According to statistics from the book "Urban Green Space Life", the area of "natural or artificially mowed grass, gardens and deciduous forests" in Rosting accounts for about two-thirds of the entire city. This data may be
It surprises those who have lived in big cities for a long time, and even goes against some intuition, believing that civilization and nature cannot coexist in modern cities.
In fact, this city has always been like this.
With a low whimper, the Dawn gradually slowed down and finally docked at the Rodlands Railway Station in the North District of Rosting City. If this name was placed in the medieval times, its meaning would be "a place where the wind blows... where life is full of excitement."
, now serves as the only train station in the city, welcoming passengers from all directions, which invisibly matches its impression of centuries ago.
Ringer carried his younger sister's small black suitcase and got off the train. The first thing he saw was the unique wooden dome of the platform. The architect ingeniously designed it as an umbrella-like canopy, made up of multiple dark brown pillars.
When propped up, the surface is covered with evergreen ivy, and dark green oil lamps are hung on the branches. When every passenger who first enters this place raises his head, he will feel as if he has stepped into a forest in ancient times.
Walking under the gaze of an ancient towering tree.
The passengers all walked in the same direction, flowing slowly like a river, which was the exit of the train platform. Ringer took Maidien and Alice and followed the flow of people, and it took about fifteen minutes to leave.
To the end.
Unexpectedly, what connects the Rodlands train station with the city blocks is a small square. It is paved with red bricks and does not occupy a large area, at least it cannot be called spacious, but the design
It feels very exquisite. Because it is close to the train station, commercial properties are naturally clustered. There are bakeries, snack shops, open-air cafes and even hotels nearby, all closely together in a compact layout.
In the center of the square is a circular garden. Evergreen plants are full of vitality in winter, and there are also some flowers that bloom in the cold wind, which are particularly beautiful. There are several rows of benches for pedestrians to rest, and the inconspicuous gray wild pigeons are there.
Not afraid of people, they pace leisurely on the red bricks of gardens, tree branches and squares. They are descendants of wild pigeons that inhabited this city centuries ago. Now they are used to coexisting with people. City magazines call them
As "the cute elf and the cunning and fierce scoundrel", these two very different names are not actually contradictory.
They know better than the clowns in the circus, and they took the initiative to avoid Ringer when they saw him walking by with a blank expression. But when Merdine and Alice were about to pass, they jumped in front of them.
, the detective raised his head, as if he was asking curiously: Don’t you have anything for me to eat?
The two girls were so entangled that they had no choice but to buy a pack of pigeon feed from a vendor selling food nearby to get rid of these scoundrels. Of course, looking at their expressions when feeding the pigeons, they might also be enjoying it. "This city is completely different from Linville."
This is Alice's first impression.
She also told the truth.
"Rostin is a tourist city."
Ringer told the two of them what was mentioned in the book, which was the book he was reading on the train: “It is actually close to the border of the kingdom, and you can enter the land of Leisenburg by climbing over the Saussen Mountains.
Because of its remote location, the industrialization process here has been relatively slow, and it still retains its original features from centuries ago. It is more like a slightly larger town than a city."
"After entering the new century, the Rosting Municipal Government once thought of changing the status quo, developing industry, and catching up with the wave of the steam age, but it was unanimously opposed by the local residents. They have lived here for generations and have long been accustomed to its appearance.
And refuse to use steel and gears to transform this city."
"So, the city government had to compromise and accepted the proposal of the religious alliance and began to develop tourism. The result was excellent results. In the ten years from 1845 to 1855, the industrial output value of Rosting City was negligible, but the light output was negligible.
Relying on tourism income to support its reputation as a 'prosperous city', it was once rated as 'one of the ten most livable cities in the world' by the West China Times."
After passing through a spacious and open passage, Ringer's narration came to an end, and the eyes of the three people suddenly became clear.
The first sight is a street covered with fallen leaves, paved with pure white stone slabs. Under the soft yellow-brown carpet are the ruts left by the wheels, which looks very old. In the middle, there are evergreen street trees planted all year round.
It is completely of a single variety, with bursts of shade; the houses on both sides of the street have white walls and red brick roofs, with neat and consistent styles, giving off a somewhat classic and elegant flavor.
The green environment of the city is very good. There are small gardens and fountain pools at regular intervals. The gurgling water flows into the canals on both sides of the road, in which fallen leaves, Houttuynia cordata, water lilies and unknown small fish float. Every household
There are flower beds: the flowerbed in front of the door, the hanging flower box under the window sill, the potted plants by the window... all have beautiful flowers that bloom in winter, emitting a light fragrance.
The sky is clear and cloudless. The refreshing scene that can only be seen in the suburbs of Linville City is something we are accustomed to here. Therefore, passers-by often do not take it seriously, and they do not mention what the weather is like today when they greet each other.
, which seems to be different from the general national conditions of the Kingdom of Great Brita, but is quite similar to the nearby Laisenberg.
"So beautiful!"
Metien, who has grown up in Linwell, the "City of Heartbreak", was stunned when he saw this scene.
Alice was also amazed. She didn't expect that such a vibrant and prosperous city could exist in the steam age of the 19th century, which completely subverted her understanding of "steampunk". If it weren't for the frequent thunderous roar of trains behind her,
Roar, traces of steam pipes and gas pipes can also be seen in the street layout, I am afraid she will think that she is inside a city in a fantasy world.
"Let's go."
Ringer carried a small black suitcase in one hand and held his sister in the other hand, walking to a public transportation stop not far away. As for Alice? She would follow her, not to mention that Ringer only had two hands. p>
Different from Linville City or most cities, the public transportation system in Rustin City, except for the subway that has gradually emerged in recent years, does not have steam train shuttles. They are all replaced by retro-style two-horse four-wheel carriages.
.This kind of carriage has a traditional two-story carriage. The upper carriage is open to the air. In spring, passengers sitting by the railings often reach out to break the twigs of the trees beside the road and take them home to feel the breath of spring.<
/p>
It's winter now. Although the street trees are evergreen all year round, their leaves are still a little old due to the cold wind, so no one does this.
At Alice's strong request, the three of them finally sat on the seats in the upper carriage. Accompanied by the neighing of the black draft horses and the wheels rolling through the streets, Alice admired the flower beds and water channels on the roadside from a high position, and occasionally looked into the cement gaps.
The tenacious growth of Pennisetum and morning glory is more interesting.
The carriage started from Solans Street outside Lord Lands Railway Station, passed through Baihua Lane, Sheep Street, Lulan Elk Street and Joseph Street, and finally arrived at Sherrill Street in the west end of the city.
These names are very interesting and full of the local style of Rosting. Solansi means "bleak autumn leaves". In medieval times, this was the first place to welcome autumn in the city; Baihua refers to a hop-like plant.
White flowers, with medicinal value, used by the people of Rostyn to treat simple colds; Sheep Street is not a street where sheep are raised, but a "street where sheep returning from grazing pass". The city still retains the ancient occupation of shepherds
; Lulan Elk means "the place where the wilderness is seen", because the road ends at the country lane leading to the wilderness; Joseph's name means "the poet and his flowers", the father of modern botany, William Conn
The habits and characteristics of 217 species of plants are included here.
As for the meaning of Scherer Street, it is relatively simple: fairies and plane trees.
Although no one knows how these two words are connected, at least Ringer, Metien and Alice may know the origin of the meaning of "goblin".
The "Fairy's Sleep" hotel mentioned by Saint Xalia is on this street.