There is a very unassuming, rather ugly metal bridge in Regensburg that spans the Donau. It's an ugly green metal bridge, with griding to keep people from falling into the water below.
But when you get on the bridge, you will see it is lined with padlocks.
Looking closer at the locks, they are inscribed with messages of love.
These are "locks of love". The lovers have their names inscribed onto a lock (although I saw some done with sharpie) and then lock the lock onto the bridge. They kiss and throw the key into the water below, signifying they're locked in love forever.
It is believe this tradition began in Russia, where newlyweds would tie cotton ribbons onto bridges. I even saw some locks with bits of ribbon (cotton?) tied on the lock.
Regensburg is not unique in preserving this custom. These love locks can be seen around the world. In fact, some cities are even having problems with them damaging structures and are removing / threatening to remove them.
If you are wanting to know more, or just wondering where I got my info, check out these two sites:
http://www.pgtraveltips.co.uk/blog/regensburg-germany-sweethearts-cross-the-danube-to-lock-into-love/2827
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love_padlocks
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Location:Regensburg,Germany
Hey its mr jones! Noticed from your comment on my blog that you have one as well. Very cool idea. I wonder if they have one of these in thailand. I will have to so my research on that one. Btw, how long did it take u to learn german? Just trying to gauge my own learning curve.
ReplyDeleteI learned German really fast - faster than the average bear :)
ReplyDeleteI went to Germany in June 2004, spent 9 weeks in intensive language classes, only spoke German, always read signs - tried to translate everything, asked lots of questions, rewrote vocabulary and redid assignments frequently. After 9 weeks I took a CLEP test and was shown to be in the most advanced classes at UTA. So then I took them - advanced discussion courses, expanded my vocab. In Dec 2004 I took the EXCET (teacher cert exam at that time) and passed it. Not the average learning curve- but also keep in mind that I was fully immersed, only had to learn 4 new letters to the alphabet, German is the Mother of English.
Best advice - try and speak / listen / read as much as possible. Write down new words (carry a small notebook for this) and don't be afraid to make mistakes - there are no language police!