写这篇文的时候正值2025年的1月，又是新的一年。
于是又有了新年新气象，新的KPI和新一轮的卷。昨天和一个同事在电话会上聊完工作之后，聊起了北欧的旅行和生活。同事给我分享了上次自驾去挪威的故事（or事故），我也安利了Bergen这个值得一去的城市。
Bergen，中文音译为卑尔根，是挪威的第二大城市。第一大城市显而易见是首都奥斯陆，我并没有去过。所以今天只能聊一聊卑尔根。
卑尔根位于挪威西南部靠近大海的部分，所以离这个城市不远的地方就可以遇见纪录片里照片里那些挪威著名的自然景观，比如说峡湾和山脉的交错，冰川和海湾的融合。峡湾是一种由冰川侵蚀形成的海岸地貌，两侧有陡峭的山壁，有时可达到几百米，山峰直接插入水中，水深且非常清澈，乘船穿越峡湾可以看到两岸高耸的山脉和飞流直下的瀑布，瀑布坠入河中流向大海，总而言之一句话：非常壮观。卑尔根周围有几个很著名的峡湾，盖朗厄尔峡湾和纳依柔峡湾都是被联合国教科文组织列为世界遗产的level。
从巴黎去卑尔根很方便，有直达的航班，也可以从阿姆斯特丹转一下。卑尔根机场到市区也有公共交通解决方案。我们到的时候，因为太晚也因为懒，于是打车去了市区，贵是贵的，但也不是特别贵。为什么这么说呢，来挪威之前，我已经提前做了很多心理准备，比如说挪威是全世界物价水平第二高的国家，尤其是在食品和日常用品方面。相应的挪威也是全世界人均收入水平最高的国家第三名，所以高物价对于本地人来说应该不算什么，对于我们这种从低收入国家过去的应该还是有点高。但是打完车一看账单觉得也还好，并对接下来的旅程充满了积极乐观的心态。
第二天。通常来说，应该有反转，但实际上并没有。餐厅看单价是觉得有点贵，酒水什么的甚至比瑞士还贵。但实际上量大管饱，包括去了一些fine dining的餐厅，在点菜的时候还不是很确定，但端上来之后都还不错的，也都能吃的挺饱的。还刷了一家在市中心港口附近的老字号餐厅，就是在Google地图上价格会有三个€的那种，其实也还好，并不是只坑游客的那种餐厅。举例来说，他们家有那种很实惠的奶油酱汁青口贝配炸薯条，这是在法国和比利时地区很常见的一般不会踩雷一道菜。单价来说大概三四十欧不便宜，但是端上来一看，满满当当的一大锅青口，足足有一公斤，我觉得两个人卯足了劲儿都不一定能吃完。我还因为好奇吃了鲸鱼肉，怎么说呢，有点儿像金枪鱼味儿的风干牛肉，就是闻起来你知道自己吃的是鱼，但是嚼起来的口感又和牛肉是一样的，并没有感受到不可替代的特别之处。没什么必要捕鲸，完全可以直接吃风干牛肉嘛，一样的。临走那一天，还去刷了酒店楼下的超市，按照以前在芬兰的经验，烟熏三文鱼应该是唯一值得在北欧反向代购的食物，结果也没令我失望，感觉挪威比芬兰还要更便宜一些，大概算是原产地直采吧，买了满满一袋子带走，开心。
说完了吃的，说点儿玩儿的吧。卑尔根真的是户外圣地，有海，有峡湾，有山，有森林。无论你喜欢徒步，登山，皮划艇，游泳，漂流，海钓等等等等，都能在这里不费吹灰之力找到属于你的项目，也可以随时随地在结束了一天的工作之后直接转场去运动。
举一个简单的例子，卑尔根的市中心就有一座山，叫弗里恩山。登山的起点处，距离我刚刚说的灯火通明的港口餐厅一条街大概只有走路十分钟的距离。也就是说，你今天晚上吃撑了，随便溜达溜达就可以去爬山了。这个山虽然说只有四百米左右的高度，但它并不是单独的一个小山包，而是连接着后面连绵不绝的山脉，就是那种你可以在里面走上两天三天都不会觉得无聊的山脉。
我去的时候正赶上了蘑菇季节，高高兴兴的趁着大清早就上了山。山里的空气很好，几乎没有什么人，也没有什么花花草草和猫猫狗狗，向上看是笔直的树木枝桠在安静的争夺着头顶的阳光，向下看是共生纠缠在一起相爱相杀的根茎和苔藓。穿过了一片又一片的森林，来到山顶，视野开阔，眼前是阳光下耀眼的蔚蓝色的湖面。
确实是湖面总是澄清，也确实空气充满宁静。
我就在想，那三个版本的挪威的森林，似乎哪一个都不能够正确描绘我眼前挪威的森林。把挪威的森林想象成一个有生命力的形象对我来说是更恰当的。它应该是女性，强壮，粗糙，严肃，安静，平凡。它应该是与爱情无关的，它应该是脆弱的反面，它也并不会迷茫。非常有趣的是，这三个版本的作者都是男性，而他们所描绘的那些细腻情绪却恰好与我的感受相反。
回到挪威这个名字本身，我搜不到这个中文版本到底最早是谁翻译的，翻译得很烂，很难体现出这个国家名称的含义和起源。英文版本还是OK的，Norway，North way，北方的路，或者去往北方的路。
挪威确实位于欧洲的几乎最北部，在地图上可以看出，北欧的三个小伙伴之中，挪威在最北边兜住了瑞典和芬兰，与俄罗斯接壤。
所以，世界的尽头，深海与冻土，没有尽头的极夜，这些关键字是北欧国家的共性，也是挪威这个国家的气质构成。
下山的过程中逐渐遇见下班之后来爬山（散步）的本地人，有背着娃爬山的新手父亲，有穿着牛仔裤乐福鞋刚刚下班的大姐，也有穿着短裤光膀子跑步的大爷，一度场面非常热闹。朴素，友好，勤劳，强壮，这是挪威人的气质构成，也是他们世世代代生存和战斗在这片土地和海域上的原因。
I wrote this post at the beginning of 2025, another new year.
So there is a new year, new atmosphere, new KPIs and a new round of work.
Yesterday, after the discusion of work with a colleague, we started talking about travel and life in Northern Europe. My colleague shared with me the story of his last self-driving trip to Norway (story or the accident), and I also mentioned about Bergen, a city worth visiting.
Bergen, is the second largest city in Norway. The largest city is obviously the capital Oslo, which I have never been to. So today I can only talk about Bergen.
Bergen is located in the southwest part of Norway close to the sea, so not far from this city you can encounter the famous Norwegian natural landscapes in the photos in the documentary, such as the intersection of fjords and mountains, and the fusion of glaciers and bays. A fjord is a coastal landform formed by glacial erosion. There are steep mountain walls on both sides, sometimes reaching hundreds of meters. The peaks are directly inserted into the water. The water is deep and very clear. Taking a boat across the fjord, you can see the towering mountains on both sides and the waterfalls that fall into the river and flow to the sea. In a word: very spectacular.
There are several famous fjords around Bergen really worth to visit. The Geirangerfjord and the Najröfjord are both listed as World Heritage Sites by UNESCO.
It is very convenient to go to Bergen from Paris. There are direct flights, and you can also transfer from Amsterdam. There are also public transport solutions from Bergen Airport to the city.
When we arrived, because it was too late and because we were lazy, we took a taxi to the city. It was expensive, but not like super expensive.
Before coming to Norway, I had made a lot of mental preparations in advance. For example, Norway is the country with the second highest price level in the world, especially in terms of food and transportation, etc. Correspondingly, Norway is also the third country with the highest income in the world, so high prices should not be a big deal to locals, but they should still be a bit high for people like us who come from low-income countries (France). But after taking a taxi and looking at the bill, I felt that it was okay.
Then it came with the next day. Normally, there should be a reversal, but there isn’t. Looking at the menu of the restaurant, I must say it was a bit expensive, and the drinks were even more expensive than in Switzerland. BUT, in fact, the portions are large, including some fine dining restaurants (you know usually in France such restaurants have good looking but super mini portions). I was not sure when I ordered the dishes, but after they were served, they were all pretty good and I was quite full.
I also visited a time-honored restaurant near the port in the city center. The price on Google Maps was three stars. It was actually not bad, and it was not the kind of restaurant that only rips off tourists. For example, they have the very affordable mussels in cream sauce with French fries, which is a dish that is very common in France and Belgium. The unit price is about 30 to 40 euros, which is not cheap, but when it was served, there was a big pot full of mussels, one kilogram! I felt that two people might not be able to finish it even if they tried their best. I also ate whale meat for curiosity. Emmm, how should I put it, it is a bit like tuna-flavored air-dried beef. It smells like fish, but the chewing texture is the same as beef. So the conclusion is, there is no need to hunt whales, you can just eat air-dried beef, it’s the same. On the last day, I also went to the supermarket, a very common one, just downstairs of the hotel. According to my previous experience in Finland, smoked salmon should be the only food worthy of reverse purchasing in Northern Europe. The result did not disappoint me. I felt that in Norway was even cheaper than in Finland. It was probably purchased directly from the country of origin.
After talking about food, let’s talk about some fun. Bergen is really an outdoor paradise, with sea, fjords, mountains and forests. Whether you like hiking, mountain climbing, kayaking, swimming, sea fishing, etc., you can easily find your conner here. You can also go directly to sports after a day’s work anytime, anywhere.
To give a simple example, there is a mountain in the center of Bergen called Frienberg. The starting point of the climb is only about a ten-minute walk away from the port restaurant street I mentioned. In other words, if you have eaten enough tonight, you can go hiking directly. Although this mountain is only about 400 meters high, it is not a separate small park-like mountain, but connected to the continuous mountains behind it. It is the kind of mountain range that you can walk on for two or three days without getting bored.
It was the mushroom season when I went there, so I happily went up the mountain early in the morning. The air in the mountains is very good, there are almost no people, and there are no flowers, cats, or dogs. Looking up, you can see the straight tree branches quietly competing for the sunlight above your head. Looking down, you can see the roots and moss that are deeply entangled with each other. After passing through forests one after another, we reached the top of the mountain with a wide view. In front of us was a dazzling blue lake under the sun.
Let’s say there’re 3 versions of Norwegian forest.
I was thinking that none of the three versions of the Norwegian forest seemed to be able to accurately depict the Norwegian forest in front of me. It’s more appropriate for me to think of the Norwegian forest as a living image. It should be feminine, strong, rough, serious, quiet, and ordinary. It should have nothing to do with love, it should be the opposite of vulnerability, and it should not be confused. Interestingly enough, the authors of these three versions are all men, and the subtle emotions they depict are exactly the opposite of what I feel.
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Back to the name Norway itself, I can’t find who translated the Chinese version first. The translation is very poor and it is difficult to reflect the meaning and origin of the country’s name. The English version is still OK, Norway, North way, the road to the north, or the way to the north.
Norway is indeed located almost in the northernmost part of Europe. As can be seen on the map, among the three Nordic partners, Norway surrounds Sweden and Finland in the far north and borders Russia.
Therefore, the end of the world, the deep sea and frozen soil, and the endless polar night are keywords that are common to the Nordic countries and also constitute the temperament of Norway.
As we were going down the mountain, we gradually met local people who came to hike (walk) after get off work. There were novice fathers hiking with their babies on their backs, older sisters who had just gotten off work wearing jeans and loafers, and older men who were running shirtless in shorts. The scene was very lively at one point. Simple, friendly, hard-working, and strong, this is the temperament of the Norwegians, and it is also the reason why they have survived and fought on this land and sea for generations.
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