，下午到埃及郊外的Mohammed Ali清真寺参观。这里的清真寺跟中国的不太一样，有穹顶，有尖塔，外观宏伟，内部装饰华丽，有壁画和吊灯，主要是一间大厅和一个庭院，进入必须脱鞋。埃及是穆斯林国家，宗教信仰很厉害。每天有五次礼拜时间，在居住区都有高音喇叭播放朝拜诵经的音乐，一路上我们听到不少。晚上是自由活动，我们到开罗的闹市区转。开罗是非洲最大的城市，人口1600万，我们的酒店在市中心尼罗河边，高楼大厦，立交桥，霓虹灯，车水马龙，跟北京真是很象。就连新建的地铁都是那么象，不过收费是自动机，不需要人检票。在地铁里，我们还学到了一点风俗。当我们无意中进入最后一节车厢后，一个女学生用英语告诉我们男人不可以坐这节车厢，我们这才注意到整个车厢都是头裹纱巾的伊斯兰妇女，只有我们两个男的，周围的人还很友好，只是看着我们笑，我们只好在下一站换到别的车厢。我们在附近的银行换了点埃及镑，就到附近的集市转。好象这里外国人不多，我们走到那里都很引人注目。这里的市场跟中国的也很象，可以讨价还价，他一般要很高的价，我们根据当地的收入和导游的介绍大概知道真实价钱。埃及没什么工业，作生意是他们的祖传强项，但对我们这样只问价不买货的游客也没什么办法。在一家路边的小饭馆坐下，我们要了羊汤，阿拉伯烧饼，和一些熟肉，这里本没有羊汤，但老板随机应变切点羊头肉放水里煮一下，结果味道当然不会好，不过熟肉就烧饼还很好吃。埃及的另一特色是烟馆，当然不是大烟，尽管会有人抽。我们尝试的是水烟，烟馆前坐了几排人，每人前面都摆了一只烟枪，悠闲地吞云吐雾。我试了一袋烟，大概半小时，只是吸烟的感觉。烟馆的伙计对我们带的数码相机很感兴趣，求我们给拍照，价钱自然打了折扣。天已经黑了，我们不敢逗留，便赶回旅馆了。
次日吃过早饭，便随团到开罗附近的Giza金字塔, Memphis博物馆和阶梯金字塔参观。Giza金字塔是最有名的几座，建于大约5000年前，是埃及法老的坟墓。到了跟前才感到这建筑的宏大，最大的一座137米高，每边223米，由约2200亿块巨石建成，每块2.5盹。顺著盗墓人或考古学者发现的墓道，我进入塔内的一个墓室，大概50平方米，2米多高，中间摆著一个石棺，里面什么都没有，或者法老埋在别的地方，或者木乃仪和陪葬品已经被盗墓贼盗光了。在里面呆长了只有窒息的感觉，只想赶快出去。从里面看巨石都很完整，不象外面的石头已经被破坏。从远处看金字塔近在咫尺，但开车好长时间才到跟前，就象山一样。金字塔外有一个小集市，卖旅游纪念品。另有很多小贩象苍蝇一样追者游客走，只要你一答话，他就把货放在你手上，直到你买为止。所以遇到几次之后，我们都躲者他们走。但祖文还是买了一个阿拉伯头巾，用以遮阳。著名的Sphinx狮身人面像就在这几座金字塔前面，吸引了大量游客拍照。
离开金字塔，我们乘车到孟菲斯，古埃及的首都，一路上田园风光，成片的棕榈树，破旧的房舍，似乎还停留在几千年前……孟菲斯博物馆里只有两件宝贝，一件是法老RamsesII的巨身雕塑，一件是雪花石膏制的小型Sphinx。有趣的是就这么简陋的博物馆也配置了好多荷枪实弹的卫兵，也许是给外国游客以安全感，因为以前曾发生游击队屠杀游客事件。我们两个正在院子里转，一个老兵招手教我们过去，给我们指点一个雕像，这是什么，那是什么，然后问我们要纪念品或钱。这是在每个旅游点都很普遍的现像。我们当然什么也没给他，因为我们也没钱。谈话中我们了解到他的月收入是800埃及镑，折合1500元人民币，而埃及的平均收入大约500埃及镑，折合1000元人民币。阶梯金字塔要比Giza金字塔早几百年，因为它是一层层累起来，上层都比下层小一圈，所以看起来象阶梯。我们只在附近参观了几座古墓和附带的庙宇建筑。下午气温有40多度，我脱鞋赤脚在沙子上走了几步就受不了了，大概有60度。从孟菲斯回到开罗机场，我们准备飞到Luxor，开始尼罗河之旅。
8月19日_25日， 尼罗河
飞机快到Luxor时，我看到了银带似的尼罗河蜿蜒在黄色的沙漠中，只有河周围的一条是绿色的。Luxor是古代上埃及的首都，又名底比斯，位于尼罗河的中游。因为尼罗河起源于坦桑尼亚境内，流经埃及，在开罗附近入地中海，而从Luxor到Aswan这一段逆流而上是最好看的，就象长江三峡，所以为尼罗河游的经典路线，沿岸有许多名胜古迹。晚上8点多，我们到了Luxor，很快导游带我们上了游船。河岸边停满了游船，我们需穿过一艘靠边的船才到达我们的TutanII号。这是一艘五星级游船，有5层，最上层是餐厅和酒吧，船顶是阳伞，游泳池和一些健身设施。我们住在最底层，是最便宜的房间，不过房间内的装饰都很精致，感觉比开罗的旅馆要好。船上的三餐也很丰盛，有汤，炒米饭，牛羊鱼鸡肉，蔬菜色拉及饭后的水果甜点等，都是自助形式。因为奔波了一天，吃过晚饭后，问了次日的日程安排，我们就早早入睡了。第二天一早吃过早饭，我们登上东岸参观Luxor的一个神庙，Karnark神庙。埃及有很多神庙，通常都有类似的模式，两排狮身人面像构成的甬道(象中国的神道)通向大门，大门前两座象征日光的方尖碑，和其他一系列雕像，如神的雕像或法老的雕像。大门位于两面称作Pylons的楔形墙之间，墙上是诸神的雕像和历史浮雕，叙述着古老的故事。入门后经过巨大圆石柱排布的庭院和多柱的大厅，里面还有放置圣船和存有神像的房间。karnark神庙是供奉Amun神的，经由多个法老的扩建，是规模最大的一座神庙。庭院里有134根巨柱，石柱高20-30米，走在巨柱之间，你能感受到法老的力量，这种建筑只能在西方找到，象罗马的斗兽场，希腊的神庙。导游在讲一些典故，我们听不懂，只好自己转，碰到讲英语的旅行团就跟者听一会儿，因
为我已经从书上学到不少，觉得他们讲的也没什么新花样，索性就四处走了。刚好我们的德国朋友OTTO也不满意导游罗哩罗嗦的讲解，正在四处搜寻。我跟者他被两个看门人领进一处对游人关闭的院落，他们指示墙后巨大的雕塑给我们看，这是什么神，那是什么神，老OTTO对法老RamasisII的雕像很感兴趣，盯者看了半天，然后说，这是我最喜欢的法老，之后很慷慨地付了小费。OTTO是德国巴伐利亚人，60岁，很喜欢聊天，等到旅游结束他已经掌握了每个人的信息，因为他总跟我们在一起，我们也就知道了谁从那个城市来，干什么工作之类的事。他是典型的保守德国人，有强烈的好战和排外心理，喜欢RamasisII这样的法老，因为RamasisII是象希特勒一样的好战国王。不过他对我们还很客气，戏称我们的组合是中德俱乐部。出了Karnark神庙，我们到一家纸草纸工艺品商店参观。纸草纸是古埃及发明的用纸草做成的，比中国的纸要早3000年。其实工艺很简单，先把纸草(Papyrus)削成条用水泡软，然后把每条草砸薄，再象织布一样经纬编织好，最后经压实，干燥即可应用。现在埃及人只用它作画纸，成为一种旅游纪念品。我买了一小张绘有古代故事的草纸留作纪念。回到船上已是中午，吃饭时，船离岸启程，驶向下一个城市Edfu。船顶上已经坐满了人，或躲在阳伞下，或躺在烈日下的躺椅上爆晒，白人大概嫌皮肤太白了，走到哪里都喜欢晒太阳，即使会诱发皮肤癌。我们找张阴凉处的桌子坐下，吹者风，欣赏者尼罗河两岸的风光。这是我第3次乘船长途旅行，第一次是游漓江，看两岸奇形怪状的石头和联绵不断的凤尾竹，联想出美丽动人的东方故事；第二次是游挪威的峡湾，看蓝天碧海，高山飞瀑和山顶上的积雪流云，想象的是北欧的海盗传说；现在在尼罗河上能看什么想什么呢？宽宽的蓝蓝的静静的河水蜿蜒而上，船已走出城镇，两岸是成片的棕榈树，远处是无边的沙漠，蓝天烈日下，我只有洗桑拿的感觉。趁者兴奋，赶快拿出明信片写了起来，末了用刚学到的象形文字签了名，感觉很有趣。祖文喜欢聊天，他就陪OTTO和另一对夫妇聊。OTTO是一家大
银行的高级职员，家庭富有，自吹家族中有多个将军，一位还是第一次世界大战德军西线总司令。旅游期间，其母亲去世，起初曾犹豫了一阵，但最终还是没有回去；他担心的是家中的遗产继承，据他讲他家在慕尼黑有十几套房产。这对夫妇是一黑一白，男的是黑人，叫Muller, 60岁，在德国Duseldoff经营一家旅游品商店，生在巴西，长在巴黎，定居德国，会讲英，法，德，葡萄牙和阿拉伯等多种语言，尽管都不是很好，自吹善于踢足球，曾做过足球教练，是个很幽默厚道的人；女的叫Helga，42岁，幼儿园老师，也很和善。OTTO和Muller两个老头一路上给我们增添了不少乐趣。船在慢慢行驶，我开始翻看关于埃及的两本书，Discovering Egypt和Magic of Egypt……晚上10点，船到Edfu，码头上灯火通明，人头攒动，最热闹处是路边的一个舞台上载歌载舞的人群，起初我以为是地方戏表演；下船到跟前一看才知道是一个婚礼。舞台上，新娘新郎坐在最高处的椅子上，被欢舞的人群围在中间；舞台下，更多的人坐者观看，就象剧场一样。我正站在院外往里看，沉浸在这热闹的场面里，几个参加表演的小女孩向我招手，指者我手中的相机，示意我给她们拍照，我于是拍了一张，不料有更多的小孩要拍，我就招手叫他们出来，他们却象小鸟一样，战战兢兢不敢接近我，最后还是在一位老人帮助下，我们合拍了一张有距离的合影。
第二天上午，导游安排我们乘四轮马车到附近的Edfu神庙参观。Edfu神庙是保存很完整的一座较大的神庙，是祭祀鹰神Horus的，建筑风格与其它神庙基本没什么差别。出了神庙，是一个很热闹的集市，主要是服装，纺织品，阿拉伯式的男女长袍五颜六色最是引人注目。我想选一个桌布，几个店主都说便宜，但就是不说价钱，一定要我到店里面看货。终于一个小伙子给价了，20欧元，我还了3欧元，他说15，10，我说5欧元，‘6’，我已经上了马车，最后还是以5欧元卖给了我。这个价钱跟中国差不多，我想他虽然没赚我很多，但也是盈利了。下午船继续前行，到Kom Ombo又参观了一座小的神庙，是供奉鳄鱼神Sobec和鹰神Horus的。天气非常热，我看着墙上美丽的浮雕，想象几千年前的人们正站在这干什么呢，雕刻工匠在说些什么，是不是抱怨法老或指挥建筑神庙的工头，天这么热，一点水都不给……
晚上船到了Aswan，Aswan是尼罗河上游的重要城市，因为Aswan水库就建在这里，这里先后建了两个大坝，人口20万，是埃及的工业，商业和旅游中心。晚饭后，当地的Nubia土著人到船上来表演音乐舞蹈，这里有三种乐器比较普遍，一种是手鼓，一种是阿拉伯琵琶，一种是二胡，跟中国的二胡很象。后来我买了两个小的手鼓作纪念。阿拉伯音乐节奏感强，欢快活泼，所以很适于跳舞，不过这个跳舞的土著穿草裙，戴头饰，赤脚花脸，表演很滑稽，后来更是拉起一帮观众教他们讲土话，笑话百出。Party之后，我和Muller下了船，上了岸，不料这里也有婚礼进行，比昨晚的规模还要大，舞台也比较新，观众有几百人，还有歌星助唱。听者音乐，我们两个起了兴，也加入到他们舞蹈的行列中……
又是一天早晨，尼罗河在太阳下闪闪发亮，象飘逸的银带，东岸的棕榈树在逆光里更见婀娜，船顶的温度已经很高，极目远望是黄色的沙山。城里传出诵经的音乐声，潆绕在尼罗河上……这一天在Aswan活动，先到附近的一个小岛上参观一座神庙，然后游览Aswan水库大坝，植物园，最后是游览市区。Isis神庙本来位于Philae岛上，但由于水库的修建要淹没它，在联合国教科文组织的帮助下，被解构后移到附近的Agilkia岛上又重建起来。我们坐上小船驶向小岛，很快便看到黄色石柱，古庙的断壁残洹在朝阳下生辉，在蓝色的湖水映衬下更显得神奇虚幻。这个神庙是埃及王朝晚期的作品，有一些希腊建筑的特色，其它与诸神庙大同小异。Aswan大坝建于1960-1971年，底宽970米，顶宽40米，高111米，长3830米，除了提供灌溉用水之外，还提供电力。在建坝之前，尼罗河水每年都有涨水期和旱水期，涨水期水淹后的河岸土质肥厚，适合耕种，孕育了几千年的古埃及文化，但旱涝全靠老天决定；建水库后，灌溉得到控制，又有电力供应，自然利国利民，但也破坏了旧的生态，象鳄鱼在以前可以在下游见到，现在到水库都很难见到。我在集市上只看到一条小鳄鱼，只有手掌大小。植物园在另一个小岛上，我们乘上当地的叫feluccas的小帆船漂向这个桃花园般的小岛。植物园里是各色热带植物，棕榈树当然是最主要的一种，其中一种白色光滑树干的棕榈树是这里的特产。檀香木也是这里的特产，还有好多香料。离开植物园是城市观光，旅游公司的大客车载我们在市区周围转，印象最深的是这里的建筑，3，4层高的楼，跟国内的住宅楼差不多，只是上面不封顶，导游说是这里的习俗。墙基本不粉刷，露者红砖水泥的本色。接著导游领我们转农贸市场，好象回到
了中国一样，蔬菜水果香料摊挤满了狭窄的街道，商店饭店邻次桎比，道路坑坑洼洼，苍蝇飞虫到处都是，这车水马龙的景象在欧洲是找不到了。祖文又在这里买了一件阿拉伯长袍。导游在这里很熟，跟每个商人几乎都认识，我们怀疑她帮我们还的价钱太高了。最后大家一起到中心车站附近的一个茶馆喝茶，薄荷泡的茶，很清凉。22日是最辛苦的一天，早晨3点起床，我们要到Aswan280公里以南的Abu Simbel参观埃及最富盛名的雕塑群，因为水库的兴建，这组雕塑也被搬迁到高处，据说花了6年时间。因为安全问题，所有旅游车都集中到一起，由当地的军警武装护送，除了前后有警车外，每辆车上都有一个士兵持枪护驶，不过我们早听说有这事，也没什么紧张感，一上车就昏昏欲睡了。蒙胧中被旁边的人惊醒，睁眼一看已经天亮了，向车窗外望去，一望无边的沙漠，一轮红日正在大漠边际升起，想起王维的‘大漠孤烟直，长河落日圆’，感觉有相似的意境……Abu Simbel真是旅游圣地，大客车有20几辆，组成颇为壮观的车队。这里的主要名胜就是法老RamsesII的巨身雕像，雕像是凿山而成，象中国四川的乐山大佛。四个坐像立在庙门前，有20米高，代表不同年龄的法老，庙内是好多黑洞洞的小室，墙上绘满了壁画，讲的都是法老和神的故事。因为没有休息好，我感觉头很昏，天气又热，所有的感想都消失在沙漠中了。回到船上睡了一下午，这时船已经从Aswan回航了。黄昏时的尼罗河也是一样的美，天色已经微黑，红彤彤的落日已不刺眼，深黑的河水闪者金光，远处的沙漠和棕榈林也被浸染得金黄，附近的城镇里又传出诵经的音乐，一切都沉寂下来，只有水面上几只朱鹭在飞来飞去……晚上船停在Isna，我们又上岸转了一圈。Isna是个小镇，只有一个小神庙可以看。但在路上我们又看到了参加婚礼的车队，这里一年到头好象都是良辰吉日，有结不完的婚。23日上午参观了Isna的Khnum神庙后，船继续回行，中午就到了Luxor。下午我们又参观了最后一座神庙Luxor神庙，就是来的时候参观的karnark神庙的邻居，自然没有太大的差异。晚上是旅游团的尼罗河游告别晚会，有当地的舞蹈演员到船上表演肚皮舞，和船长组织的一些娱乐游戏。其中有一个游戏是制作木乃仪，两个人一组，一个人用卫生纸把另一个人一圈圈缠起来，看谁最先完成，这个特色节目给我的印象最深。还有个游戏象中国的击鼓传花，只不过鼓变成音乐，花变成水瓶，音乐一停，拿水瓶的人就要出局；再就是导游念一个数字，参加者马上按数字组合，剩下的人则被淘汰出局。我虽然听得懂数字，但反映还是慢，侥幸过了几关，却在传瓶中出局了。另外我还参预了肚皮舞表演，当然是闹著玩了。晚会后又跟Muller到岸上转，Luxor的码头很长，游船排满了岸边有2公里。已经是子夜，街上还是人来人
往，我们到一个旅游品市场转，看到了一种用不同颜色的沙子在玻璃瓶里作的画，只要几分钟，你会看到骆驼，棕榈树，太阳等沙漠风光被装在小瓶子里了，真是很神奇。24日参观尼罗河西岸的国王谷，因为埃及王朝晚期的法老改了金字塔的传统，大部份都葬在Luxor的山谷里，不过同样也被盗光了。只有Tutankhamun一个墓是没人光顾的，在20世纪初被欧洲的考古学家发掘，不过票价也是最贵。虽然他的木乃仪还在里面，但罩者棺盖也看不到什么，所以我就没进去。看了3个墓穴，结构大同小异，一条墓道通到里面的墓室，墙上绘满了象征复活的壁画，墓室里有的会看到石棺。
在尼罗河的最后一夜，OTTO邀请我和祖文到Luxor市中心乘马车观光。除了繁华的大街还有寂静的小巷，多是忙者赚游人钱的小贩，也有悠闲地喝茶散步的居民。我坐在马车上也只有看西洋景的感觉，不过是很有诗意的……圆圆的月亮挂在半空中，尼罗河在夜色里闪者鳞鳞银光，微风吹散了白天的酷暑，我们坐在船顶的椅子上喝酒，谈论者导游，和下周到红海海滩的计划。‘美丽的尼罗河，永远的记忆’是我用英文在贴有合影的纪念册上留的言。是的，实在很难写下所有的观感，只有将来在记忆中追寻这美好的时刻了……
8月25-29日 Hurghada 红海渡假村
这一周对我是漫长的一周，虽然每天有美味佳肴，有阳光海滩，有海岛潜水，可我总是闲不下来，休息对我是一种折磨，我开始担心我的试验了。每天天气40度，我即使躲在遮阳伞下，也很快变成埃及人的颜色了。潜水是这里印象最深的活动。说是潜水，实际上就是浮在水面上，戴者一种简单的潜水镜，有通气管通到水面上，脚上穿着脚蹼，不过在珊瑚岛周围，即使浅水也能看到好多漂亮的鱼类。我不会游泳，只好借了件救生衣，尽管有脚蹼就不会沉下去。开始刚下水很紧张，水往嘴里灌，后来在Helga的帮助下渐渐适应了，开始观赏五颜六色的鱼群，象鱼一样在水里自由自在游的感觉真是说不出的舒服。晚上这里有一些娱乐表演，象儿童迪斯科每晚都有，还有很象中国的小品的表演，主要是英语，德语，讲话不多，很容易懂；最后一晚，是游客表演的阿拉伯故事1001夜，没有具体内容，就是跑笼套。不过道具都很好，艳丽的服装，真的火把，马和骆驼等。说道骆驼，我在埃及金字塔附近只骑了30妙钟，拍了张照片而已。
8月30日 Hurghada_开罗_慕尼黑
这是最艰苦的一天，我们体会到‘埃及时间’的概念。早晨3点起床，乘车到Hurghada机场，7点上飞机，8点到开罗。在开罗机场办理托运行李花了近1小时，本来8点半的飞机，后来改时间到10点半；等到10点半，原来一个航班又分成两个，改为11点半到Duseldoff和12点半慕尼黑，我们中途又被送到附近的饭店休息。最后飞机终于起飞了，晚上5点安全到达慕尼黑，所幸我们的行李没有被带到Duseldoff。这是阿拉伯文化呢还是古埃及文化的遗留呢？古老的埃及文化是我这次旅行最喜欢的部分，法老，金字塔，神庙和尼罗河都强烈地吸引了我；同时也了解到现代埃及人的生活。这短暂的旅行，神奇的故事，和活泼的阿拉伯音乐都渐渐远去，也许有一天，我会寻者记忆再回到这神奇的土地……
Dec 22 2004, Munich to Versailles
It was a bright morning, with little cloud, foggy sun, not very cold. We began our trip on about 10 o’clock. Marilyn and Cedric drove the car, which was a comfortable volkswagan with enough space for a family. I sat behind quietly, sleeping with the music, enjoying the outside scenery; they didn’t talk so much and neither to invoke me to talk….It just snowed last week, and the fields were still covered, the trees in the woods also wore white clothes, so it’s a little monotonous, except that some deer and cows appeared sometimes, followed by hunters with rifles…The traffic in German highways are crowded, we were blocked for a moment perhaps because of some accident, we could see lots of heavy trucks passing by…but 4 hours later, once we were in France part, where there was a fortress with no sign of entering France, Marilyn said’ Welcome to France!’, the traffic was light, seemed few French worked today. The crop fields were replaced by vineyard, and no sign of snow, lots of high trees like poplar or elm were full of bird nests, like Christmas tree with presents, the style of buildings were also changed, with more angles and slopes on the roof…we were really in France. The weather became worse, cloudy and windy with snow flacks, and after we stopped for a snack, they found the back window cleaner of the car didn’t work well, Cedric called the rent company and knew it was short of oil. So we stopped again and bought the oil, when Cedric open the oil tank, the lid happened to slid under the engines… a little mistake made us in the mess for the next 2 hours… after failing with trying several ways to find the lid out, Cedric called the dreg-car company to help solve the problem, which cost 200 Euros. Finally, we were on the way again, another 3 hours past, I was waked up by the strong city street lights, I knew it was already in edge of Paris, after 10 minutes, we arrived at Versailles, a quiet, clean town with elegant buildings around, decorated with colourful lights, especially the Chateau de Versailles was fascinating…after helping me to find the hotel, Marilyn and Cedric said goodbye to me and went home. I went out to find a French restaurant, it was not bad and the creepes tasted good, especially with egg and cheese…
Dec 23 2004, Versailles
It is a great castle! Chateau de Versailles was in front of me! A huge block of buildings of Baroque style stand in the stone courtyard, with black roof, red wall separated by white windows and stone columns, with golden decorations on the second-floor balconies. The cloudy weather made it sober and mysterious. The palaces were once where Louis XIV, the sun king, lived in 17th century. Entered the building, the dark light, hundreds of years of smell came to face, then room after room, leading into the private life of the royal family… The building has tall ceilings, and the main colours are red and golden, with paintings, sculptures in every room, artefacts of different materials from different countries. Like emperors of every country, the French kings also had great amount of collections, and the beauties of the time still send out fragrance from the portraits, the bloody court struggles mixed with warm romances, telling similar human history…The hall of mirrors is the most attractive room, with 17 grandiose mirrors sitting on one side of the wall, facing the 17 windows on the other side, reflecting the gardens outside of the building, it was a ball room for royal celebrations, and the Versailles treaty of 1918 was signed here, which ended world war I. With chandeliers hanging above, the phantoms may still float in the hall at night, discussing contemporary politics… Another important part of the buildings is the French parliament amphitheatre, now still in use and also a museum showing the history of 1789 French revolution, when democracy and freedom originated, when the bloody guillotines invented and the poor Kings and queens beheaded… Out of the building is a big garden, with fountains, sculptures, trees and grasses. The short trees and grasses are made into labyrinth, leading into different directions…The central squire of Versailles is crowded with traffic, carriages for tourists waiting on the sideway, and there is a Christmas market selling beautiful stuffs for the coming festival. Looked around, the quiet town is already decorated with Santa Cruz, lights on the buildings and trees…I then took a train to Paris.
After settled down in the hotel, I walked to the tower, which could be seen in every direction, and cannot be lost. The buildings are old and not so high, streets are loaded with heavy traffic, fruit shops and bars make rich colours; the tower looked just in front and was quietly staring at me through the tree branches in the dusk sky. It became taller and taller until I walked to its foot. I joined the crowd of climbing by scales. Light is on, more attractive, like a beauty standing in the night of Paris, seducing all the citizens…when I was on the 3rd floor, the night view of the city was in my eyes, fantastic dreams come with cold winds, Arc de Triomphe and Seine river and many other monuments are shinned by man-made lights, smaller and delicate, like in the candy store, red, yellow, blue, green, violet…
Dec 24 2004, Musée du Louvre
It’s another cloudy day, I got off the metro in concord station and walked to Musée du Louvre along the Seine river. It’s a wide river flowing through the city, with monument buildings on both sides, many bridges crossing. I walked on the sidewalk of the river in the not at all cold winter morning, the willow branches by the water were even green; very few people, some joggers passed sometimes, the city was not waked up yet, the quietness and calmness make you imagine hundreds years of stories about the river and the city…
The Louvre just locates on the bank of the river, a similar building like Chateau de Versailles, was originally a fortress, then palace for Louis XIV and later made into museum. It’s said that they have 300000 articles of collections, mainly western treasures. These are housed in the three wings of the museum: Sully, Denon and Richelieu. The famous glass Pyramid is in the middle of the three wings, through which I get into the Hall Napoléon beneath the Pyramid, the entrance to the Louvre.
My friend has told me that you can never finish visiting all in one day, also they never show every collection in the same time, so I selected to see the most popular one first and then stayed more in sculptures. I have passed the age of sopping knowledge, but still the amazing collections made me excited, walking through one room to another, running in each of the wings and all 3 stories, experiencing thousands years of human history and art… In the paintings, the most famous is of course The Joconde (Mona Lisa ) by Leonardo da Vinci, it is a small portrait hanging on the wall quietly, surrounded by dozens of people, challenging contemporary brains; maybe she is laughing at us for the stupidity of trying to figure out a simple drawing of 16th century; I cannot feel any beauty though, only feel it has become a Mecca and worship. Venus de Milo from Greece of 100 BC. is another idol, also crowed with people, disrupt all the imaginations… there is also a room for Napoléon, showing all the crowns, jewelleries, gowns, and paintings belong to this great French Emperor, who is still a idol of many people today. The sculptures part were relatively quiet, and the marbles and postures made a sublime atmosphere, happy, love, pain, sad…still flow out from the stagnant expressions and postures, telling the stories of thousands of years ago…
The Arc de Triomphe is like a sun, with 12 avenues radiated out. The Champs Elysees is the most beautiful one, especially spectacular at night, when floodlights connect the Arc de Triomphe and Place de la Concorde. The avenue was crowded with tourists and traffics. I walked within the crowds and absorbed the romantic emotions evaporated from different peoples…hotels, cinemas, brasseries, fashion shops, all show their beauty with Christmas decorations through big glass windows; even the red cars were shown in the windows like women fashions, sexy and attractive…At the end of Champs Elysees is Place de la Concorde, the largest squire in Paris. In the centre is the Obelisk of Luxor given by Egypt. The obelisk (22.83 meters, 230 tons) was a symbol of God in Luxor temple about 4000 years ago. During revolution, the guillotine was centred here when Louis XVI, Marie-Antoinette, Danton, Robespierre, and 2800 others were executed. With the night light trebling in the wind, I can even smell the blood 200 years ago…
Dec 25 2004, Cruise on Seine
It was Christmas Day, all museums were closed, so I decided to take a cruise tour on the Seine. The round trip stars at Pont d’léna at the foot of Tour Eiffel, from west to east in about 1 hour. The morning sunlight broke the clouds, shinning the river, bridge, bank and the tower and buildings, also made me cosy in the chair of the boat. It was such a fresh day after several days of cloudy weather that I recovered from the tiredness of travels. The Seine separates the city into north and south parts, with palaces, hotels, museums, monuments standing along the bank, and crossed by many old and beautiful bridges. The boat moved slowly, cutting the quiet river in halves, the waves vibrated far away with jumping sunshine, the grand buildings passed behind together with their Narcicis couples, leaving colourful bands floated all the way…Tour Eiffel, Grand Palais, Invalides, Musée du Louvre, Musée d’Orsay, Notre Dame… the Alexandre III bridge was finished in 1900 during the Paris world exhibition, with lavish decorations of sculptures and lampposts in black green on the white bridge body, and gilded statues on high granite pillars at each end of the bridge, which makes it a splendid monument crossing the river. When the boat closed to the Cité island, I saw the famous Notre Dame, the 13 century cathedral popularized by the 19th century novel "Notre-Dame de Paris" by Victor Hugo. It’s a beautiful Gothic architecture, with two symmetrical bell towers and big stain-glass windows, elegant flower decorations on the wall, and it became more temperate under the mild sunshine…the bells clicked ding-dung, staying in the air for a long time, which reminded me the story of Esmeralda and Quasimodo in Middle Ages Paris… near Notre Dame is the oldest bridge in Paris, Pont Neuf, finished in 1607, is much more simpler compared to the exuberant Alexander III, but very sturdy, said to be the only bridge in Paris that had withstood every flood by Seine. After turning around Cité island, the boat began its way back. The clouds above changed not only shapes but also colours in every moment, which made the Seine more beautiful and attractive; that could be the reason for the prosperous of Impressionism in late 19th century. The painters wanted to catch the unstable, impaintable objectives, the moving waves, changing clouds, rustling leaves, walking pedestrians, at the end, it had to be subjective and like unfinished work, full of vibrating colour sensations, giving a blurred, informal beauty, which still attract many people today. Many painters, writers, musicians, composers move to work here, trying to make their name and fortune; some are successful, most disappeared among the buildings and streets…but for everyone, Paris is an impressive, amazing city full of treasures; just like what Ernest Hemingway said in his ‘A movable feast’: "If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young man, then wherever you go for the rest of your life, it stays with you, for Paris is a Moveable Feast".
From travel diary in 2000
整天都是阴沉沉的，只是偶尔露出些阳光。晚上9：00，在Bodo登上南下的火车。挪威的铁路线与公路线交织在一起，主要沿海湾行进，所以风光要比瑞典丰富多了。左边是森林，山峰，积雪；右边是海湾，岛屿，海鸥……火车的速度很快，不时有压胀的感觉。又看见瀑布，大概200多米，细细的象一条白纱巾，荡下山来；各色的小木屋点缀在绿色的草地上；山顶终年的积雪在乌云的衬托下格外显眼；隐约的一点晚霞在幕天上散锦，湖水平静得象一面镜子。又一条瀑布丫字形象麻绳一样蜿蜒而下，汇入湖中。森林布满了峻峭的高山，火车穿过山洞，桥梁；漫山遍野的绿象一块块翡翠；云雾在山巅游弋，徒然生出一股仙气。峡谷中一条玉带蜿蜒如白蛇，半山腰一抹云象额头的白眉，远山积雪与云雾堆在一处……Breath taking，真正的造化钟神秀。
Bergen的早晨笼罩在云雾中，石块铺的小路显得古老，清静；街道两边的老式建筑多为店铺，还没有开张。山峰罩在雾气中，近在身边，山坡上一片片房屋嵌在绿树从中。我嗅到了文化的气息，顿时爱上了这个小城，可谓一见钟情。刚好赶上早上第一班游船，7：30， 随着一声长鸣，船驶离码头。城镇渐渐远去， 山岩在两岸漂移。天阴沉沉的， 我后悔选错了行程，以致看不清晴日下的峡湾。峡湾(fiord)这个词我是到Bergen才知道的，是海水倒流入陆地所形成， 因为窄，所以称峡。如果不是在Bergen，会以为这是在游江。“两岸青山相对出”，孤船一只雾里来。这里的海岸奇在高山林立，山顶积雪不化，瀑布“飞流直下三千尺”，云在山腰如玉带，随风飘舞。江山如画，绝美在斯！山势变化多端，陡峭处壁立千仞，缓和处绿树成林，间或有翠绿的草地，牛羊悠闲地吃着草，草地的尽头是几处红色的小木屋，典型的欧洲乡村风光。船越往里行，风光越是好看。11：00 ， 船停靠在一处瀑布旁，给游客欣赏拍照。这处山高大概300米，瀑布较一般的要宽，象一匹白布，左飘右移，贯入海中，阻碍处激起巨大的水花。中午时，云雾散去，太阳露出笑脸，船尾的观光处挤满了人，人们争相摄取自然的神奇，我已经拍掉了一卷。船到Flam，要换火车回Bergen，在此停了一个小时，游客挤在旅游品商店里东挑西选……乘上火车回程到Myrdal一段更是叹为观止。火车行使在高山低谷里，瀑布随处可见，山势挺拔险峻，峰回路转，忽地停在一处，待下车一看，瞠目结舌，两百多米长，一百多米宽的瀑布奔腾而下，象脱缰的野马，激起万朵浪花，发出雷霆之声，水气荡到十几米开外；此时，悠扬的音乐响起，瀑布山腰处闪出一红袍长发女郎，似在梦中仙境……
From a letter in 2003
I just came back from Italy last weekend, and it’s an adventure in the beginning and relaxation at the end. I took a night train from Munich to Florence, and in the morning, took a bus from Florence to Siena, a small town near Florence, I wanted to go to another town San Gimigiano also near Florence, but had to change on the way, when I forgot my bag on the bus, and all my cash, credit card, camera were in this bag. I found it just when the bus left and I was so calm that I didn’t even run to catch the bus, still sleeping? Then I found a nice lady in the gas station nearby, who helped me to contact the bus company and the driver. But they said they didn’t find my bag. I then took another bus to Siena and asked again in the bus company, no results. Now, I was hungry and stressed, with only some coins left in my pocket. I wanted to make a call to Germany, so I found the police station, where I reported the lose first, they helped me to block the credit card, but they didn’t let me to make international call. It took me half a day to find the police speaking English, and wait to finish the report and record. Now, what I could do is to get to my hotel in San Gimigiano, and contact my friends in Germany. Fortunately, I didn’t lose my passport and still had some coins for the bus ticket to San Gimigiano. I made the reservation for the hotel on internet before the travel, and when I arrived did I realize it was still 5 km away from the town without any bus connection. First I asked help from the police, but refused, then I called a taxi to the hotel, asked the hotel to pay the driver first. At last, I contacted my friend, and he promised to send me emergency cash by a Western Union service. Then I enjoyed the night with some good red wine. The second morning, I walked to the town to take my money. It’s a beautiful morning, sunny, fresh air, little wind, tempered temperature, I walked among the green Toscana vines and became excited with my journey. The open grape fields elongated with forests and small hills around, delicate old buildings appeared sometimes, a quiet countryside scenery. After getting the money, I began to enjoy my travel. San Gimigiano is a small town with many old church towers and other buildings, along the steep street are many shops mainly for tourists, where I bought a painting reprint from a Canadian painter. Then I walked back to the hotel, paid and left for Venice.
The night when I arrived at the central station is 21:00 already, with a full moon on the black sky, salty smell and humid air around. the entrance of the station faced one of the port on the great canal. Still lots of people walked along the bank, there was an arch bridge on the river and a high dumo (church) on the other side of the shore. I asked a lad who kindly helped me to find the ferry where I would take the water-bus—Vaperetii to my hotel on an island. The boat was very old, but not Gondula, just like the city bus. slowly, it wandered ahead. The lights on both shores made it beautiful, like the "streets in the sky" , the old architecture could be seen in moist. I was not very excited for the tired trip, but waved with the boat on the flowing streets in the floating city, staring at the light far away, dreaming…Finally when I got to my hotel was already 12:00 o’clock. The hotel is besides the beach of the sea, and in front of the balcony, I can see the sea, where I read the ‘ Death in Venice’ by Tomas Mann. The second morning, I became familiar with the surround and walked along the beach with salty wind and mild sunshine, picking up some shells like a child and made some Chinese handwritings on the sands… Then the day I spent to travel in the city, the second time on the canal, and all the palaces along the canal are in different colors, red, yellow, pink, green, blue… like hanging flags with shadows vibrating with the flowing streets. The architechtures are mainly Gothic style, seems thousand years old. The most attractive place is the Piazza San Marc, where are many great palaces and churches, of course tourists; the inside of the church is coated with gold on the top roof, which make it splendid. Others are the barzza everywhere, enducing you to leave all your money…The third day, I went to two of the islands around, the feeling on the boat in the sea is so cool, the seagulls flying, the wind breezing, and inhabits far in sight…I found a slant tower there also. Murano is famous for glasses, and Bruano is famous for weaves. I just bought some souvieners and back to the city. The last day, I enjoyed in the hotel for the swimming pool and sunny beach, relaxed and dark…
From a letter in 2003
Yes, I did travel to Russia, first to Moscow for 3 days, then took Trans-Siberian train for 6 days and at last Vladivostok for 2 days. Generally it’s a happy trip, but with some troubles in the begining and at the end.
I met trouble at the Moscow custom once I get off the plane. I was not allowed to pass untill 1 hour later, and they didn’t tell me the reason. I gussed that I didn’t buy the ticket for leaving Russia. It seems that they couldn’t reach the tel of their super officer and then they let me pass. Moscow is a very large city like Beijing. I lived in a hotel in the city center, just besides the subway station. I visited Red squre, Kremelin Palace, Pushkin’s and Tolstoy’s houses and a royal estate in outskirt. I was impressed by the great subway with 12 routes and very cheap price, it’s so deep that it took 3 mins to go down, might be 300m deep. Also the paintings and decorations of the subway stations are special. SAMSUNG stand everywhere on the high buildings together with Lenin’s statues, the Russian economy seems behind Chinese. The commercial streets are full of painters, drawning sketches for visitors. I also took a cruise trip on the Moskova river which took 2 hours only in one direction, much cheaper than that in Prague. There are many sky-scrape buildings with communist symbols along the river, reminding me of the architechtures in Beijing. I even took a worn-down bus on the way back from a estate to subway, which lost its front cover, and nobody sold or checked tickets; so I took it free without saying a word. The most unconvienient thing is that very few people speak English and I know no Russian besides Da (yes), Nie (No) and Ha La Shao (good), so I always made mistakes in subway when changed between different trains.
The landscape of Siberia is not so exciting as I expected, forests after forests; prairie after prairie, occasionally with some flying eagles, running rivers and small mountains, I even didn’t finish one memery card of my camera. I met a German student in my carriage, with whom I can speak English but he left on the half-way. Most of the time I read books on Siberia, took pictures and got off to buy some local food while the train stopped at each station. Their food are terrible, only cooked with salts; like salty dry fish, potatos, cucumbers, maizes… I also drank some Votka and beer with 2 Italian students one night, but they got off the second day. An old talkative guy accompanied with me all the way to Vladivostok, from the postures and simple sayings, I knew he was a fishman, once been to China as a Soviet soldirer in 1945.
Vladivostok is a small city, and I walked around the city center for three times in 2 days. The buildings there are European styles. The most attractive part is the seaside beach, where I tried some sea food and saw many poor little children with dirty clothes begging around the squres, they were in groups, in expression full of hate. There was a beautiful girl sitting on the bank and selling toys, blowing soap bubbles from a toy gun in her hand, with sweet smiles on her face, I was deeply fascinated, then I remembered that I missed my train to Harbin because I confused the date. My visa was only one day left, and I couldn’t wait the next train. So I took a bus to the border to change another bus to cross Chinese border. On the way, i experienced the poor countryside of Russia, for there were many professional beggars in groups, they even dared to put their hands in your pockets under your notice. Fortunately there are many Chinese here, when I finished my Rubu, I could not find a place to change money in the small town, and have to ask the Chinese friends on the bus, and at last I manage to pass the border at the last day of my VISA expedition; otherwise I will have to spend some days in the Russian police station and have another streesful experience…Then I took another day to go home from Harbin…
The four season in Gothenburg
I live in Gothenburg of Sweden, and the weather here is mostly comfortable. Though the location of the city is near Arctic Circle, the temperature here is always between 25 to -9 centigrade for the gulf warm current of Atlantic Ocean. There are also four seasons here.
Spring usually comes later than other European countries in May, but you could smell it in March or April. And spring lady comes so quick that suddenly you will find the grasses and leaves sprout, the flowers blossom, including rhododendron, which I like the best. There are also some folk festivals related with weather like May Day for celebrating the beginning of spring and midsummer for celebrating with dances and songs like a carnival. And when the summer is over on August, all people here go on streets for drinking beer for another carnival.
Autumn comes quietly till November or even December. The colors are most rich during this season, and the air is clear and fresh. The fallen leaves make the roads softly like masses, and you can see squirrels busy working up and down the trees. The rest is for winter, and there is always pleasures if you like skating, skiing or curling, which are all popular sports here. Also, if there is snow, the whole town is in joy, not only for children.
A dream
I was at hometown during my student period. I lived with my parents. They were talking about something and I was beating the flies on the wall. I heard that my mother even spoke Swedish. I asked how she could do that, and she told me that she spoke everyday when shopping. Then it was in my high school campus, where there was going to be a procession. I was among my classmates, waiting for the beginning. We were talking and laughing at something. I was beginning to identify somebody. Several girls were corresponding with me by Email, and I was suspecting that two or three of them were actually the same person. I was trying to guess from their writings. Then the Swedish boss told me to fetch the dry ice downstairs the next morning, which I was thinking all the way in case of forgetting, suddenly I found the watch was over 9, and I woke up, it was 5 to 9.
My hometown
Ying zhou shao nian yan yuan ye,
hu qiu meng rong lie cheng xia.
lu jiu qian zhong bu zui ren,
hu er shi sui neng qi ma.
That is my hometown described by a poet of Tang dynasty, Gao Shi. But now it is different, hunting is not possible; I can not drink much with red face and don’t know how to harness horses, is it a evolution or regression? Snow is very popular in the north; I can experience it every year. Snow makes you more romantic than in the rain, feeling fresh and excited; also you can pile up snowman or play with snowball if it is heavy enough. Skiing is very interesting and popular sport too, especially in Europe. There is a stanza by Xu, Zhimo; ……If I was a snowflake, flying freely in the sky……. and another stanza by Mao, Zedong,……the mountains danced with silver snakes, the plains galloped with wax elephants……Also the stanza by Cen,Cen of Tang Dynasty; ……spring breeze comes suddenly one night, all the trees bloom with pear blossom…You can imagine as much as you can for the snow.
Life in Sweden
I have traveled to Stockholm, Lund, Kiruna (where I see the midnight sun) in Sweden and Svolvar, Bodo, Lofland island, Bergen and Oslo in Norway last summer. Its diversity of scenery makes it different from that of Sweden. The fiord, high mountains, waterfalls, forests, meadows, animals as well as snow and clouds in the mountain peaks. During this Easter, I had a short trip to Copenhagen, Denmark. Its famous little maiden from Anderson’s fairy tale and so many great architectures made me lost. I also once visited Munich and Gamich last October, and climbed up to one of the Alpine peaks about 2000 meters.
The original people in Laplan district near Arctic Ocean are called Sami, living in the Northern of Sweden, Norway and Finland. I met a tourist guide related with Sami in Kiruna last summer when I traveled around Sweden and Norway. He said his grandmother was Sami. This guy took me to his tourist site__two thatched cottages, where I struggle with the mosquitoes and sleep on the hide of reindeers. The primitive life is definitely not comfortable. Also I read some interesting story from their cartoon book. When a husband and wife was in quarrel, the husband will send the wife to an island and leave her there without food for a period, then when the husband come back, you know what will happen. A girl loved two young men at the same time, and the two men decided to duel for the only marriage, unfortunately both died. The clan head then took the sorrow girl to the graves of the two man, said, ’since you love them both, you should lie with them together, and buried her alive. Is it fair? Sweden is the heaven of birds, everywhere you can see fat seagulls, crows and pigeons flying freely, not afraid of human even in one meter away. Last Sunday, I went outskirts of Gothenburg with a friend to a lake, where we paddled the canoe around, and in the deep quiet lake, we saw a shy bird, the diver, we could not access them too close, or they would dive in the water. So we use binocular to observe them far away. We also fed the seagulls and geese, ducks with potato chips, and they like it very much. Strangely, only one goose did not care the chip, shaking its large wings, elongating its long neck and showing its strong chest time by time, I guess it must be a male goose. It has backbone, for not eating granted food.
I have a Thai friend here, he has 3/4 Chinese blood and works in Volvo company, but can not speak Chinese. He seems not happy with his life here, and often invites me driving outskirts to alleviate his loneliness. So I have many chances to enjoy the beautiful scenery here. I may dream too… The sky is so blue, the air is so fresh with fishy smell; and in the spring sunshine, how could you not to be romantic? Everywhere is new green, everywhere is seagull and pigeon, stirred in the warm and cozy wind, how could you not to be romantic? The gurgle spring on the rock, the chirp and twitter in the woods, the smoke over nearby village and the bleat from farming landscapes, together with, a surfing white sail along the seacoast, all make me lost, and back to idyllic 19th century, sharing with Keats, Byron and Shelley…
The Thai friend once drove a car with me to Tanum, 200 KM north of Gothenburg, 1800-500 BC. We watched the pre-historic people carving pectoral signs on the rocks. The sun, footprints, men, women, boats, arches, horses, cows, ploughs…symbolize the God, religion, war, love and something we don’t understand. They first carved with stone knives, then varnished with red paint. It’s so simple and live that they said these are their history. Also we visited their families. They live together with livestock and other animals, said to keep warm in the very cold weather. They had simple agriculture, husbandry, fishing and hunting. And from the traps they designed for big animals, I understand the sly tactics of human are from our ancestors. They told us proudly that their pectoral rock-carvings had been accepted as one of the world heritages in the 20th century.
It will be mid-summer this Saturday, and it’s the longest day in a year, in the Arctic Circle, you can see the sun all the time without sunset. And there will be celebrating festival in the town like drinking, singing and dancing… The temperatures are between 10 and 20 degrees. Of course I like the long day than long night in the winter. Sunshine is always welcome, which makes you energetic, but often the weather is not good with many rains and clouds. The worse thing is you may feel depressive during winter cloudy rainy days. Some can not stand and make suicide. So they like summer very much. I would like winter if the working schedule was adjusted with the change of day light, only work one hour or even do not work everyday. All Swedish speak Swedish, which I don’t understand and can’t speak, but fortunately, most of them speak English very well, which makes me survive here. But if you want to experience what the Swedish are thinking and talking, you’ll have to learn Swedish.
I visited Helsinki when I changed plane there. It’s a little simple compared with other big cities in Europe, though with some beautiful architecture, streets and sculptures. The most impressive event for me is the cruise around their archipelagos in 90 mines, I sat on the top of the boat outside, sometimes with rain drops, sometimes with sunshine, facing the strong sea wind…sea birds, green islands, surfing boats…the most characteristic is the houses on the shore of islands, wooden, staged roofs with different colours, and small cottage special for Sauna, spotted in green woods…
My life is a little insipid this month for no nervous works, reading in the library, cooking with friends, sleeping and enjoying the autumn scenery of North Europe…it is most cosy to walk on the green meadows after a fresh rain, bathing the gentle sunshine, with the sea wind swaying on your face, tasting lots of wild cherries, berries and apples just on side walk trees…I moved to a new apartment in the old town, with the cobblestone walking streets and old houses of several centuries. From the windows, I can see the golden crown on the top of the old fortress shining in the sunshine every sunrise and sunset, drawing me back into historical dreams… I also had two short trips to Oslo and an island near Gothenburg, watched a splendid firework on Gothenburg festival, and took part in a Thai party and a Spanish party.
Life in Germany
There is a small park beside the Institute, and I had a walk there yesterday afternoon. I was so impressed by its natural beauty of curvaceous with trees, meadows, paths and hills, just like in the classical paintings of 19th century. When my sight widened with the thin path to the top of the hill, where a man was just standing, I was deeply in dreams affected by the perspective in painting…
I once visited a statues park in Oslo; these great statues group describes the human life from birth to death. The monolithic sculpture in the centre like a Totem pole is designed with the old at base and layer by layer, with children on the top. The 36 groups of sculptures in circle are designed from child, adolescence, adult to death. And the sunrise will light the birthing child first in the morning, the sunset shine the dying old at last in the evening. I was deeply shocked by a sorrow expression of an old people with long bears, it reminded me of my old parents and myself in the not far future, staring hopelessly, waiting for death…Ala, human!
The beer festeval lasts about two weeks in Munich every year. On the first day, the mayor of Munich open the first beer bottle to begin the festavel, but it was canceled this year for the US 911. And last saturday, I watched a procession on the main streets. Horses carriages with crops, fruits and beers, people with traditional clothes and instrument proceed in the music. I was shocked as if living in the history, it’s so different culture which I only experience in movies. I like the Barvoria strong horses, thick legs and big trunk, with beautiful and long hairs and tails. Also, there are many free shows on the streets by different groups, just like the Chinese spring festavel. And the most crazy thing in the festavel is of course drinking beers. It’s a incredible number for the consumption of beer here every year. I drank beer the first time with my boss and some colleges last night. But I can only drink little, 1 litter is my limit. Anyway, it’s happy to enjoy by different ways. I hope I can experience more in next year. I like quiet life, dreaming of leisurely and comfortable life with tea, poems and paintings, like old Chinese shcolars
I traveled to Alps in Germany last Saturday, the top of Germany, 2964 m, It was a nice weather without a slice of cloud, and splendid scenery, I got to the top by cognate train and cable car, bathing under the sunshine, looking out over the ranges of four countries, enjoying the cool wind and the beautiful show of jackdaws, a bird with black feather, yellow beak and red paw. They fly freely at such a height without fear. I like it very much and decide to change my name into Jackdaw. Also there were many people skiing there, which induced me wishing to try… The autumn is beautiful, remind me of Beijing, for the falling leaves everywhere on the streets…
I begin to learn German now but can’t speak yet. I traveled to Berlin and Potsdam last weekend with some Chinese students here. We visited some museums, palaces and the Zoo. Uten den Linden, the most famous broadest street in Berlin, with Berandenbor gate separating the East and West before, the council house, Pergarmon Museum, where the famous Greek Temple is kept. It’s too tired to travel in days. I also saw two Pandas in the zoo, Baobao and Yanyan, very quiet, just like toys. I saw pandas more than 20 years ago in Beijing; and this is the 2nd time. The architecture is good; the palace is mainly rococo style, with splendid golden decorations. But they are not better than that in Italy, where you can see the best architecture in the world.
