Krk Bridge between Krk Island and mainland (Croatia)

In Krk Island at night, the forests are said to be full of strange beings: laughing forest dwarfs called Malyći, dancing fairies in white dresses who flew on winged horses, and storm sorcerers who floated through the skies. The Malyć is a curious figure, somewhere between a dwarf and an elf, similar to the red-hatted Nordic gnomes or the famous Irish leprechauns. Capturing a Malyć is said to bring great fortune, and in some stories, even sudden wealth.

Legends

Rügen Bridge between Stralsund and the Rügen Island, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (Germany)

One windy night the sun

sank into the Baltic Sea.

Amber fishermen sailed out

on the Baltic to fish for the sun.

The Baltic foamed through night.

In the morning fishermen brought

the sun on an amber barge to shore.

The Baltic

poem by Kazys Boruta

 

Fehmarnsundbrücke between Fehmarn Island and the mainland near Grossenbrode, Schleswig-Holstein (Germany)

"Oh, Staberhuk, how wonderful are you, happiness in the corner, peacefully beautiful!

Writer Ludwig Kirchner 

about Fehmarn Island

Skye Bridge over Loch Alsh between the Isle of Skye and the island of Eilean Bán, in Scotland (United Kingdom)

Sing me a song of a lad that is gone,

Say, could that lad be I?

Merry of soul he sailed on a day

Over the sea to Skye.

Mull was astern, Rùm on the port,

Eigg on the starboard bow;

Glory of youth glowed in his soul;

Where is that glory now?

Poem by
 Robert Louis Stevenson

Kurushima Strait Bridge connecting the Island of Oshima to Shikoku (Japan)

"My mind becomes serene and reflects this world like a calm water surface. Nothing separates me from other people and I have a free mind not disturbed by anything. Like an ocean, my mind reflects everything."

Kukai, Japanase monk

founder of the pilgrimage to Shikoku

Rainbow Bridge between Odaiba Island and the center of Tokyo (Japan)

What is not to love about this city?

Buildings standing tall, looking classy

And wooden houses,

Since made, no changes

I love the confusion in Tokyo City

Yuri Higashino

Krk Bridge between Rijeka and the island of Krk (Croatia)

...Cincuenta leguas más adelante hallaron un vasto archipiélago compuesto detreinta y dos islas inmediatas a la tierra firme, de la cual estaban separadas porestrechos canales, que recordaron al navegante veneciano los archipiélagos del Adriático, inmediatos a las costas de la Esclavonia y de la Dalmacia.

Fragment from Historia de los Grande Viajes

Julio Verne

Cornwall Island Bridge over Towan Beach in Newquay (United Kingdom)

An aristocratic couple who live on a tiny island just off the coast of Cornwall have sold their home for £1 million – after years complaining about noisy revellers on the beach below. Lord and Lady Long, are moving out of Towan Island, Newquay. Their house sits on top of an 80ft rock and is the only UK home with its own suspension bridge, a 100ft crossing which attaches them to the Cornish mainland. But after more than ten years at the unique property the couple are finally off – after agreeing a sale. The elderly couple say the slippery granite steps either side of the swaying 100ft Edwardian bridge have become too much.

Article in the Cornish Guardian,

12th november 2012

Storseisundet Bridge in Averoy (Norway)

We're on a road to nowhere
Come on inside
Takin' that ride to nowhere
We'll take that ride

I'm feelin' okay this mornin'
And you know,
We're on the road to paradise
Here we go, here we go

Song Road to Nowhere 

(that is how this bridge is named)

Talking Heads

Bridge between Santa Barbara and Samana Cay (Dominican Republic)

"A la primera isla que yo hallé puse nombre San Salvador a conmemoración de Su Alta Majestad, el cual maravillosamente todo esto ha dado; los Indios la llaman Guanaham; a la segunda puse nombre la isla de Santa María de Concepción; a la tercera Fernandina ; a la cuarta la Isabela; a la quinta la isla Juana, y así a cada una nombre nuevo."

Cristopher Columbus

about the first island he visited in America,

possibly Samana Cay

Rocher de la Vierge Footbridge in Biarritz, Pyrénées Atlantiques (France)

Once, several sailors wished to enter the fishing port while a fierce storm prevented them from returning and suddenly a ray of light absorbed them and led them healthy and sound port. Thankfully, they placed the statue of the Virgin in the close rocher.

Legend of Biarritz

Oakland Bay Bridge over the San Francisco Bay between Oakland and San Francisco, California (United States)

Rocher de la Vierge Footbridge in Biarritz, Pyrénées Atlantiques (France)

Et la mer et l’amour ont l’amer pour partage,

Et la mer est amère, et l’amour est amer,

L’on s’abîme en l’amour aussi bien qu’en la mer,

Car la mer et l’amour ne sont point sans orage.

Celui qui craint les eaux qu’il demeure au rivage,

Celui qui craint les maux qu’on souffre pour aimer,

Qu’il ne se laisse pas à l’amour enflammer,

Et tous deux ils seront sans hasard de naufrage.

La mère de l’amour eut la mer pour berceau,

Le feu sort de l’amour, sa mère sort de l’eau,

Mais l’eau contre ce feu ne peut fournir des armes.

Si l’eau pouvait éteindre un brasier amoureux,

Ton amour qui me brûle est si fort douloureux,

Que j’eusse éteint son feu de la mer de mes larmes.

Poeme La mer et l'amour

Pierre de Marbeuf

Eight Part Bridge in the Province of Mikawa (Japan) painted by Katsushika Hokusai

"I envy the Japanese artists for the incredible neat clarity which all their works have. It is never boring and you never get the impression that they work in a hurry. It is as simple as breathing; they draw a figure with a couple of strokes with such an unfailing easiness as if it were as easy as buttoning one's waist-coat."

Vincent Van Gogh

Bridges of the Tiber Island over the Tiber River in Rome (Italy)

The island formed after the fall of the tyrannical king of Rome, Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, in 510 BC. The angry Romans threw his body into the Tiber, it sunk and accumulated dirt and silt, eventually forming the island.

Legend of the Tiber Island