There are many different ways of seeing a town for the first time. One of them is to walk around it, guide-book in hand. Of course, we may study with our guide-books the history and special developments of a town and get to know them . But then, if we take our time and stay in a town for a while, we may get to know it better. When we look at it as a whole, we begin to have some questions, which even the best guide-books do not answer. Why is the town just like this, this shape, this plan, this size? Why do its streets run in this particular way, and not in any other way?
Here even the best guide-book fails us. One can’t find in it the information about how a town has developed to the present appearance. It may not describe the original design of a town. However, one may get some idea of what I used to look like by walking around the town. One can also imagine how the town was first planned and built. Then one can learn more about in what direction the town continues to develop.
What is the point of studying towns in the way? For me, it is simply that one gets a greater depth of pleasure by visiting and seeing a town with one’s own eyes. A personal visit to a town may help one better understand why it is attractive than just reading about it in a guide-book.
第一次去游览一个小镇,可以有很多不同的方式,拿着一本旅游指南书亲自去看看便是其中之一。当然,我们可以通过研读指南中介绍小镇历史和其独特的发展来熟悉它们。但是,如果我们花的时间在小镇停留一会儿,则就会更了解它。当作为一个整体来看待它时,我们就开始有一些连最好的指南书都回答不了的问题:为什么小镇就像这样?为什么有这样形状和布局?为什么这么大小?为什么它的街道交通是这样特殊的方式,而不是其它的?
那些最好的指南在这些问题面前也无能为力,人们无法在它那里找到小镇是如何发展成目前现状的信息,因为它不可能对小镇的最初设计进行详细说明。然而,人们可以通过我过去常用的在一个小镇走走看看方式来得到一些信息,可以想像出第一次的小镇规划和建设是如何进行的,还可以知道更多小镇将向什么方向继续发展。
用这种方式了解一个小镇有什么好处呢?对于我来说这很简单,它带给我更多的旅游快乐 因为我亲眼目睹了这座小镇。亲身拜访一个小镇而不只是阅读指南书,可以让我们更好地明白它为什么吸引人们。