From Žaliakalnis to Laisvės Alėja

As they left the streets of Žaliakalnis, the sky had deepened into a soft blue-gray.

They followed the slope downhill toward Laisvės alėja, where the distant sounds of conversation and live music began to weave through the air.

“I think tonight,” Ben said with a grin, “we should chase a little noise instead of chasing memories.”

Tomas nodded. “There are plenty of cafés and restaurants along Freedom Avenue. Summer evenings down there always have a good pulse. We can find a place with outdoor seating, get some wine, something simple to eat.”

“Preferably with some live music,” Emma added with a smile. “But not too loud.”

And so they laughed and chatted as they headed toward the glowing heart of the city, where the air carried the smell of grilled meat and fresh hops, and the quiet weight of history gave way to the lighter rhythm of an ordinary night.

走出 Žaliakalnis 的街區時，天色已經完全變成柔和的藍灰色。

他們沿著緩坡往下走，朝自由大道（Laisvės alėja）前進，那裡傳來隱約的人聲與音樂聲。

「我覺得，我們今晚該換個地方，」Ben笑著說，「別再追著記憶跑了，去追點熱鬧吧。」

Tomas點頭贊成：「自由大道上有不少餐館和咖啡館，夏天傍晚特別有氣氛。可以找家有露天座位的，喝點小酒，吃點簡單的菜。」

「最好有現場音樂，」Emma笑著補充，「但是不要太吵。」

他們就這樣一路談笑著，走向城市那一端還亮著溫暖燈光的街區。
空氣中混著烤肉香氣與啤酒花的清苦氣味，一種無需解釋的活力正從夜晚的人群中湧上來。

Dinner Time

The cobblestones on Laisvės alėja caught the soft glow of the evening.

They found a nice little restaurant with outdoor tables, a chalkboard menu casually listing dinner specials and local beers.

The place was called Saulėlydis—“Sunset.”

The tables were set under a line of big trees, their leaves shifting quietly in the breeze. Cyclists rolled past now and then, blending into the rhythm of the street.

They sat down, and a young waiter came over, speaking easy English and recommending the stew, dark rye bread, and house-brewed beer.

Ben flipped through the menu and grinned. “This feels better. Finally a place that actually feels alive.”

Emma stretched back in her chair. “Yeah. This afternoon was getting a bit too heavy. Nice to just… breathe again.”

Tomas laughed. “Let’s keep it simple tonight. Good food, a drink or two.”

Julia smiled too. “If we don’t order soon, I might pass out from hunger.”

They laughed, picking dishes off the menu, as the scent of grilled meat and fresh hops drifted through the warm air. The whole street seemed to hum softly around them.

晚餐時間

自由大道上的石板路在夜色裡微微發亮。

他們找到一家氣氛不錯的小餐館，外面擺了幾張桌子，黑板上隨手寫著晚餐特餐和啤酒推薦。

這家店叫 Saulėlydis，意思是「夕陽」。

外面的座位剛好在一排大樹下面，微風一吹，樹葉輕輕晃動，人行道上偶爾有騎腳踏車的人經過。

他們坐下來，一個年輕的服務生走過來，用自然流利的英文介紹今天的菜色，有燉牛肉、黑麥麵包，還有當地釀的啤酒。

Ben翻著菜單，笑笑說：「這裡的感覺好多了。終於像一般城市晚上該有的樣子了。」

Emma靠著椅背伸了個懶腰：「嗯，今天下午那氣氛太沉了，總算能呼吸點正常空氣了。」

Tomas笑著說：「來，今天就簡單點，吃點好的，喝一杯。」

Julia也笑了：「再不快點點餐，我覺得我要餓到沒力氣講話了。」

他們一邊笑著一邊點了幾道菜，空氣中混著烤肉的香味和啤酒花的清香，整條街都暖洋洋地動了起來。

Funiculars

While they waited for the food, they sipped water and started talking about the funicular ride earlier that day.

“I can’t get over that little funicular,” Ben said. “It felt like a mini version of real transport.”

Emma smiled. “A slow-motion ride. Like time just kind of stopped while we inched up.”

Tomas added, “You hardly see real working funiculars anymore in European cities. Most are just for tourists now.”

Julia thought for a moment. “Normally when we think of funiculars, it’s about getting somewhere really high—like Hong Kong’s Peak Tram. The slope there is insane, you feel glued to your seat.”

Ben laughed. “Yeah, the gradient is crazy. The speed’s not even that fast, but because it’s so steep, it feels like someone’s shoving you uphill.”

Emma chuckled. “Kaunas’ funicular feels a lot gentler. Like an old man climbing a hill at his own pace.”

Tomas smiled. “It’s not about conquering a mountain. It’s about connecting a little slope inside the city.”

Julia flipped the menu. “And it’s still used every day. Not a gimmick. It’s part of real life. That’s kind of brilliant.”

Ben twirled his water glass and joked, “Small funicular, big spirit.”

They laughed, the mood easy and relaxed. Outside, a violinist played softly, and the whole street seemed to breathe with the quiet rhythm of a summer night.

纜車

等菜時，他們邊喝水邊聊起今天搭纜車的事。

「我還在想那台小纜車，」Ben說，「真的太迷你了。像縮小版的交通工具。」

Emma笑了笑：「而且是慢動作版的。一路慢慢上坡，感覺像時間停了一樣。」

Tomas說：「現在歐洲城市裡，這種真正用來運人的小纜車已經很少了。大多只剩觀光用的。」

Julia想了一下，說：「一般搭纜車，不都是要去很遠很高的地方嗎？像香港的山頂纜車，坡超級陡，整個人都快貼在座椅上了。」

Ben笑出聲：「對，坡度誇張得不像話。速度其實還好啦，不算快，但因為太斜，坐著的時候會覺得好像被人從後面推一樣。」

Emma邊笑邊說：「考納斯這台就溫和多了。像個不急著去哪裡的老先生，慢慢爬坡。」

Tomas也笑了：「這裡的纜車不是要征服什麼高山，只是踏實地連接城市的一個小坡而已。」

Julia一邊翻菜單一邊說：「而且還在每天運作。不是噱頭，是生活的一部分。這才是真正厲害的地方。」

Ben晃了晃水杯，開玩笑：「小纜車，大精神。」

大家都笑了起來，氣氛一下子輕鬆了許多。外頭傳來街頭樂手的小提琴聲，整條自由大道在夜色中溫柔地流動著。

After dinner, they didn’t call a car. Instead, they walked back slowly along Laisvės alėja.

The evening light had softened, street lamps were beginning to glow, and warm yellow light spilled from shop windows—each one a quiet pocket of comfort.

“This avenue feels so long,” Julia said as they walked. “Not just physically, but like… anything could happen here.”

“There used to be trams running down the middle,” Tomas added. “Now they’ve moved to a parallel street. But if you look closely, some traces of the tracks are still there.”

They passed rows of modest buildings—some with clean interwar façades, others gray concrete blocks added in later decades. A few balconies had geraniums, and corridor lights glowed behind sheer curtains.

“Are those Soviet-era apartments?” Ben asked.

Tomas nodded. “Most of them, yeah. Very functional, not much imagination. But lots of older folks still live there. They don’t really mind.”

Emma said softly, “That’s a kind of choice too, I guess—to accept the city the way it is.”

The street gradually grew quieter. A few joggers passed by, their shoes tapping gently on the stones. In the distance, their hotel—a white three-story building—stood faintly lit under the streetlamp, like it had been waiting for them to come back.

散步回旅館

他們吃完飯後並沒有立刻叫車，而是沿著自由大道慢慢往回走。

傍晚的光線已經變得柔和，街燈開始亮起，店鋪的窗戶裡透出橘黃色的燈光，像是一個個小小的溫暖空間。

「這條大道真長啊，」Julia一邊走一邊說，「不只是地理上的長，而是……感覺好像什麼都可以發生。」

「以前有電車經過這裡，」Tomas補充道，「現在都搬到旁邊那條街去了。但你看，那些軌道還有留著一點痕跡。」

他們走過一棟棟不高的建築，有些是戰間期風格，外牆幾何分明，有些則是後來加蓋的灰色水泥樓。窗台邊還能看到天竺葵，或是一盞吊著的走廊燈。

「那是社會主義時代留下來的公寓嗎？」Ben問。

Tomas點點頭：「大部分是。功能性強、但缺乏想像力。不過老一輩的人很多還住在那裡，他們也不覺得有什麼不好。」

Emma輕聲說：「那也是某種選擇吧，接受城市原來的樣子。」

街道逐漸安靜下來，只有幾位慢跑的人從他們身旁經過，運動鞋踩在石板路上的聲音清晰卻不刺耳。

遠遠的，可以看到旅館那棟三層樓的白牆在路燈下閃著淡光，像是在等他們回來。