Bridge over the Saale River in Saalfeld, Thuringia (Germany)

Su leicht gibts käne annre Stadt
die sune schiene Gechend hat
wie Saalfeld, an der Saale.
Vier Tore rahmen dich schön ein
du bist bildschön und nicht allein
ich halt zu dir, bin immer da
drück dir die Daumen, wunderbar.

Lyrics of Saalfeld an der Saale

by Bernd Leidel

Old Tumski Bridge spanning the Cybina River in Poznan (Poland)

If porcelain, then only the kind
you won’t miss under the shoe of a mover or the tread of a tank;
if a chair, then not too comfortable, lest
there be regret in getting up and leaving;
if clothing, then just so much as can fit in a suitcase,
if books, then those which can be carried in the memory,
if plans, then those which can be overlooked
when the time comes for the next move
to another street, continent, historical period
or world:

Poem by Stanislaw Baranczak,

painted in a wall in Poznan

Bridge over the Olhadobi creek near Larrau, Pyrénées Atlantiques (France)

Urtzi, heavenly light, the creator of storms

The protector of our forebears, now forgotten
Where are you? Where are we? 

We’ve been forgotten
Time has devoured everything and withered us away
We’re trapped in its claws; where are our roots?
Amari, I’m calling to you out loud.
Give the people strength
Urtzi, son of Amari
You came to me.

Lyrics of Otoi,

song by Zuberoa Aznárez

about basque mithology

Haihuang Bridge over the Yellow River in Ganduzhen, Qinghai (China)

In ancient times, it was believed that the Yellow River flowed from Heaven as a continuation of the Milky Way. Zhang Qian was commissioned to find the source of the Yellow River. After sailing up-river for many days, he saw a girl spinning and a cow herd. Upon asking the girl where he was, she presented him with her shuttle with instructions to show it to the astrologer Yan Junping. When he returned, the astrologer recognized it as the shuttle of the Weaving Girl (Vega), and, moreover, said that at the time Zhang received the shuttle, he had seen a wandering star interpose itself between the Weaving Girl and the cow herd (Altair).

Legend about the Yellow River

Plebanivka Viaduct in Ternopil (Ukraine)

Somewhere upon graves a Kalyna blossomed,
With red flowers it had blossomed
Beyond the seas there is my Ukraine
Native, blooming, beloved land!

Why are our graves forgotten?
Why does no one bring flowers?
And a maiden does not cry in grief,
And a priest does not remember us?

Lyrics from Abkhazian Waltz,

ucranian folk song

Zielona Most (Green Bridge) over the Motlawa River in Gdansk, Pomerania (Poland)

When cathedral bells toll through the morningand sunlight touches steeples with its glare,
and arrows on the town hall clock stop turning,
you will find him on the market square,
sweeping leaves in shadows of despair.
And in that instant you will cease your yearning.
Hunchbacked, with a chuckle he will share
the secrets of his heart, and give a warning
to city doves assembling at his feet,
to sparrows quarrelling on Neptune’s head.
He’ll lower his tobacco chin to meet
their eyes and whisper what Saint Francis said.
He’ll toss crumbs with his withered sailor’s hand.
And when he looks up, you will understand.

Poem The Birdman of Gdansk,
by Leo Yankevich

Balinghe Bridge over the Baling River near Guanling, Guizhou (China)

 "Guizhou is a land where there are no three days without rain, no three fields without a mountain, and no three coins in anyone's pocket."

Chinese saying

Ponte Umberto over the Tiber River in Rome (Italy)

“There’s one thing that I like about Rome that was stated by Napoleon: that from sublime to pathetic is only one step away. And in Rome there’s a constant shifting between sublime and pathetic.” 

Paolo Sorrentino

Bridges over the Sengge Zangbo River (Indus River) in Shiquanhe, Tibet (China)

Scientist finds new origin of Indus River. More than 100 years after Swedish explorer Sven Hedin announced the discovery of the origin of the Indus river, a Chinese scientist has challenged the claim with the help of high-resolution, remote-sensing satellite images and a field investigation to come up with a new finding. "The headstream, called Banggokong by local Tibetans, is about 30 kilometers away from the place that Sven Hedin believed was the source of the river," said Liu. The upper course of Indus River within Tibet is called Sengge Zangbo, which means a lion-mouthed river.

China Daily, 21 october 2010.

Yong'an Bridge over the lake in Beihai park, Beijing (China)

In the ocean there were three celestial mountains, Penglai, Yingzhou and Fangzhang, where celestial beings lived in gorgeous pavilions and enjoyed pills of immortality. Emperors of the Han Dynasty, dispatched trusted officials to search for the pills of immortality, but nothing came out of the effort. In disappointment, the emperors began building celestial islands on waters close by his imperial palace, thereby converting fantasy into reality. Beihai Park was exactly built according to that. The lake itself is reminiscent of the ocean, and the Qionghua Isle in its center is "Penglai". 

Legend about Beihai Park

Kalinov Bridge over the mythological Smorodina River painted by Nikolai Kochergin

Kalinov bridge connects two banks of the Smorodina River. Smorodina is a fiery, seething river, and Kalinov bridge is burning and red-hot. Feather light souls cross this bridge. And they can never go back. This place is guarded by the serpent called Zmei Gorynich. Later on Baba Yaga will live here in her chicken-legged hut. In prehistoric times this was the kingdom of Morena, Morena made sure that events were taking the right course, she kept peace between the worlds.

Russian legend

Grunwaldzki Bridge across the river Vistula in Krakow (Poland)

Tell me who I'll marry, tell me who he'll be
While the Vistula is flowing
By the green oak tree
While the Vistula is flowing
By the green oak tree

Here's a builder come to woo you
No one can build a house like he can
Fondly he tells you that he loves you
As he loves his houses

In a song by Judy Collins

Sant Martí Bridge over the Merlés river in Santa María de Merlés, Barcelona (Spain)

A Frontanyà cerca la passa
del riu Merlès capçal airós,
del Berguedà a l'escapada,
del Matamala a l'hort frondós.
...

In Frontanyà look for the raisin

of the river Merlès airy head,

from Berguedà to the escape,

from Matamala to the leafy garden.

Excerpt from a poem 

by Joan Benet i Petit

Bridge over a canal in the Thahn Toan village near Hué (Vietnam)

“I can’t say what made me fall in love with Vietnam – that a woman’s voice can drug you; that everything is so intense. The colors, the taste, even the rain.”

Graham Greene

Grunwald Bridge over the Oder River in Wroclaw (Poland)

‘I am thankful for heavens that in all my instincts I stood Polish.’ 

 Friedrich Nietzsche

Bridge in a Blue Cats drawing by Rina Zenyuk

 

"It doesn't matter whether a cat is black or white, as long as it catches mice."

Deng Xiaoping

Bridge over the river Todos Os Antos in Teofilo Otoni, Minas Gerais (Brazil)

"Here I will make my Philadelphia!"

Theophilo B. Ottoni,

beofore the founding of this city

Sartakovsky Railway Bridge over the Oká River near Nijni Nojvorov (Russia)

A wind was howling and knew not about whom,
inspiring trembling in our heart.
a peasant woman walked with milk,
walked along the railroad track.
But at seven sharp, in due form,
tearing in full career from the Oka,
having flashed behind the signal-posts,
an express train takes off’.

In a poem by Mayakovski

Bridge over the Vistula River in Ustron, Silesia (Poland)

Vistula flows and flows,
Through the Polish countryside,
And for as long as it flows,
Poland will not perish.

The Vistula River

song from Poland

Titan-RT Bridge over the Rappbode River near Oberharz am Brocken, Saxony Anhalt (Germany)

“The socialist production relations of our workers’ and farmers’ state/The great achievements of the workers, technicians and engineers involved in the construction were the basis for the creation of this work/Recognition and thanks to the builders”

Plaque in the Rappbode dam,

near this Bridge

Tower Bridge over the Thames River in London (United Kingdom)

London, dodging the rain with broken umbrellas
London, readind the Times on Saturday picnics
London, counting stars 'till the stars
All were gone

London, so many plans and nothing but time in
London, nothing to fear 'cause nothing could last in London, we grew close we grew scared
I moved on

Exceprt from London,

song by Manilow

Vinh Loi Bridge over a canal in old Hué (Vietnam)

The authenticity of the Complex of Hue Monuments may be understood through the unique layout of the design of the site, which became the imperial capital of the Vietnam Empire in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The basic architectural and landscape features of the site have been maintained intact since their original construction in the early 19th century CE.

Complex of Hué Monuments as

UNESCO World Heritage Site

Bridge depicted in an Easter card

Did you ever see a rabbit, a rabbit, a rabbit?
Did you ever see a rabbit, a rabbit on Easter morn?
He hops around so quietly
And hides all the eggs.
Did you ever see a rabbit, on Easter morn?

Children Easter song

Kazansky Bridge over the Griboyedov canal in Saint Petersburg (Russia)

"Rarely does one find a place with so many gloomy, intense, and strange influences on the human soul as in St. Petersburg."

In a novel by Dostoyevski

Raya Bridge over the Muande brook in Saint Christophe en Oisans, Isére (France)

"If it weren't for the rocks in its bed, the stream would have no song."

Carl Perkins