So many bridges.
Bridges of concrete…
…iron…
…and steel.
Ancient ones of stone…
…brick…
…mortar….
…and wood.
Some are famous…
…celebrated in story…
…and song.
Some draw pilgrims from all over the world.
So different…
…yet they serve the same purpose.
To span distance…
…to connect…
…to deliver us from troubled waters.
There’s an old saying…it is better to build bridges than walls.
Click here for more interpretations of Nancy Merrill’s Photo a Week: Bridges.
Click here for more interpretations of Jake’s Sunday Post: Bridges.
Click here for more interpretations of Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Bridges.
Click here for more interpretations of Ailsa’s Weekly Travel Theme: Bridges.
All images and words c2013 Naomi Baltuck
Writing Between the Lines 
Reblogged this on The ObamaCrat.Com™ and commented:
Great post with a simple message of hope & love. Thank you Ms. Naomi.
Hi Mr. JB! Thank you for your kind words, and I appreciate your sharing the message! I hope you are well. Did you get hit with the big snow? Is it melting? Is there spring in the air?
Fluid bridges built with words….pictures formed and stories told…the interconnectivity is the bridge that holds us all. The bridge in my mind that connects me to you even when I’m sitting and resting in stillness on the bridge of blogs, facebook, twitter and tumblr…..
Thank you, as always, Naomi.
:)Terri
Dear Terri,
It’s so good to hear from you! Thank you for sharing your thoughts, which always make me think and smile.
These are wonderful pictures of bridges. I’ve always been facinated with what make them work–as in what holds them up. Before I retired, I worked with a mess of engineers who always explained whatever I asked them to. One of my questions was about bridges…the magic was knowing the STRESS factor–whew. Some guys just KNEW how to make sense of the whole thing to me. Not that the mystery is solved completely, but bridges still hold magic for me. They are stress protectors in our lives–in a way.
Well said, Tess. They are a little bit of miracle wrapped up in brick and steel. The bridges and their stress protectors in this post can only hint at the necessity for the intangible bridges between people.
What a nice selection of bridges.
Thank you, Patti!
Interesting take on bridges and walls. Incredible images. Bridges are fascinating to shoot.
Thank you so much for your visit, and your thoughtful comments.
Amazing pictures. I love bridges, maybe that’s because I live on an island 😉
That is a fascinating thought, Maggie. I love bridges too.
Wonderful shots!!! Lovely bridges!!!
Thank you!
Love your post, Naomi! It’s true- so very many, and some wonderful shots. Your captions make me nod and smile, as captions should.
Hi Jo,
So good to hear from you. Thanks for the very thoughtful comments. You always make me smile.
great tribute to bridges as tools to escape …
Yes, there are many proverbs about not burning your bridges until AFTER you have crossed over them. Thanks for the visit!
I loved the story which you wove around these
Thank you. I appreciate your visit, and your taking the time to comment.
brilliant collection and annotation – glad to see you burnt none!
Hah! Thanks for visiting, Laura, and for your generous comment.
Great shots!
Thank you, Scilla. Of all the bridges I used, I forgot to put in one of Washington’s floating bridges. Next time!
Wonderful images, love the metaphor of a bridge, so many possibilities.
Thank you, Claire. I feel like I just scratched the surface. I do love the symbolism of bridges.
“There’s an old saying…it is better to build bridges than walls.” Bridges connects people and the world around them. Beautiful pictures that brings a sense of excitement and adventures. Thanks.
Thank you, friend. I know that you are a great builder of bridges.
This is wonderful! My husband and son and I were in Provence one year looking for a bridge that dated from Roman times, the Julian Bridge. We crisscrossed the river numerous times, looking down and up river for the damn Roman bridge. It turned out that we were driving across it. It was used until 2005 when it was closed to traffic. The bridge was constructed with no mortar, but simply with rocks perfectly cut and placed. Here’s the Wikipedia site: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pont_Julien
Naomi, you always bring back my travels with your wonderful images and how you simply but effectively weave them together.
Dear Elyse,
I love this story! Thank you for including a link to the Julian Bridge. If I recall correctly, the sixth bridge in this series is the oldest in Ireland, still carrying foot and car traffic after 900 plus years. But to think of a bridge built without mortar, serving for twice that length of time is stunning. I really want to go there, and see it now!
I so appreciate your very generous message.
Wonderful post. I had forgotten the bridge in Lucerne, Switzerland. It has been a long time since we visited so I hope my memory is accurate. You have a wonderful collection of bridges, beautifully taken.
Yes, Pat, that’s the one. I loved that, as you walked beneath the covered bridge, there were very old and colorful paintings to view if you just looked up. Thanks for the visit, and your thoughtful comments.
great post Naomi, love the ‘build bridges not walls’ 🙂
Thank you, Kavi!
Love it! That’s all I can say – love it!
Dear Carol,
Thanks so much! You make me smile.
Awesome! Beautiful in word and image! I love architecture and bridges (as long as I’m not driving on them), these are stunning! My favorite is the bridge of old stone painted with light!
Hi Darla,
Aren’t those wonderful colors? Sometimes the light hits something just so! Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts–you are such a generous soul.
Yes, that is a worthwhile subject. The bridges that stick in my memory, are the frail bridges built with the most basic ingredients, that managed to get us across. Most of them are no longer here… except in my memory.
I love that image Shimon. Thanks for sharing it.
I enjoyed it all – you laid it out nicely. What a variety of bridges!
Nancy
Thank you, Nancy!
Love them all!
Thank you, Eunice!
Lovely photos, I love bridges.
Thank you so much for stopping by, and sharing a comment.
WoW! What a grand collection of bridges! You topped the challenge, Naomi!
Thanks, Amy. I think bridges hold a fascination for many people. I had a time of it deciding which photos to use, and which would have to wait for another day.
Oh Naomi! What an awesome collection ~
Thank you, Paula!
You are so right: Bridges are facinating, beautiful, diverse, and evocative of hopeful messages. I love this.
Hope all is well in your world, Naomi. 🙂
Dear Jamie,
I love it when you come by so I can tell you how moved I am by your poetry. We really do need a ‘love” button that we can press at the top of each post, and maybe a “thanks for opening my eyes and my heart” button as well.
Eli is packing to fly out to Argentina tomorrow, and I miss him already, but I am just thankful to have had this time with him. How are you doing, Jamie?
You guys look so darling together in that photo. What a cute dress (top) too! I love it.
Best wishes to Eli for safety, fun, learning. I’m sure he will miss you too – between adventures! LOL! – that’s what we want for them anyway.
I am well – still behind in just about everything, but slowly catching up. Thank you! and Thank you for all your support.
Great to come by and enjoy your bridges again and the sweet energy here.
Be well …
greetings by
http://flickrcomments.wordpress.com/2011/02/28/bridges-in-venice/
+
A wonderful series of photos! Venice is such an interesting place, a city of bridges!
An excellent series of bridges, Naomi. Your gallery of bridges is amazing.
(Just need one from Pittsburgh to round out the collection and I know of a covered bridge about an hour from here, when you come visit, to add to the collection)
Hi Ruth,
Thank you for your very kind comments. I will definitely need to see that bridge!
Naomi, I must apologize for not liking or commenting on your work. I have not been getting your post by email or my reader 😦 boo bad word press. I hope I fixed it. Thank you for being such a loyal reader of mine.
Love the bridges, Let me know when you come see the Golden Gate!
Hi Carol,
Thank you for your kind words. I have stopped receiving e-mail notification from several blogs I follow. What did you do to fix it?
Great collection Naomi!
Thank you, Annika.
Great gallery! 🙂
Wow, just wow. The question I ask myself after absorbing this is as the internet becomes the modern day, omnipresent manifestation of a bridge, do we lose the beauty and diversity of the physical ones or will we find a way to add a cultural aesthetic to the on-line bridges as well?
Hi Sabrina,
I can always depend upon you to peel away a layer or two and carry the conversation to a deeper level. The internet is certainly a good example of another kind of bridge. I think of the intangible bridges as the ones that connect people intellectually and heart to heart, but really, the internet helps people connect in both those ways.
As a young college grad, when I kissed my mother goodbye and headed out west to seek my fortune, she and I thought of the mothers of all those pioneers who kissed their children goodbye, knowing they’d never see them again. Their only tenuous connection was through letters entrusted to strangers or delivered by the U.S. mail. Mom and I marveled at the miracle of long distance telephone calls, and airplanes that could bring us together in six hours, instead of the six months that it took to cross overland. If you look at it without the filters of familiarity, the internet is truly a miracle, like the bridge of the Starship Enterprise brought into our everyday lives.
Another amazing post, Naomi. Your selection of bridges is breathtaking, and as always, I love your words as much as your pics. That old saying is very true. 🙂
Thank you, ad. So good of you to stop by!
love this post! Wonderful!
Thank you, Holly! It is so good to hear from you. I hope you are well.
What a fun post!
Thank you! It was fun to put together. I never realized how many bridge pictures I had–didn’t use half of them!
Excellent captured… 🙂
I appreciate your visit, and I thank you for your generous comment.
Wonderful them and wonderful bridges… And how meaningful this word, bridge, I loved it dear Naomi, Thanks and Love, nia
Dear Nia,
Thank you so much! I thought of you when I included the bridge in Istanbul.
Love,
Naomi
What an amazing selection of bridges Naomi! And yes, the Internet is the most magical, metaphorical bridge of all 🙂
Thank you! Perhaps because it didn’t exist when I was growing up, I don’t think I will ever take the magic of the internet for granted. You have said it so well, Madhu. Yes, a bridge, and yes, the most magical one of all.
I’ve heard about your blog from Jamie, she really admires your work and I see why! Wonderful images, great way of presenting moments. I also made a post in answer of your challenge Jamie tagged me, here is the link to it- http://betweentheshadowsandthesoul.wordpress.com/2013/03/05/lucky-seven-time/
Thank you! Looking forward to more of your posts!
Well howdy! Thanks so much for stopping by. And thank you for your very generous thoughts about my blog. Any friend of Jamie’s! I am so impressed with her poetry, and her spirit. I paid a visit to your blog and I can tell I am going to have to go back for more!
This photo challenge seems to have been tailored especially for your collection! Wonderful photos, Naomi. There are indeed famous, popular bridges but I think the best image here is that of la familia on the hanging bridge. 🙂
Hi Tita,
I love hearing which photos appeal most to which people. That one was taken in Australia, and is certainly a standout in my memory. Thank you for your visit, and for taking the time to share your thoughts.
I love bridges, especially for the purpose of playing Pooh-sticks! You may like this bridge I found yesterday, when researching Glen Affric in Scotland as one of the locations in my novel. http://tinyurl.com/awzcp6w
Hi Sarah,
What a lovely bridge! Thanks for sending the link to it. I hope the novel is coming along nicely.
The novel is coming on slowly but surely at 15,000 words, and becoming weirder by the minute. Do you ever write something, and think afterwards, did all that strange stuff really come from my head?
So many bridges, so little time! Inspiring in both words and images. Elisa
nice work,naomi…can we reblog it?…
Thank you for your interest. You are welcome to reblog this or any of my other posts.
You have beautiful pictures and words here, Naomi. I love bridges of any size, shape or form 😀
Me too! Thanks so much for the visit, Dianne, and for your thoughtful words. One more lovely bridge crossed!
I love that old saying. It’s so true and you’ve shown it so beautifully here. My favorites would have to be the old stone bridges with the plants growing up through them. They reminded me of a bridge in MA called the bridge of flowers.
Hi Sheila,
I’d like to see that bridge. It sounds really beautiful. I was going through photos for another post, and found an old covered bridge–it was in the same batch as my Sturbridge Village pics. There are so many beautiful and historic bridges back there!
Lovely images with beautiful words. 🙂 Another terrific post Naomi. 🙂
Thank you, Kourtney. It’s always good to hear from you. I hope you are well!
Beautiful, as always! I’m going to look at bridges differently this time… 🙂
Thank you, Mary! That is a very high compliment!
You’re welcome!
I went over some of them…
yes, like you said “life is a Mountain” (and I’m in the Swiss Alps)
Wish you a lovely week end
:-)claudine
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Chrysalis-Bart%C3%B3k/331089416973582
Dear Claudine,
Thank you! Have a great week. You are fortunate; the Swiss Alps are a miracle of nature. I enjoyed your FB page!
🙂
ohhh… but right now is pouring down… (rain, not snow)
🙂 claudine
fun! I hadn’t really noticed how different bridges can be from one another. But all of them are fascinating – artistry combined with engineering. Thanks for posting this.
Hi Kathy,
It is astounding to me that bridges made nine hundred years ago–without mortar–are still in use today. But everywhere you look, you can see that they can also be graceful works of art.
I am grateful for the invisible, but sturdy bridge that connected us in the writing world.
beautiful photos
Thank you so much for the visit.
Ah, Naomi, that shot from under the arch of the aqueduct is stunning! A great collection, but that’s simply terrific!
Thank you. That was taken in Segovia, Spain, one of my favorite spots in that country. The light that evening just lit up the stone.
Hi Maria,
Amazing photos! 🙂
Thank you for the like on one of my posts, but that was my old blog. When you have time, I’d love for you to check out my new one at http://www.tracycampbell.net/blog.
Hi Naomi, this is a lovely selection of photos. I enjoy reading your posts and look will definitely be looking out for your next post!
These are some awesome bridges. Marvelous entry!
Thank you, Cee!
hi Mrs. B … you never cease to amaze me with your photos and meaningful descriptions that make the captures more captivating!
by any chance, do you have a covered bridge like those in Madison County (movie of Meryl Streep)? i love those … just saying 😉 have a great day!
Dear Mrs. B,
You are too kind! I think I might have one photo of a covered bridge–possibly from a trip to New England, or one of those trips back east. They are certainly the most picturesque of bridges.
It is so good to hear from you!
Warm wishes to you both!
Reblogged this on Writing Between the Lines and commented:
Hi friends,
Since the theme for Jake’s Sunday Post is about bridges, I couldn’t resist a reblog for my new readers. Pete and repeat were crossing a bridge….
Indeed, this is what it’s all about. Don’t I remember this from before? Wonderful to see you post it again.
Hi Jamie,
I did this in response to a photo challenge back in March, but when Jake called for a piece on bridges, I couldn’t resist the temptation of a reblog for all my new readers. I am so swamped with work and visitors that it was a perfect way to bridge the gap between posts!
LOL! Have fun ….
What a good reblog of your own post… I’ve never seen this and I’m glad you brought me back to it… great share…
I can’t “like” it again, Naomi, but you know I would. 🙂 A great time saver in a busy life. Take care. 🙂
Dear Frizz,
Thank you for sharing!
Glad you re-post it 🙂 Happy Sunday, Naomi!
Hi Amy,
Happy Sunday to you too! So nice to hear from you!
Great re-post, Naomi – what a brilliant gallery 😀
Hi Dianne,
Thank you for a generous response!
Funny. I just attended a training on gender communications and that was the underlying mission of the session: to build bridges, not walls. It was a great message and great training.
What a cool training to attend, and what a worthy goal. Thanks for the visit!
Awesome post Naomi, and a great appreciation of the endless variations on the theme. Yesterday I stood on an ancient bridge in Winchester at the site of an old mill and imagined those that had originally built it, and the first few townspeople to use it, maybe saving them walking a mile downstream to the next crossing. How many miles have been saved over all those years?
The photo of the bridge spanning across the Columbia River as you enter Oregon is the way I picture bridges; although, I know they have slimmed down the amount of metal and cross bars they use to build them nowadays. The old bridges have a sense and feel of a complicated puzzle. It makes me feel like it would be a sturdier one to cross. Of course, the best bridge is the bridge that closes gaps to create long lasting friendships.
Great shots … and … thoughts added along the way.
Toodles,
Izzy
I just love bridges.. you have captured so many… stunning!!
Thank you, Lisa.
I always enjoy the way you weave your photos together, Naomi. And some great bridge shots!
Another very beautiful post, Naomi. In the interest of adding to your bridges, I recommend you look up the bridges in Cherrapunji, India, which they make of the living roots of a type of fig/rubber tree. So the bridges themselves are alive. It’s truly amazing, and so is your insightful appreciation of the world around us.
These are wonderful! Did you take them all yourself?
Hi Andrea,
These are all photos I took from various travels over the years–the height of my children changes with each photograph! Thanks for the visit, and for your kind response. I enjoyed your blog, and look forward to visiting again.
Wonderful images and thoughts. Thanks for joining the challenge!
Thank you, Nancy! And thank you for creating the challenge that brings us all together–building another kind of bridge!