bridges – Seite 4 – bruecken_schlag

Serpentine Bridge in London, England

Today’s bridge on a Sunday could almost fall under the street art category too. But just almost.

This is Serpentine Bridge, the bridge that marks the border between Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park in London. While the bridge in itself is really pretty with its many arches, what I liked best was the sign in which someone had switched the word „Danger“ to „Angel“. It put stories in my head, and images of falling angels, and of soaring angels who would come to save their falling companions. Maybe it was because I had just walked by the Peter Pan statue and decided that I never wanted to grow up, like Peter, that I felt transported into a fairytale world by this sign. I think being reminded of unearthly creatures, of angels and fairies and pixie dust, never hurts.

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 separate 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 in Gauja National Park, Latvia

Oktober 13, 2013 / bruecken_schlag / 2 Kommentare

Granted this picture doesn’t tell you much about where this bridge is or what it is surrounded by. But it illustrates one of my favourite things about bridges: the view you have from them. Last summer, my long trip took me to the three Baltic states Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. Although my friend and I travelled in August, there was no guarantee for sunny weather, and so we visited Latvia’s Gauja National Park, with its enchanted forests and fairytale fortresses made from red brick, in the rain. This is one of the bridges that lead across the river Gauja in the park. It is a simple bridge in not the best of shapes, but standing there looking at the nature around me was magical, as it is to me on almost any bridge.

There were misty views of steaming trees and a very low cloud cover. The river was red – people say it’s not the rust, but healthy minerals, but it looked suspicious to me nonetheless. I wondered if it was always this colour intensive or if the storm that had been through in the night had churned up the clay on the ground. I stood in my travel gear, everything on me that I needed at the time, on a bridge connecting two river banks, looking at all life had to offer me in that moment. I was cold and my jacket was damp because the humidity in the air was so high, it was a bit as though the rain had just stopped and now swayed there midair. And I was happy.

I f 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!

Varadin Bridge in Novi Sad, Serbia

Oktober 6, 2013 / bruecken_schlag / Kommentare deaktiviert

After a lot of bridge posts about Western and / or Northern Europe, today I am taking you back to my beloved Balkans and some summer sunshine while autumn has turned wet and grey in Berlin. This is the view from Petrovaradin fortress onto the city centre of Novi Sad, Serbia’s second largest city. To the right in the picture you can see Varadin Bridge crossing the Danube river. If you want to go to the fortress, you will most likely cross this bridge. From the bridge you have a gorgeous view of the old castle walls sitting majestically on a hill above the city. From the fortress you have this beautiful outlook onto the city.

Novi Sad is the centre of the Vojvodina. Vojvodina is an autonomous province in Serbia, just like Kosovo is considered to be one by the Serbians (who, as you may know, have not recognized Kosovo’s independence). It is also one of the many multicultural areas in Eastern and Central Eastern Europe – easily recognizable by the fact that it has six official languages: Serbian / Croatian, Hungarian, Slovak, Romanian and Ruthenian. I think especially the Hungarian influence on the city is quite noticeable in the architecture and the cityscape. It is one of the areas in which gaps between cultures are simultaneously made visible – via prejudice and exclusion – and bridged – in the necessity to live together in one space.

I f 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 love in places that I 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

September 22, 2013 / bruecken_schlag / 4 Kommentare

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. 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.

I f 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!

Rügenbrücke, Stralsund / Rügen, Germany

September 15, 2013 / bruecken_schlag / Kommentare deaktiviert

The biggest island in Germany isn’t necessarily the most famous one. It is called Rügen and is in the Baltic Sea. And it is connected to the mainland city Stralsund by a stunning bridge, the Rügenbrücke.

When I was at college in the area, you could reach the island only by a tiny bridge, the Rügendamm, that always had horrible traffic jams on it. My sister once took ten hours to get off of the island in the car. Since 2007 the modern Rügenbrücke offers the much more comfortable way to cross the strait between the mainland and the island, the Strelasund.

When we went to Rügen this weekend, I took a picture on the way there in beautiful early autumn weather. The aesthetics of the modern bridge stand strongly against the bright sky with it’s Baltic blue colour, and I can’t wait to be by the beach of the sea I might love most of all of them.

On the way back, Andrew took another picture of the same bridge in much more dramatic weather conditions. The steel towers almost disappear into the foggy clouds, and rain is starting to drum on the windshield. I can hardly believe that it is the same place – but in two different directions. It puts a whole new perspective on the idea of, well, perspective itself.

I f 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 Metaphors

September 8, 2013 / bruecken_schlag / 6 Kommentare

There is a feeling of autumn grabbing a hold of me, earlier in the year than I am used to it. I feel like retreating into my shell for a while and reflecting on lots of things, and that goes with moments that lack inspiration. This feels like a time to think, not a time to create. I find such breaks immensely important, but they don’t necessarily go well with maintaining a blog.

Stari Most, Mostar, Bosnia & Hercegovina

I cannot go without a bridge pic in this post though – this old favourite is Stari Most in Mostar, Bosnia & Hercegovina – the bridge that inspired my blog’s name and theme.

Now, I still have loads of stories and thoughts to share that I have stocked up on over the summer for my weekly posts. But as I went through my photos, there was no bridge that inspired me enough to do my Sunday piece on this week.

Instead I remembered that I had seen on twitter this week that Istanbul’s slogan for their application to host the 2020 Olympics was „Bridge Together“, and I was once more reminded of the power of language and the power of the Bridge as a metaphor. And it made all the more sense to me that I was always meant to love Istanbul – as a city of bridging two continents together literally and metaphorically.

But there is more ways in which the bridge is present in our language. When there is need of calming down, of letting things come to you, we decide to „cross that bridge when we come to it.“ When we want to cut off all opportunities of going back, we say we are „burning bridges“. And there is the playful merging of the two that says „We’ll burn that bridge when we come to it.“

Bridges thus seem to be an inherent part of the metaphor of the „path of life“. They hint at overcoming obstacles, but also at the fact that the road won’t always be the same and there are bound to be transitions. Whilst on a bridge, there might be a feeling of in-between. But only while on the bridge do you have a distanced outlook on the lands on both sides of the bridge. Maybe that is what my current autumnal need for solitude is for.

Latin Bridge in Sarajevo, Bosnia & Hercegovina

September 1, 2013 / bruecken_schlag / Kommentare deaktiviert

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

This 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.

I f 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

August 25, 2013 / bruecken_schlag / Kommentare deaktiviert

Today I am self-indulgently using a picture of me on a bridge. I hope you can bear with me 🙂This 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!

I f 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!

Wabash Avenue Bridge in Chicago, Illinois, US

August 18, 2013 / bruecken_schlag / Kommentare deaktiviert

I have asked my friend about five times how to say the name of the street that runs over today’s bridge and I cannot for the life of me remember it. WAY-bawsh? WAW-besh? Wah-BOSH? Who cares, really. Maybe I should just refer to it as Irv Kupcinet Bridge, its other name that it takes from a famous Chicago journalist.

The picture is taken from Michigan Avenue in sight of many of the famous architectural marvels of Chicago downtown. Although I was in a way taken by the skyscrapers from the beginning, I am honestly ambivalent about their „beauty“. Are they really beautiful? Or are they just – stunning? impressive? awe-inducing? I don’t think one could speak for all of them in general. I absolutely adore the Jewelers Building, the pretty one on the left in the picture with its tower rising out of the base and its pretty cupola. It reminds me weirdly of the Palace of Culture in Warsaw – Stalin’s gift to the Polish people. Strang seeing a building reminiscent of socialist architecture in the United States!

The bridge almost disappears inmidst the canyons of skyscrapers, but I hope it has not escaped your attention that it is on there, crossing the Chicago River. Because the river branches out, it looks like the letter Y on the map (with a lot of good will, admittedly) – and the Y is an important symbol of the city that shows up on public buildings, street lanterns, and gully covers. In a city so appreciative of its river, bridges must play a role, too. And I think they make a wonderful counterbalance to the architecture that is reaching for the skies. They ground the city.

I f 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

August 4, 2013 / bruecken_schlag / Kommentare deaktiviert

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?

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.

I 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!

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Schlagwort: bridges (Seite 4 von 7)

Serpentine Bridge in London, England

Bridge in Gauja National Park, Latvia

Varadin Bridge in Novi Sad, Serbia

Bridges in Nottingham, England

Rügenbrücke, Stralsund / Rügen, Germany

Bridge Metaphors

Latin Bridge in Sarajevo, Bosnia & Hercegovina

Bridge at South Pond, Chicago, Illinois, US

Wabash Avenue Bridge in Chicago, Illinois, US

BP Bridge in Chicago, Illinois, US

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