bruecken_schlag_worte

Brückenschläge und Schlagworte

Schlagwort: traffic

Ping Tom Memorial Park Drawbridge in Chicago, Illinois, US

Back to the summer, back to sunny weather and back to the travel life – back to Chicago.  Ping Tom Memorial Park Drawbridge, Chicago, IL, USOn my very last day in Chicago, Jesse took me to Pilsen for the best Mexican food I have ever had in my entire life (and that from someone who lived in El Paso, Texas for a year!) and to enjoy a bit of Chitown’s Latino side. On the way back home, we stopped by the Ping Tom Memorial Park in Chinatown and sat by the Chicago River for a while before taking a boat downtown. We were in sight of the bridge – not a spectacular one, although I liked the little hut that was on top of it and wondered what that was for. It was a mild August day, and the sun was glistening on the water. Children were playing nearby. It was peaceful.

But then, all of a sudden, the bridge started moving! It hadn’t looked like a draw bridge to me, but the entire body (including the little hut) started moving upwards along the steel constructions on the sides. After coming to stillstand, it remained silent for a while, then a train passed over it and when that was gone, the bridge came down again. It was the weirdest looking thing to see the little house on the bridge rise up and sink down again. I imagined that, when I was a little girl, I would have wanted to live in a house on a bridge that moves up and down. I think I still do.

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!

Ponte Luís I in Porto, Portugal

It has been quiet on the blog this week because my decadent three day get-away to Porto left me with a lot of work to catch up on. But I am happy to present you today with one of the beauties I found while fuelling up on sun and energy in Portugal’s sun.  Ponte Luís I, Porto, PortugalThis is the Bridge of Luís I, king of Portugal between 1861 and 1889. While Portuguese kings are usually referred to by the title „Dom“ and the bridge should be called “ Ponte Dom Luis I“, our tour guide told us that rumour has it the „Dom“ was dropped when the king didn’t show up for the opening of the bridge in 1886. Spiteful! If you think that the metal structure seems familiar, you probably associate it with the Eiffel Tower – and yes, Gustave Eiffel did do some work on bridges in Porto. Just not this one. This is his partner Téophile Seyrig’s work who is often not given credit because Eiffel is just the more glamorous and well-known name.

I am fairly certain that I will have to put up more pictures of this stunning bridge because I took about 50 of it. I find it fascinating how the metro goes over the top and cars go over the lower level, and how the bridge connects once more not only two river banks, but two different cities. What you see on the other side is not Porto anymore, but Vila Nova de Gaia. I love the majestic gate that carries the bridge’s name, and the filigree of the steel structure. And this isn’t even the only beautiful bridge over the river Douro in Porto. It certainly was the city for me in that respect.

If you have readMy 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!