bridges travel tips and stories. Vacations ideas, cruises spa and resorts

Home | Bookmark us




>>'bridges' related Travel Topics


Aug29

This bridge will give visitors to the site something extra

Published by Asya in Europe, Ireland, Monuments, Urban Tourism

OConnell_Bridge
O’Connel Street is the main street in Dublin. It is named after Daniel O’Connell (b. 1775 – d 1847), who is known as “the Liberator” for his work in liberating the Roman Catholics in Ireland. At the end of O’Connell St., near the O’Connell St Bridge, is a monument to O’Connell. Today O’Connell St is one of the busiest streets in Dublin, Ireland. The O’Connell Bridge in central Dublin, which spans the River Liffey just north of Trinity College, was designed and built by James Gandon around 1794. It was originally named after the then Viceroy, Lord Carlisle. After the unveiling of a statue in his honour, the bridge was renamed after Daniel O’Connell, first catholic Lord Mayor of Dublin, in approximately 1882.

oconnell dublin

The bridge was widened around 1880 making it almost square, even though Gandon originally designed obelisks and plinths for the four corners. More recently however, the lamps that graced the central island have been restored to their five lantern glory. Overlooking the River Liffey, it’s new Boardwalk and Ha’Penny Bridge this high speed WWL Broadband connection will show Dublin in “Real Time”. O’Connell Bridge (and Street) – one of the widest in Europe, very busy all the time, with lots of hotels, restaurants, shops, and… cinemas! Just a bit further away there’s a SAVOY cinema (watched Harry Potter and Lords Of The Ring there). Give her ten years and let’s see how she trasnforms. This photo is taken looking south down O’Connell. Just to the right of the spire is the Old Post Office, just to the left if you have good eyes is.oconnell The bridge is the famous Ha’penny Bridge. Less honest tourist guides will tell you that this is the price merchants were charged to cross the footbridge. However, the truth is that a half penny was the going rate to have someone’s throat cut, and this was a favourite point to dispose of the body.
From the bridge you might also see the replica “famine ship” Jeanie Johnston lying at berth in the redeveloped Dublin Docklands to the right. Have a closer look if you like, then head back westwards (or upstream) along the quays, passing Custom House until you come to the Liberty Hall (the Trade Union Headquarters) and turn right. Tucked away under the railway overpass and facing Liberty Hall is a memorial to James Connolly, the Irish-American socialist who fought and died with his small Irish Citizen Army in 1916.


Tags:

Social: Bookmark | Permalink | Comments
May16

The Stronghold – bridge of the fusion

Published by Asya in Cruise, Europe, Germany, Urban Tourism, Walking

bridge

The Oberbaum bridge is a double-deck bridge crossing Berlin’s River Spree, considered one of the city landmarks. It link Friendrichshain and Kreuzberg, former city districts that were divided by the Berlin Wall, and has become an important symbol of Berlin’s unity.
It was neglected for a long time when Germany was divided because the division of East and West went right through the middle of the bridge, which means that it wasn’t used and nobody really took care of it. Now it’s a very vital structure connecting Kreuzberg and Frierichshain. There’s even a U-Bahn train traveling over it.

the Bridge

The Oberbaum Bridge, connecting Friedrichshain and Kreuzberg over the Spree since 1896, is the most elaborately designed bridge. Not only street traffic, but also an above ground subway line crosses it. The supporting structure for the raised train tracks was architecturally clad and adorned with ornamental figures. The structure resembles a castle in Mark Brandenburg. After reunification the bridge was restored and re-opened to trains and road traffic in 1995. A yellow Berlin U-Bahn train is crossing on the upper bridge, while cars are using the lower level.

molecule
Like the walls of the East Side, which guide you along a distance of 1.3 kilometres, the Oberbaum Bridge is a well-known symbol of the division and reunification of the two sides of Berlin. The preserved, painted wall strips between Kreuzberg and Friedrichshain were finally able to be artistically beautified on the East side after 1989 – and the street and elevated train traffic was guided once again via the long shut-down Oberbaum Bridge.
This place marked the border between East and West Berlin, and there were guard towers all along either sides of the river. Only after the wall came down did the train server start running freely again. Where once barbed wire and the Wall stood, there’s now a sandy beach overlooking the Spree and the low throb of techno music. But only in the summer.


Tags:

Social: Bookmark | Permalink | Comments
May08

Benjamin Franklin Bridge

Published by vanhal in History, Monuments, North America, Travel Stories, United States of America, Urban Tourism

benjamin-franklin-bridge-2.jpg

Great cities have great bridges. New York has the Brooklyn Bridge; Venice is a city of beautiful pontes crowned by the Bridge of Sighs. Think San Francisco and you think of the Golden Gate. In Philadelphia, our great span is named in honor of Benjamin Franklin.Plans to construct a bridge between Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Camden, New Jersey on the other side of the Delaware river were made as early as 1818.
The bridge was designed by Paul Philippe Cret, the architect who was also in large part responsible for Philadelphia’s Benjamin Franklin Parkway.
Driving over the bridge and passing under its two tall towers connected by tapering cables, puts one in mind of Dorothy entering into Kingdom of Oz — there is a fearful exhilaration. This bridge does not merely span the Delaware — it soars over the river. Painted a resonant blue, at some points the bridge seems to merge with the sky.

benjamin-franklin-bridge.jpg

Initially the bridge had six car lanes, two tracks for a streetcar and two railway lines on the outside of the bridge’s deck trusses.
A streetcar was never put into service though. The car lanes were later widened and one was added, replacing the streetcar tracks. The railway tracks came into use in 1936.
In 1987 a computerized lighting system was added to the Benjamin Franklin Bridge as part of the celebration of the Bicentennial of the US Constitution. This makes the bridge a colorful spectacle at night.


Tags:

Social: Bookmark | Permalink | Comments
May01

The water conveyance of Shaoxing

Published by Asya in Asia, China, Sailing

Shaoxing City

Shaoxing is world famous for the gorgeous scenes along its waters. The rivers, big and small, span 1,900 kilometers, running vertical and horizontal – just like streets in northern China – with various stone bridges as their crossroads. Shaoxing boasts 229 ancient bridges in various forms, which form a site rich in man-made landscape and wins the city the title of Hometown of Bridges.

The boats

Shaoxing City China covers an area of 7,900 sq km, and the total population of the county is 4.2 million. In ancient times, the town of Shaoxing was surrounded by canals, rivers and lakes. The commercial exchange and transportation between towns all depended on water. In the town, there were systematic water-nets. The transport of goods relied on the water-nets and most streets were parallel with the canals. Pedestrians walked on the streets while the goods were transported on the water and bridges were located on the crossing of water and roads. The three of them formed a 3-D traffic system. The boats appear “by being well quick and maneuverable through the ancientness” but in reality. You to drive in a such sea boat on the water and to view the age – old buildings the sources, are unforgettable experience by.

Shaoxing

The sea boats issue with black window blinds previously for more than 1000 years. They are a traditional vehicle for Shaoxing. They are made a tree for sitting down as well has thatch. One sea boat can piggyback 5-6 humans. The boatman sits in the rear region on the sea boat. He paddles and governs with arms and the leg. These age – old sea boats Cone Shaoxing. A singular kind. This tradition is a flimsy phenomenon today with the appearance of other kinds of conveyance. But nice surprise and big draw are aquatic taxi for the tourists.


Tags:

Social: Bookmark | Permalink | Comments
Mar06

The Erasmus bridge – the trademark of Rotterdam

Published by Asya in Cultural, Europe, Monuments, Netherlands, Sightseeings, Urban Tourism

erasmus

Every city should have a great piece of symbolic architecture – In Paris it’s the Eiffel Tower; in New York – the Empire State Building; in Rotterdam it’s the Erasmus bridge. The Erasmus Bridge is a cable stayed bridge across the Nieuwe Maas river. The Bridge was designed by Ben van Berkel and completed in 1996. The 808 metre long bridge has a 139 metre-high asymmetrical pylon, earning the bridge its nickname of “The Swan” by locals because of its graceful posture over the water. The southern span of the bridge has a 89 metre long bascule bridge for ships that cannot pass under the bridge. The bascule bridge is the largest and heaviest in West Europe and has the largest panel of its type in the world. The bridge was officially opened by Queen Beatrix on 6.09. 1996, having cost about 75 million Euros to construct. Shortly after the bridge opened to traffic in October 1996, it was discovered the bridge would swing under particularly strong wind conditions. To reduce the trembling, stronger shock dampeners were installed.
the bridge

Constructed to facilitate the orchestration of traffic flows, the bridge design is inspired by, and in turn reflects, the industrial character of Rotterdam, adding to the narrative of the city. The bridge operates as the last crossing point between the Northern and Southern areas of the city, whilst its structural scale and design articulation has become a distinctive landmark within the surrounding skyline. The 139 m. tall pylon will become a new point of orientation, connected with, and announcing the new developments in the ‘Kop van Zuid’ area. The asymmetric form, with its bracket construction in sky coloured steel and its long cables, conveys the ‘mobile forces’, that is to say, the multitude of public, urban, constructive and architectural considerations that have been at the basis of the bridge. All details of the bridge have been treated integrally, from the five differently shaped concrete piers, to the railings, the landings, the joints of concrete and concrete, steel and steel, concrete and steel. The finish of each part is of crucial importance to the materialization of the whole.
by night
A lighting plan was made to emphasize the multiple identity of the bridge as an urban artifact. At night, when the appearance of the bridge is reduced to a silhouette, special lighting from the inside will show up the interior of the bridge, with its bundled cables rising steeply above the water as a dematerialized image of its daytime self.
The asymmetric pylon, with its bracket construction in sky-coloured steel, has 2,000 different faces. The long, diagonal cables physically and metaphorically link Rotterdam-South to the city centre. Thirty two stays attached to the top of the pylon and eight back stays keep the structure in balance. Five concrete piers carry the steel deck, which is divided into two footpaths, two cycle paths, a tram track and two carriageways for motor vehicles.
the town

The Erasmus Bridge is such a dramatic departure in bridge building that it has even become part of the city’s official logo. The structure with its unrivalled fascination permits people to move quickly from one end of the city to the other while offering beautiful views over the city from a variety of angles. In short, Erasmus Bridge is a public space in its own right, suspended in the air and yet preserving physical and metaphoric continuity with the city surrounding it.


Tags:

Social: Bookmark | Permalink | Comments