river – Seite 5 – bruecken_schlag

Tower Bridge in London, England

Today’s Bridge on Bridges on Sundays is probably a bit more widely known then my regular pick.

This is, of course, London’s famous Tower Bridge.

I have been to England only once, which I regret very much, because I liked both London and Bristol – and in fact, looking out the window on the train ride between the two made me want to get off at about every stop, especially Bath. I felt travelling there to be very different from the places I usually travel to. The best description I can come up with is that I found England wholesome. Intact, if you will. Which may be nothing but a sign for the fact that I haven’t spent enough time there yet to discover its inconsistencies, its struggles and dark sides.

However, I think Tower Bridge supports this notion in its architecture, and here’s why: The prominent thing about Tower Bridge is not the part where people cross it. What catches everyone’s eye instead are the two impressive and beautiful towers. There is a dominance of the vertical when bridges usually put focus to the horizontal. It is as though here there’s not so much need for sketching, bridging, piecing together parts – but looking above and ahead, reaching for more, for the skies. I found myself in that, too. When we see eye to eye and the connection works, we should try to put our powers together and reach the next highest level. Most of the time, the sky is the limit.

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!

The One Hundredth – Mehmed Paša Sokolović Bridge

April 21, 2013 / bruecken_schlag / 6 Kommentare

This is my one hundredth post on this blog. When I think back on the way I started out, I can’t believe what a journey it has been. I was a different person a little over three years ago, and for all the things that I was lucky enough to experience and write about since then, I am nothing but grateful. There is not a day that passes when I don’t think about one or the other experience that I have made travelling and that has shaped who I am today, and not a day that passes without saying a silent quick prayer of thanks for that.

The One Hundredth deserves to be celebrated with a truly special place, and what else could that be than a bridge. Next to Mostar’s Stari Most, this is the Bridge of Bridges to me: Mehmed Paša Sokolović Bridge in Višegrad, Bosnia & Hercegovina.

And what else could have inspired me to desperately want to see this beautiful and powerful piece of architecture, this work of art in itself, than literature. I mention Ivo Andrić’s monumental book Na Drini ćuprija (The Bridge on the Drina) in My Mission statement. It is a nobel prize winning novel about the small town of Višegrad, about its inhabitants and its culture, and the bridge around which the town revolves – from its construction in the 16th century to its destruction during World War I. The book encompasses four centuries of joy and pain, laughter, tears and blood. It is a collection of anecdotes and a compendium of beautifully drawn characters, a lesson in history as much as a lesson in humanity. No one who loves the book could possibly finish reading and not want to see the bridge.

I was so lucky as to come to Višegrad on a beautiful day in May three years ago, on a quiet and sunny day at that, and I sat down on the bridge an finished reading the book about the bridge. Words cannot express the elation I felt in that moment. Different parts of my world were coming together. Everything made sense. Surely it is my analytical mind that looks back on that day and notices how perfect it was more so than my actual self back then, but I do remember being completely and unconditionally happy in that moment when I sat on the Kapia and read the book. The kapia is the little balcony that you can see in the middle of the bridge, across from the stele you see rising up.

The Kapia

Central stele – the inscriptions are in Turkish, but they are mentioned in Ivo Andric’s novel and according to that, they tell of the construction history and ask God for his blessing of the bridge.

I only passed through Višegrad, I never spent the night. It is a small place that except for the bridge has not got a whole lot of amazing sights to offer. So I had my pack on me as I sat on the bridge. Walking by were two German soldiers I chatted up. They were stationed in Foča, if I remember correctly, and told me a bit about the international military supervision Bosnia & Hercegovina is still under after the wars of the 1990s. It felt weird to speak about this when all around me and inside of me there was this great sense of peace. I have another favorite book that is set there by an author who is not much older than me. He is called Saša Stanišić and the novel „How the Soldier Repairs the Gramophone“. It is set in the 1990s and deals with the Balkan wars. I only read it after my trip down there, but I would like to go back to Višegrad having this second literary perspective on the town. It is, after all the sight of the Višegrad massacre in 1992 that included Bosniaks being murdered by Serb troops on the very bridge you see in these pictures. Now of course there is no talk of that in the novel by Andrić, which was published in 1945. History is yet more multi-layered than can be covered by the four centuries Andrić describes. Through all the history and all that can be learned from being in a place like the monumental Mehmed Paša Sokolović Bridge, however, what sticks with me more than anything else is the beauty of the ancient construction, the coolness of the stone, the color of the Drina river and the peace and quiet that filled my heart and soul on that beautiful day in May 2010.

Danube Bridges in Budapest, Hungary

April 14, 2013 / bruecken_schlag / 6 Kommentare

Today’s photo on Bridges on Sundays brings you several bridges – a bridge cluster, if you will: The bridges over the Danube in Budapest.

It is a little more than three years ago that I started my South Eastern Europe adventure. Budapest will forever hold a special place in my heart, because it was the first stop in a non German-speaking country – the place where the whole magnitude of my adventure started to actually feel real and concrete. When I got off the train here, I knew it: It had started. These months were to belong to no one but me, and they’d be full of life and joy. And they really were.

On my last night in Budapest I climbed up Gellert Hill at sunset and looked down at the Danube river between Buda and Pest. The day had been beautiful and sunny, not yet really warm, but Spring was in the air. As the sky turned darker, the city turned lighter – lights were turned on first in the houses, then on the streets, finally the bridges were floodlit. I loved how light transcended from the skies to the earth, and I had such hopes and dreams and never knew to which degree they were to be exceeded. It was a happy moment indeed.

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!

The Variety of Home

April 9, 2013 / bruecken_schlag / 17 Kommentare

I am curating a twitter account this week that works by the rotation curation principle. It is called @i_amgermany and a different German or lover of Germany tweets on it every week, changing Sunday nights. Of course that makes me want to write about Germany on here this week, but I don’t exactly have a post in the drawer, and to be honest, taking care of two twitter accounts takes a lot of time.

So truthfully, it is a bit out of lack of time that I am bringing you a photo essay this week. Then again, when I look at the beauty I have to offer in this, I don’t think you will take it too badly. I am trying to show you the variety of what my beautiful home country has to offer, and I hope you will enjoy it as much as I did picking the photos for you.

Of course there are the thriving cities of Germany – Berlin, the largest and the capitol, surely comes first and foremost, but next in size are Hamburg, Munich and Cologne, and they are not to be neglected. All of them are very different, yet charming in their own ways.

The Speicherstadt, that is, City of Warehouses, shows you how functionality and beauty go together in Hamburg

When in Munich, climb up Alter Peter’s church tower – the view will be worth it!!

Cologne’s Cathedral is bound to leave you speechless with its gothic grandeur

But there is also landscapes! I had to cut down to a very small introduction of what Germany has to offer in that department. There’s the North and Baltic Seas in the North, and the Alps in the South, and a whole lot of rivers, mountain ranges, forests, lakes and fields in between.

Lake Constance borders Germany, Austria and Switzerland and brings maritime flair to the Southern most part of the country

Very dear to my heart, although I’m usually more fan of flat landscapes, are the rolling hills of Swabia, especially on a beautiful winter day like this

Would you have ever guessed that this is… Berlin?! Schlachtensee is a popular day trip destination in the summer

There are the castles that so many people associate with Germany. I have to admit I have never been to Neuschwanstein, the famous one that inspired the Disney castle, but there’s plenty of others worth visiting:

Castle Schwerin in the North East of the country is a true fairytale place to me

The Bayreuth Eremitage in Bavaria is worth a visit too – next to the castle you have a large park with beautiful grottos like this one

And in general there is much architecture to admire. Be it sacral in churches and monasteries or functional in post offices, train stations, hospitals, universities and so many more. Germany is just really pretty. Nothing to argue about that!

Bebenhausen in Southern Germany is one of the prettiest monasteries I have been to

The Fulda cathedral may not be as famous as the one in Cologne, but it surely makes for a beautiful stop right in the heart of the country

Lübeck with its hanseatic beauty of red brick stone holds a very special place in my heart!

Would you mind going to school here? This is Greifswald university, right by the Baltic Sea in the North East of the country. I absolutely loved my years as an undergrad student here.

Sometimes the beauty is not taken such great care of. This former hospital complex in Hohenlychen in Brandenburg is slowly left to decay. Such a shame.

Tübingen, another university town, has charmed everyone I know of. Studying there for my Master’s wasn’t the worst thing that could have happened to me.

I could have and would have wanted to show you so much more, but I had to stick with places I had decent footage of this time around. Time and time again I think that travel in Germany alone could take years and years.

What are your favorite places in Germany? Or your dream destinations? Any places you think are must-sees – or need to be avoided?

Vanšu tilts in Riga, Latvia

April 7, 2013 / bruecken_schlag / 4 Kommentare

Bridges on Sundays today brings you a modern, mighty and functional Bridge.

This is Vanšu tilts, Cable Bridge, in Latvia’s thriving capitol Riga. Riga was a place that didn’t feel very foreign from the very start, and I figured that that must be because it is a hanseatic city – meaning one of those cities that were part of the trade union “Hanse” that connected many cities in Northern Europe and especially in the Baltic Region in the middle ages. Hanseatic cities have a specific vibe to them that I love very, very much. My home town Hamburg is one, and so coming to another never truly feels like going to a strange place. The more excited I got when I learned that Riga was actually founded by monks that came to this area from Bremen, another German hanseatic city that I have a personal connection with because my mother grew up there. Once I knew this, I discovered similarities to Bremen on every corner.

One of the reasons I love hanseatic cities is that they are most always located at the coast or at least by a river. Riga is beautifully set right at Gulf of Riga, and water seems to run its ways through the city everywhere. The Daugava River opens up into the Baltic here, and the bridge crosses it to connect different parts of the city. Funnily enough I think this one looks a bit like the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco or the Bosphorus Bridge in Istanbul – huge and well known landmarks in cities that have nothing to do with the Hanse whatsoever. There’s another connection for you that a bridge can make.

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!

Guest Post: The Bridge That Screams Lucerne

März 31, 2013 / bruecken_schlag / 2 Kommentare

One of the most enriching and beautiful contacts I have made since I first got into the travel blogosphere more intensely is my friend Aggy of DreamExploreWander. We got into talking on twitter and I think she was the first person I ever met online to become someone I consider a friend before having met them. Her beautiful travel blog is both a treat for the eyes, with its gorgeous layout and beautiful pictures, and for the travel-itching soul. Aggy’s posts tell stories of travel with such passion and verve and such a genuine sense of emotion that even if you haven’t yet come to know her, you wil certainly want to be friends with her upon reading her posts, just like I did. In order to do that, you should subscribe to her blog DreamExploreWander, like her facebook page and follow her on twitter. I am honored and happy that Aggy decided to write a guest post for me on a bridge she recently discovered in Lucerne, Switzerland.

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I love the concept of a bridge, connecting two ends. This is why I love Mariella’s mission. Ever since I discovered her enchanting blog and become good friends with her, I now unconsciously look for bridges whenever I travel. This particular bridge I want to share with you caught my attention during my recent trip to Lucerne. Kapellbrücke Bridge is the bridge people look for once they arrive in Lucerne. I honestly didn’t know much about this pretty town, when I told some friends I was coming here in the weekend, they mostly reacted by saying “You HAVE to see Kapellbrücke bridge!”. I was thinking, “what’s the big deal with this bridge anyway?!”.

Spanning across the Reuss River, which is a gorgeous river, this bridge really does attract attention. The bridge is truly one of the prettiest and the most unique I have ever seen. Made from wood and with a roof covering the whole way from one end to the other. I have seen pictures of this bridge in the spring/summer where the side of the bridge is filled with brightly-coloured flowers which intensifies its beauty. Sadly, I was there in the cold winter but nevertheless the wooden structure of the bridge awed me. It is said that it is the oldest bridge in Europe with this kind of roofed structure.

In the past, this bridge acted as a connection between the new and old city of Lucerne. In the middle of it, there is a Wasserturm or a water tower – called this way as the tower looks as if it is standing in the water of Reuss river. From the bridge you can get a peaceful view of the river.

In 1993, the bridge was caught on fire and due to its wooden architecture, it destroyed almost all parts of it. The fire also destroyed the original paintings inside the bridge. They successfully rebuilt it although evidence of the fire still exists. The paintings were also recovered, which is great as you can now still see gorgeous paintings inside the bridge. Each painting is telling a different story, so it’s always nice to take some time inside the bridge to try to understand the meaning behind each picture.

The trip to Lucerne was another solo trip for me. In this particular solo trip, I found myself to be more relaxed and confident in travelling alone, the city of Lucerne certainly helped me. I have always found rivers and lakes a peaceful place to contemplate life. As I crossed Kapellbrücke Bridge, I felt like I was inside a museum and a gallery at the same time. The beautiful paintings captivated me. I stopped for quite sometimes at the edge of the bridge to stare at the calming stream of Reuss River. With the amazing landscape and standing in a bridge which has been through so much history, I felt a strong calmness towards me.

This bridge definitely defines the city of Lucerne and it is also the first roofed-bridge I have been. The paintings, the architecture, the water tower, the calming Reuss river – combinations which make this bridge more than just an ordinary bridge and one worth to take time to absorb its beauty.

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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!

Guest Post: Triple Bridge in Ljubljana, Slovenia

März 10, 2013 / bruecken_schlag / 5 Kommentare

This week’s Bridges on Sundays brings you the first guest post ever on my blog. I have the great honor to present to you my friend Sarah from Wake up Mona, a blog you should most definitely check out. Sarah is an art teacher in the US currently planning her six month RTW which will start this summer. She blogs about her previous travels in stunning photo essays and shares her thoughts on the power of travel in a strong and genuine voice. She and I share a deep love for Eastern Europe. Please follow Sarah on twitter, like her facebook page and keep up to date as she embarks on her journey through Central America, the former Yugoslavia, Greece and Egypt.

Today, Sarah brings to you a bridge that is unique, yet threefold.

Ljubljana is a city of bridges, each with its own story to tell. A river of the same name (Ljubljanica) flows through the city, making bridge-crossing a necessary and eventually a very natural occurrence. One of my favorites was the Tromostovje, or Triple Bridge, located at the entrance to old town. There are three individual pedestrian bridges to choose from, but I found myself always venturing to the sides; I’ve always hated being in the middle. The middle bridge is the oldest, built in 1842. It stood as a lonely single bridge for nearly 90 years until the two side ones were added in 1931. It’s impossible to know that by looking at it today, all three bridges unify as one.

But it’s easy to overlook its architectural uniqueness. Perfectly situated, connecting old and new, Ljubljana castle on one side and lively Preseren’s square on the other, Triple Bridge is the heart of Ljubljana. No visit to this lovely city would be complete without crossing it at least once, preferably three times. 🙂

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 also have a picture of a bridge that you would like to share with my readers as a guest post, feel free to contact me!

Oderbrücke, Frankfurt (Oder) / Słubice, Germany / Poland

Februar 17, 2013 / bruecken_schlag / 6 Kommentare

Bridges on Sundays comes to you from a place today that brings the Bridge as my symbol of connection between cultures to quite a literal level.

This photo was taken out of the train on Oderbrücke that connects Frankfurt / Oder in Germany with Świecko (Słubice) in Poland. The river Oder has only marked a border since 1945. Before, both sides of the river were German. After World War II Germany lost its Eastern territories, namely Silesia and Eastern Prussia, to Poland, while Poland lost large parts of Galicia, the Wilna and Nowogrodek areas to the Soviet Union. This map might make it clearer. In 1949 the Odra became the official border between the newly founded German Democratic Republic and the Polish People’s Republic. The Federal Republic of Germany didn‘t recognize this border officially until 1970 when Willy Brandt was chancellor. He had brought on a political course of rapproachment with the East. It was perceived as scandalous back then. Federal Germans felt that Brandt was giving up on land that was actually theirs to re-obtain one day. Thankfully those times are largely behind us, and hardly any German wants these territories back, but resentments die hard, and there is still mistrust between Poles and Germans when it comes to this, especially in older generations.

I only visited Frankfurt and Słubice for the first time last May and walked across a different bridge then that is open for cars and pedestrians. I remember feeling elated. There was no border control. There were no fences or gates or barriers. There was, simply spoken, just free access between the two countries. I thought “Schengen”, thought “European Union”, but this meant so much more than politics. It meant bridging the gap between two countries and removing all obstacles for people to come together and work through the hardships that history has burdened them with.

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!

Plank in Mavrovo National Park, Macedonia

Februar 10, 2013 / bruecken_schlag / Kommentare deaktiviert

This is a Bridge on Bridges on Sundays that is nameless, but still challenged me.

It is a tiny, improvised, informal and unofficial little plank in Macedonia’s Mavrovo National Park, just around the corner from Sveti Jovan Bigorski monastery. Mavrovo was one of the most surprising places to me in all the Balkans. I only passed through it between Ohrid and Skopje with a short stop at the monastery, and I made a definite note to self to come back again. Endlessly stretching green hills – but of a toxic, lurid color that is much more fiery than that of the hills in Bosnia that have always had a calming effect on me.

After taking a look around the monastery’s beauty I went back to the street where I was supposed to stop a bus coming through about half an hour later. I meandered around for a bit and found the tiny creek that ran parallel to the street with this improvised bridge across. I had my backpack on me and it was a very hot day, I am guessing well over 30°C. I saw the bridge and I was unsure whether to cross it because it looked unstable, but the moment I questioned my ability to cross it, I really wanted to get to the other side. Fear is a funny thing, and in this moment I allowed myself to feel it fully, even though it was s small, seemingly stupid fear. I stood there for a moment, torn, and all of a sudden the funny looking plank had a whole world of meaning, and it became any obstacle that stood to be overcome. I did cross it in the end, and from the other side I could reach the creek and cool my feet in the water for a bit. Having done that made me feel stronger. It is in the small experiences that we find ourselves to become wiser 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!

Thinking of Kraków…

Februar 6, 2013 / bruecken_schlag / 14 Kommentare

Dieser Post basiert auf diesem deutschen Originalpost.

My first visit to Poland was when I was 8. The second visit of this place that I would come to love so truly didn’t happen until 13 years later. I had been learning Polish for two years and was excited and curious for this country that I had but a dim and distant memory of. After all, I had decided to make it part of my life by studying its language, culture and, above all, its literature. I signed up for a four week language course in Kraków.

Back then, one rather chilly day in early March, I got off the bus from the airport at the main station just by the Planty, a green belt, a little park that encircles the old town. Looking up to a grey sky and breathing in Polish air for the first time as an adult, I was full of anticipation and a giddy nervousness, as though I was going on a first date. The church towers led the way, and I walked towards them in the direction I supposed the old town’s center to be in. I walked down Floriańska Street towards the Rynek, the main square. I didn’t know that Floriańska was a famous street. I didn’t know it led to the Rynek. My legs carried me on as if they knew they way, as if they’d walked it a hundred times. A feeling, nay, a certainty came over me that I had been here before. There was music everywhere. Pictures flashed in front of my inner eye, pictures of heavy red velvet curtains that I would see at Cafe Singer in the Jewish quarter Kazimierz later during my stay. My soul seemed to recognize the city from a former life. Until today I feel sure that this first visit to Kraków wasn’t actually the first. Instead, I was coming home in many strange, yet very natural and sensible ways.

When people ask me today why I love Kraków, this experience is really the only answer I have for them. To be quite honest I don’t understand the question. Kraków was the first city I ever really fell in love with. I have been there many times since, and every visit just makes my love for it grow.

A collage of memories:

Sitting bei Wisła (Vistula) River, just below Wawel, which is the castle hill. A sunny day in early April. The river is making a large bend here, and it runs calmly and proudly as though it couldn’t ever run wild and burst its banks. In this moment I realize that I have never felt like a stranger in this city.

Or having my first Zapiekanka at Plac Nowy (New Square) in Kazimierz. Zapiekanka is the Polish version of fast food: a baguette, essentially with mushrooms and cheese, grilled in the oven and topped with lots of ketchup and chives. Yum! And there’s no place in all of Poland where they are better than at the Okrąglak, the funny looking round building inmidst of the square that used to be a market hall. So say the locals, and so say I.

Running across the Rynek, hurrying to meet someone or other, and from the tower of Mariacka, St. Mary’s church with the two unevenly high towers, the melody of the Hejnał is sounding out to my ears, falling right into my heart, and I have to stop and listen to it. „Hejnał“ (which funnily enough is pronounced something like „hey, now“) is derived from a Hungarian word for Dawn. It is a very old Polish signal melody. Legend has it that when the Mongols tried to invade Poland in the middle ages, a guard was keeping watch on the tower and sounded the Hejnał to warn the people of Kraków when the army approached the city. He was shot mid-melody so that he couldn’t finish. Until today, every full hour an interrupted Hejnał is sounded in all four directions from Mariacka’s tower. Yes, even in the middle of the night. No, it is not a record. Listen to it here.

Having a ~~kosher~~* dinner at Klezmer Hois in Kazimierz and accidentally stumbling upon a Klezmer concert in the room next door. I’m standing in the door way, covertly hidden away. In front of a delicate dark red curtain with golden ornaments, there is a man with a double bass, one with an accordion and a young woman with a violin. Their play is sweet and snappy, lively and melancholy. Hava Nagila. Bei mir bist du scheen. The woman will at times put down the violin and start singing. Her voice is deep and velvety, it sounds like the dark wood boarding on the walls. Like the stone pillars and the lace doilies on the tables. From dark depths, the voice is softly climbing up, sighing high, desperate, the way Klezmer clarinettes usually do. I feel like sighing myself. Magical, magical Kraków.

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Brückenschläge und Schlagworte

Schlagwort: river (Seite 5 von 7)

Tower Bridge in London, England

The One Hundredth – Mehmed Paša Sokolović Bridge

Danube Bridges in Budapest, Hungary

The Variety of Home

Vanšu tilts in Riga, Latvia

Guest Post: The Bridge That Screams Lucerne

Guest Post: Triple Bridge in Ljubljana, Slovenia

Oderbrücke, Frankfurt (Oder) / Słubice, Germany / Poland

Plank in Mavrovo National Park, Macedonia

Thinking of Kraków…

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