Bridges

B could have been for Birds or Butterflies or Babies or Boys, but I've chosen Bridges. Nobody sends me babies or butterflies. :)

I seem to have accumulated a considerable number of bridges over the years.  Many, of course, are points of interest in themselves. The one at the top right is Pont Alexandre III in Paris.  You can see Les Invalides ahead while the Eiffel Tower would be behind the photographer.  The dilemma is where to file it: with the other bridges or in my Paris album?

I realise, as I group these cards together, that there is undoubtedly a link between bridges and arches.

Bridges, old and new

These first two bridges, the Pontcysyllte aqueduct (opened 1805) in north Wales and the iron bridge (opened 1781) at Ironbridge, were part of an industrial archaeology series of stamps published in 1989.  At the time, the bridge was already a UNESCO World Heritage Site, then, in 2009, the aqueduct was added to the list.

I don't know if this third bridge, the Gateshead Millennium Bridge will ever join them on the list.  Only time will tell. The stamp was part of the huge series issued to mark the Millennium, this one in June 2000.

This is a post for Sunday Stamps, hosted by Violet Sky at "See it on a Postcard!"  As usual, click on the link to see some bridges on stamps.

F is for the Forth Bridge

Not to be confused with the Forth Road Bridge which came later, the Forth Bridge is a railway crossing which opened in 1890 to cross the Forth Estuary in Scotland.  At the time it had the longest single span cantilever bridge in the world and still is in second place after the Quebec Bridge. Because it was so innovative at the time, it has been put forward to be considered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The saying "like painting the Forth Bridge" to describe a never-ending task never really reflected the actual facts.  However, now it is no longer true at all because the bridge has been completely renovated and has a new technical finish that should last 20 years.

The Forth Road Bridge joined it in crossing the Estuary in 1964, and later this year there will be a third bridge when the Queensferry Crossing opens.

The url on the card is now out of date though it does give a redirect to the new site for the Forth Bridges.  The card itself was sent to me from the Netherlands.

St Ursanne, Switzerland

Saint Ursanne is exactly the sort of place I'd love to visit. It's in the Jura canton of Switzerland, almost in France.  Although France also has a Jura département, it is Doubs which adjoins the Jura Canton.

St  Ursanne is a medieval village with an old abbey and outstanding cloister.  The houses date from the 14th to 16th century.  It owes its name to an Irish monk, Ursan, whose hermitage can be visited if you wish to climb the 180 steps up to its cave.

Reflections in water

I've always loved reflections in water and that is why I've chosen these two PHQ stamp cards today (yesterday now...)

The top shows the Millennium Bridge in Gateshead.  Hopefully it didn't wobble like the one in London but probably not, as I've heard nothing about it.

The second card shows, so they say, the harbour in Portsmouth.  I lived not so far away and visited from time to time.  I can't say it's instantly recognisable.

I'm still struggling on with this computer but I'm crossing my fingers that by next week I will be singing and dancing.again with no more "Aw, snap" from Chrome or, worse, the blue screen of death.

This is a post for Sunday Stamps, in its new home at See it on a Postcard!

Seeing in the New Year

Fireworks in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.  They may or may not be for the New Year but they are at least appropriate.

San Fransisco

I have to assume, though I really don't know, that there has been some Photoshop work on this picture called "Fog blankets the Bay" from San Francisco.  Whichever way, the end result is beautiful.

A wedding in Wuzhen

The Venice of the East, Wuzhen, is a village that grew up at the junction of two rivers.  It used to be an important transport crossroad and very prosperous.  Now tourism is the major source of income.  It has recently been renovated and rebuilt in the traditional style.

The back of the card has the single word "wedding" in English and there does appear to be a wedding procession crossing the stone bridge.  In a traditional Chinese wedding, though there are many variations, the groom would send a sedan chair to collect the bride whose feet must not touch the bare ground.  She would wear a red scarf to make sure she didn't see any evil along the way.  Red symbolises joy and good fortune, while yellow/gold symbolises good luck and freedom from care.

Mother in Law bridge

Mother-in-law Bridge, otherwise known as Teschin Bridge, can be found in Odessa in the Ukraine.  Odessa is a port in the south of the country, on the Black Sea.  It lies on hilly ground so there are many gullies or valleys in the city, with bridges crossing them like the one shown.

This one was originally called the Komsomolskiy Bridge because it links the Primorskiy Boulevard  to the Komsomolskiy Boulevard.  The reason given for the name is that the official who ordered the building of the bridge wanted a convenient short cut for visiting his mother in law.  I think this must be unique in all the world.

Arcos da Lapa

The Arcos da Lapa is another name for the Carioca Aqueduct, given to it by the residents of Rio de Janeiro - it's in the Lapa district and it has arches, so why not?

An aqueduct was finally built in 1723, after earlier attempts failed, bringing fresh water from the Carioca river to the Santo Antônio in Rio.  Before very long, it needed to be replaced by a larger structure and that is the one seen today.  The most impressive part is that going through the Lapa neighbourhood.

By the end of the 19th century it was no longer needed to supply water to the city so it was adapted into a tramway.  Since then, houses nearby have been demolished to enhance the view.  The tram is still the only one in use in rio de Janeiro.

Behind, you can see the conical shape of the Metropolitan Cathedral.

Selva Verde, Costa Rica

"This is the bridge leading to my work" says the message on the back of this card.  What a wonderful place to work!  It is Selva Verde, an eco-tourism centre committed to the protection of almost 500 acres of endangered tropical forest.  The area provides living space for a wide variety of birds, animals, reptiles, insects, and plants.

Bridges in Prague

A lovely reminder of a holiday I took just about this time last year, the bridges of Prague.  The top section shows the famous Karlov or Charles Bridge where the whole world seems to pass by during the day: buskers, artists, and people just enjoying the scene.

“Sometimes, if you stand on the bottom rail of a bridge and lean over to watch the river slipping slowly away beneath you, you will suddenly know everything there is to be known.” ~ Winnie the Pooh

Dominican Republic

Mount Isabel de Torres in the Dominican Republic has a cable car running up to its summit.  From there you can see amazing views of the whole island.  The Dominican Republic is in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean and is not to be confused with Dominica in the Lesser Antilles.  I confess, I did confuse the two!

Tower of London and Tower Bridge

Although the picture of the Tower of London and Tower Bridge is excellent and better than many I see today of the same scene, the interest of this card, sent from Ely in Cambridgeshire to March in the same county, lies in the message:

Received box safely this dinner time.  Does mother mean a yard of satin for her dress, she put sateen in letter & does she want it cut on cross?  Please let me know as soon as possible then I can get it. 

Do you think my neck will be too bare without insertion?  Did Lily get her card?  Tell her I hardly know I've got a sister Lily.  I never hear anything about her.  Those photos are nice.  I will send them back when I send box again.

Your loving sister May.

It makes me wonder if the dresses are for a special occasion?  A wedding perhaps?  I may be reading too much into it.  But the wondering gives me some enjoyment which will have been far from the minds of the sender or her sister.

These days we would make a phone call or at best send an email to find out the answers to those questions.  In years to come, there would be no looking back at a card and saying, "Do you remember when..?" and most certainly nobody will be discussing the possibilities of what the occasion was over 100 years later.

This is a post for Postcard Friday, which is hosted by Beth Niquette at The Best Hearts are Crunchy.

Golden Gate Bridge

The unmistakeable Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.  It was once the longest suspension bridge in the world, now 9th.  It carries over 100,000 vehicles a day.  It also has the rather dubious distinction of being the most popular suicide venue in the world.

The ANZAC Bridge

The Anzac Bridge in Sydney is the longest span cable-stayed bridge in Australia and among the longest in the world.   When it was officially opened in 1995 it was the replacement Glebe Island Bridge (that was a swing bridge, now permanently open) but was renamed Anzac Bridge on Remembrance Day 1998.  On Anzac Day 2000, a memorial to soldiers of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps who served in World War I.

Vågsøy, Norway

Postmarked Måløy, dated 22 September 2005.

Motiv frå Vågsøykommune i samband med Postens dag.

I'm sorry to say I don't know what that means, but Vågsøy is the second largest fishing municipality in Norway. It's centre is the town Måløy and it is in the district of Nordfjord. This is the largest postcard I have ever received (A5) and my first Postcrossing card from Norway.

Sydney Harbour Bridge, Australia

This was sent to me inside a book, so no postmark. The date must be sometime in 2005.

The Giant Span of Sydney Harbour Bridge. The signature is that of David Messent.

The bridge, along with the nearby Sydney Opera House, has become an icon for Sydney and Australia. It opened in 1932 and is the widest long-span bridge in the world. It carries six lanes of traffic on its main roadway, two lanes which used to be tramway, a footpath, two railway lines and a cycle path. The bridge can rise or fall up to 18 cm (7 in) depending on the temperature.

Whitstable, England

Postmarked Faversham, Kent, and dated 5 September 1965.

The oldest railway bridge in the world, Whitstable. PT4706.

This bridge, on the Canterbury to Whitstable Railway which may have been the first passenger railway in the world, was demolished in 1971 to make way for cars.  It is thought that the last train crossed it in 1953 after the floods on the east coast.

Forth Road Bridge Scotland

Postmarked Dunkeld, Strathmore, dated 3 August 1964.
Forth Road Bridge
This was sent to me by a school friend just as I was about to leave that school and move to another, so I can verify that is was 1964, the year the Forth Road Bridge was opened.