bruecken_schlag_worte

Brückenschläge und Schlagworte

Schlagwort: Southern Germany

Mini Bridges in Tübingen, Germany

I only went photo hunting this afternoon for you in Tübingen where I am to visit my Alma Mater for the weekend. Having almost forgotten about these, I was happy to re-discover the teeny-tiny bridges that line the side of the cute little alleyway Ammergasse.

Ammergasse, Tübingen, GermanyStrolling through the romantic old town of Tübingen I never tire of looking at the beautiful half-timbered houses and the cobble stone alleys. And as much as I resent the notion that Tübingen had a lot of water just because it is by the Neckar (which is no more than a creek here), I love the second little streamlet, the Ammer, that runs right through the oldest parts of town.

Often, the Ammer is redirected to go underground. On Ammergasse, it lines the street which has no car traffic. Here, little crossings lead across the Ammer to connect the small street with the houses. How unique to have to cross a bridge every time you go 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!

Bridge across Steinlach in Tübingen, Germany

When I started Bridges on Sundays round about a year ago, I thought my photo archive was infinite. Now I am starting to realize that I should have started collecting bridges much sooner and much more excessively. But I still have a few up my sleeve, like this nearly forgotten gem.  Steinlachbrücke, Tübingen, GermanyThis is Tübingen, the town where I went to gradschool. I posted the most well-known bridge in town for you a while ago, but this one is actually much closer to my heart. I used to cross it by bike on my way from home to uni. The little river is not the Neckar that famously runs through Tübingen, but the Steinlach, a little affluent only 25km in length. When I needed to get away from everything, I used to take walks along its banks.

The view across the bridge onto the hillside that Tübingen is set against almost makes me feel a sense of home, although I always kept the town at a bit of a distance. That house on top of the hill that looks a bit like a medieval castle is a frat house – fraternities in Germany have a very specific tradition and history, so it may not be what my English speaking readers associate (except if you associate lots of alcohol, you are most probably right!). In this specific case, the house has been property of the fraternity for more than a hundred years. Sometimes it is easy to imagine student life in Tübingen in the 19th century. It really is a quite romantic little town.

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!

Old Bridge in Heidelberg, Germany

This was a completely unexpected find in the mess that is my photo archive. I had completely forgotten about it.  Old Bridge, Heidelberg, GermanyAlmost two years ago, I went for an interview for a scholarship in Heidelberg. It was a bit of a crazy trip for just one day from Berlin, and I didn’t get to see much of the famous city with its romantic castle ruins and gorgeous old town – but I did go down to the Neckar river to see this beauty of a bridge.

Its official name is Karl-Theodor-Brücke, but it is most commonly referred to as Alte Brücke, the Old Bridge. It’s a baroque bridge, but it reminds me architecturally of the medieval Ottoman bridges in the Balkans, like the one in Visegrad in Bosnia and Hercegovina – only the material, the red sandstone found in the Neckar valley, makes it stand out. The barren trees reaching into this shot gave it an eerie feel that I remember quite liking, but I also would love to come back and see it in the summer when everything must be green and ever so much more picturesque. But Heidelberg in the warmer months is surely flooded with tourists, so this winter flair held its own charm for 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!

Neckarbrücke in Tübingen, Germany

Last week I introduced a new series to my blog – one that shows you photos of bridges! It’s that time of the week again, and so today I bring to you the second post in that series:

Neckabrücke, Tübingen, Germany

I have written about how the Neckar is not a true river to me because I grew up next to a river that was several miles in width and about to open up into the North Sea. But when I first came to Tübingen, that small university town in Southern Germany not far from Stuttgart where I was going to go to grad school, the bridge that crosses the Neckar was one of the places that I liked at once.

It was in the midst of summer when I first set foot in Tübingen, and it was beautiful weather. If you want to walk downtown from the train station in Tübingen, you have no choice but to cross the Neckar Bridge. Its balustrades were decorated with beautiful flowers on both sides, and it felt like a guard of honor for anyone who wanted to cross into town. Later I would see those same flower decorations everywhere in town – on lamp posts. On the town hall windows. In planters by the university buildings. The same flowers in the same arrangements everywhere. It was endearing and felt a tad bit finicky in a cute way, which captures much of the towns character for 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 week. 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!