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Schlagwort: footbridge (Seite 2 von 3)

Train Station Blankenese in Hamburg, Germany

Quite likely you will see this picture and think to yourself: „Why in the world did she choose *that* bridge?!?“ It’s not pretty or remarkable in any way, I guess. But it means a lot to me, which is why I thought it fitting to be the last bridge in 2013.

Train Station Blankenese, Hamburg, GermanyThis is the metro station close to my parents‘ house in Hamburg. Most of my adventures started from here. When I was in primary school, I would take my dad’s hand in the morning and walk with him to the train station, across this very bridge, he would descend to the platform to take a metro to his office, and I would walk a bit further to school. I often went to pick him up in the evening when he came home from work, too. We would make little poems about the plants, trees and bushes we discovered on the way between the station and our house (my dad is a passionate gardener).

When I started high school I took the metro for two stations from here myself in the winter – in the summer I went by bike. As I grew older, I would go on the metro to the city center of Hamburg more and more often – first for shopping or to go to the cinema, later for going out at night in the infamous Reeperbahn red light district. Even my five month backpacking trip through Central and South Eastern Europe started at this very metro station on this bridge. It has been the beginning of so many things. And now, when I come home to visit my parents and I cross over it again, it is always crossing back into my childhood and coming home.

If you have read My Mission statement, you know why I love bridges. To me they are the most universal symbol of connection, of bringing people together and overcoming anything that may seperate us. I want to present to you pictures of bridges that I really love in places that I really love on my blog every Sunday. If you have a picture of a bridge that you would like to share with my readers as a guest post, feel free to contact me!

Footbridges in Plitvice Lakes National Park, Croatia

This may be more of a crossing than an actual bridge. But since it gets people drily across a body of water I’ll count it. Plus, I love the picture. Footbridge, Plitvice Lakes, CroatiaThis is what the footbridges look like in Plitvice Lakes National Park in Croatia – that fairytale place of waterfalls and water of greenish blue colours you didn’t yet know existed. You walk barely just above the water surface on planks, and plants in different shades of green entwine around the planks and seem to reach out to you, wanting to draw you towards them and underwater. The water is gushing underneath your feet. It feels like you could actually walk on water.

One of the best travel decisions in my life was most definitely coming to Plitvice Lakes in April – off-season. Even in the cool Spring weather it was already fairly well visited, and I cannot even begin to imagine what it must look like in summer. Or maybe I just don’t want to imagine. The only thing that saves the place from a complete tourist overload is probably the fact that you are not allowed to swim in the turquoise – no, emerald – no, myrtle – pine – shamrock – good lord, I just cannot decide on a good word to describe the incredible colour of the water. The footbridges blend in so well that they are hardly noticeable – and yet they allow for the visitor to get to the points where the view will be most amazing. Plitvice might not be a secret anymore – but it doesn’t matter, it is a must see for anyone who goes to Croatia.

If you have read My Mission statement, you know why I love bridges. To me they are the most universal symbol of connection, of bringing people together and overcoming anything that may seperate us. I want to present to you pictures of bridges that I really love in places that I really love on my blog every Sunday. If you have a picture of a bridge that you would like to share with my readers as a guest post, feel free to contact me!

Another Bridge in Spreewald, Germany

I have written a post on Spreewald Bridges before, but I found another one that I quite like for today’s post. Bridge, Spreewald, GermanyThis was taken in July, but the foliage on the ground already foreshadows autumn. I felt like this about many of the bridges on our little Spreewald excursion – they had a touch of morbidity, unkemptness. That took away none of their charms. In fact I am a huge fan of slighty run down edifices of any kind. They remind me that anything manmade is but object of nature’s grace. This bridge, leading across a dull, viscid little creek, under the rich and luscious green of the summer trees, felt like a place that wanted to be romanticised. It answered to the nostalgia that, again and again, I find inherent to my soul.

If you have read My Mission statement, you know why I love bridges. To me they are the most universal symbol of connection, of bringing people together and overcoming anything that may seperate us. I want to present to you pictures of bridges that I really love in places that I really love on my blog every Sunday. If you have a picture of a bridge that you would like to share with my readers as a guest post, feel free to contact me!

Bridges in Nottingham, England

Today I bring to you a bridge cluster, if you will. I am enjoying how in this picture the two very different bridges are at a right angle, leading up to each other, connecting not only two river banks, but also each other.  Nottingham, England When I visited Nottingham in June and Andrew took me back to the train station, we had a little bit of time to kill before my train left, so we ventured away from the station and found this spot. I don’t remember where exactly it was, just that the stone bridge and the modern steel one in combination with the red brick warehouse and the dodgy and dirty looking water reminded me of home, of Hamburg’s granary city and its feel of trade and hard work. How that is changing now the port city with its modern architecture and posh restaurants and bars is coming about there…

I have written about it before: Nottingham is not the prettiest or most enchanting city I have been to. But it had its very own and individual flair. In many ways I like the coolness and the distance with which the city met me. It was honest and down to earth. I took the picture in June, but it looks just like Berlin looks now in the autumn weather that I see when I look out of my window. It seems to be saying: „I don’t care if you think it’s summer. I’m doing whatever the hell I want.“ I wish I could be a little bit more like that sometimes.

If you have read My Mission statement, you know why I love bridges. To me they are the most universal symbol of connection, of bringing people together and overcoming anything that may seperate us. I want to present to you pictures of bridges that I really love in places that I really love on my blog every Sunday. If you have a picture of a bridge that you would like to share with my readers as a guest post, feel free to contact me!

Latin Bridge in Sarajevo, Bosnia & Hercegovina

Today’s bridge brings you back to that country that has my heart and to a historical place for all of Europe.

1Bosnien - SarajevoThis is Latin Bridge, or Latinska ćuprija, in the Bosnian capital Sarajevo. The river that runs under it is the river Miljacka, so beautifully besung by Halid Bešlić in the song of the same name that I have mentioned in this post about the Sound of Bosnia. The bridge is one of the typically Ottoman structures you see so often in the Balkans – with their several arches and curvy elegance and playfulness. The bridge is even part of the coat of arms of Sarajevo, albeit quite stylized.

To be honest, although it may be the prettiest bridge over the Miljacka River, Latin Bridge didn’t impress me much at first, and I found the Miljacka to be shallow and narrow. But then it came to me that in this very spot, few metres from where I took this photo, archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated by a Bosnian Serb called Gavrilo Princip in 1914. Many of you will know that this is considered one of the, if not the decisive moment that started World War I. This is typically Bosnia. It keeps surprising you with amazing facts and, I have no other words, a pretty fucked-up history. If there ever was a country that made me understand that things aren’t always what they appear to be at first glance, it was this one.

If you have read My Mission statement, you know why I love bridges. To me they are the most universal symbol of connection, of bringing people together and overcoming anything that may seperate us. I want to present to you pictures of bridges that I really love in places that I really love on my blog every Sunday. If you have a picture of a bridge that you would like to share with my readers as a guest post, feel free to contact me!

Bridge at South Pond, Chicago, Illinois, US

Today I am self-indulgently using a picture of me on a bridge. I hope you can bear with me 🙂South Pond, Chicago, IllinoisThis is a bridge at Chicago’s South Pond in Lincoln Park. One of the fabulous things about Chicago is the myriad of parks the city has. In Lincoln Park you can strut from South Pond via the Zoo to the North Pond Nature Sanctuary in one long beautiful walk – and it is all for free!

Standing on the bridge at South Pond looking at the Chicago skyline, I felt the great gift of the green and the nature surrounding me inmidst of the big city. There were flowers in blossom and different birds came to rest at the shores of the pond, families were strolling the Park Nature Trail with laughing children, and me and my two friends were enjoying our walk. It was peaceful, and yet the skyscrapers in the distance promised tales of rattling metros, honking cars, fussy businessmen and -women strutting along through the street canyons, bustling shops, friends sitting over coffee at Starbucks, and all the noise and excitement of urban life. Between those different worlds, I felt eternally grateful. What a rich life it is that I am allowed to lead!

If you have read My Mission statement, you know why I love bridges. To me they are the most universal symbol of connection, of bringing people together and overcoming anything that may seperate us. I want to present to you pictures of bridges that I really love in places that I really love on my blog every Sunday. If you have a picture of a bridge that you would like to share with my readers as a guest post, feel free to contact me!

BP Bridge in Chicago, Illinois, US

On my first day in Chicago, all I want is to stroll around downtown a little bit to get a grasp of where I am, of what this city feels like. Can it be a coincidence that I stumble upon one of the most interesting bridges the city has to offer?

CIMG9843

This is BP Bridge in Chicago’s Millenium Park. I find it somewhat significant that it is named after a big corporation that sponsored its construction. I feel reminded of how football stadiums in Germany started to be named after sponsors. When Hamburg’s Volksparkstadion became the AOL arena, there was a huge discussion about demoralisation and loss of tradition. I wonder if here it is even noticed that the bridge could as well have a non-corporate name.

Unfortunately, due to construction work, I cannot walk the bridge’s elegant curve to the other side and the other parts of Grant Park and on to the waterfront of Lake Michigan, which glistens and sparkles beautifully in the distance. But I do have a fantastic view of the city’s skyline. It might be here that for the first time in my life I understand the aesthetics of skyscrapers. It is truly beautiful.

CIMG9840I must say I do love the combination of different materials used on the BP bridge – the metal outside and the hardwood planks on the walkway. Then there is also its lean curves that give it a calm energy as it leads out of the greenery of the park and over the large street. I read that is serves as a noise barrier from the traffic, and it is true that it is fairly quiet. I am curious how it will compare to the larger full on traffic bridges over the Chicago river which I am sure to encountr over the next few days.

If you have read My Mission statement, you know why I love bridges. To me they are the most universal symbol of connection, of bringing people together and overcoming anything that may seperate us. I want to present to you pictures of bridges that I really love in places that I really love on my blog every Sunday. If you have a picture of a bridge that you would like to share with my readers as a guest post, feel free to contact me!

Bridges in Spreewald, Germany

About a hundred kilometres southeast of the German capital, the beautiful Spreewald, or Spree forest region, offers a lovely daytrip destination for Berliners. Here, the Spree river runs in many tiny reaches through deep green forests. There is an uncountable number of bridges around due to all the different waterways. My Bridges on Sundays post may come to you on a Monday this week – but it has more bridges than it usually does!

There are your regular ones like this one in the Schlosspark, palace park, of Lübbenau, with its gently curved bannisters that to the right go on to pass into a wooden fence. Those crisscrossed fences are very typially German to me and they are called Jägerzaun, hunter’s fence.

Spreewald 1

There are several of these bridges in Lübbenau that elevate above the water as though they were made specifically to make viewing platforms for curious visitors.

Spreewald 2

And there are also your tiny wooden footbridges that are really just there to help you get dry-shod to the other side of a creek or a swamp.

Spreewald 3

The intense green colours and the fresh air were a true treat. If only there hadn’t been so many mosquitos! I will write more about the Spreewald daytrip soon, surely – so stay tuned to learn about what Sorbians are and why I must absolutely come back to this place.

If you have read My Mission statement, you know why I love bridges. To me they are the most universal symbol of connection, of bringing people together and overcoming anything that may seperate us. I want to present to you pictures of bridges that I really love in places that I really love on my blog every Sunday. If you have a picture of a bridge that you would like to share with my readers as a guest post, feel free to contact me!

Wooden Trail in Lahemaa, Estonia

This may not even count as a bridge – but it gets one from A to B across a body of water, so I figured it counts.

Bog, Lahemaa, EstoniaMy picture shows the wooden trail that you follow across the large bog in Lahemaa national park in Estonia. I spent my last birthday there and was completely taken by the variety that this gem of nature had to offer. The day finished by a visit to the bog where my friend Wiebke, who you see in the picture, and I took the chance and jumped into one of the lakes with their red waters. Swimming along surrounded by beautiful nature and under a bright blue summer evening sky, my skin looked as though it was covered in an ever so slight and even layer of rust. The water is not contaminated; in fact it is very healthy and full of minerals.

After the refreshing swim, we tried to catch up with our tour group and quickly made our way over the wooden footpath, careful not to tread to either side of it lest we destroy the plants and get very wet feet. The whole scenery seemed to me as though out of a fairytale. The footpath took us through a wonderland safely to a promising new end. And it didn’t connect the two sides of the bog going above and across, it didn’t elevate itself to higher levels, but it was a bridge that stayed level with what it was overcoming. It was humbling to walk it.

If you have read My Mission statement, you know why I love bridges. To me they are the most universal symbol of connection, of bringing people together and overcoming anything that may seperate us. I want to present to you pictures of bridges that I really love in places that I really love on my blog every Sunday. If you have a picture of a bridge that you would like to share with my readers as a guest post, feel free to contact me!

Zugbrücke / Draw Bridge in Greifswald, Germany

This is a bridge that makes me nostalgic.

1Deutschland - Greifswald (Zugbrücke)2This is the old draw bridge in Greifswald in Pomerania in the North Eastern corner of Germany.

The time I spent in Greifswald as an undergrad student is a constant source of comforting memories to me. With Tübingen, where I went for my MA, I never formed an attachment quite as strong. Greifswald is a small, but very pretty town right by the Baltic Sea, not far from Poland, on the main land between the two islands Rügen and Usedom. Its quiet charms and cheerful beauty caught me from day one, and I spent three happy, carefree years there that I treasure until today.

When back in those days I needed to clear my head and get away from it all, I would mount my bike and make the 15 minute ride out to the district of Wieck, where the river Ryck flows into the Bay of Greifswald which then opens up into the Baltic. The old wooden bridge is a landmark of this part of town. When you stand on it and you look towards the Bay, you can see the colour of the water changing – the river is smooth and glassy, and then there’s a fine line after which the water is rough and grey. It is an abrupt change of colour, not a gradual one. It is promising the difference between the domesticated security of the river and the wilderness of the sea. When standing on this bridge, I feel in the transitional room between these two modes of life. Maybe this place is why Greifswald has always been home to me.

If you have read My Mission statement, you know why I love bridges. To me they are the most universal symbol of connection, of bringing people together and overcoming anything that may seperate us. I want to present to you pictures of bridges that I really love in places that I really love on my blog every Sunday. If you have a picture of a bridge that you would like to share with my readers as a guest post, feel free to contact me!

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