Cologne (or Köln), is a well known touristic hub which is the 4th largest most populous city in Germany. Actually Köln lies long in my cities to visit! It is the largest city in the North-Rhine Westphalia region and lies centrally on the west bank of the Rhine river.It is only 25kms away from the old German capital, Bonn so I´ve always been meaning to see it and was so grateful that finally, during our Autumn break last week, we spent some time exploring it. So after a smooth 2.5 hours of drive from the Netherlands, we arrived at our hotel which is centrally located near the Rhine river and of course, super close to the Hohenzollern Bridge.

Hohenzollern Bridge is quite special for some reason.First, it is one of the busiest railway bridges here in Europe where approx. 1,200 trains passed through it every single day!I actually spent quite some time just standing there watching different trains passing and it was quite a sight.Another reason is to admire and ogle the famous lovelocks hanging there.No wonder it is called the Lovelock bridge.

I love bridges, and crossing them, either by walking or running over it were always a great experience for me. I just love the views of cities lying on rivers, it feels quite romatic, just like in Vienna or Dresden.Cologne is beautiful, especially with the great panoramic views from the Rhine river.But speaking of lovelocks—this bridge tops it all.There are thousands of lovelocks hanged by lovesick couples, families, children and all, the numbers reaching now up to approx. 340 thousand!These magnanimous number of locks just shows how much love is kept in secret in this part of Cologne and that really amazes me.

The 400 meter bridge is composed of 340 railing stations, which presumably holds a capacity of 800-1,200 pieces of lovelocks that makes all these locks weigh now to almost extra 2 tons!I myself haven´t tried putting a lovelock but I have seen some people still attaching theirs.The sight of couples locking their love on this bridge made me think why would people continue to do so? Following a touristic dilemma, trend, or just a private gesture of couple wanting to solidify their vows of love. Padlocks are quite a normal symbol of love here in Europe and I have seen so many other places where there are thousands of locks hanged on public places.The keys of these locks are thrown in the depth of waters, thus the silent vows of love are buried there forever, in the depths of the river.

This bridge is quite famous for all of these lovelocks, among a top selfie site.I think almost every person who visited Köln go to this bridge and walk through it, took a selfie, and took more photos of the lovelocks, not to mention have a kiss to seal the act of putting a lovelock.

On the next day, I decided to run early in the morning and once again, admire the views above from this bridge.Lovelocks are still there, wet from the morning dew, but still gleaming with declarations of infinite love. I felt lucky enough just to be here, and watch how the locals commute here by bike, scooters and by train.It is indeed a very busy bridge-but also, it is full of life.A bridge that shows a lifelong connection of humans.

For me personally, You can´t really be sad when you walk through this bridge because the sight of lovelocks is just a happy and meaningful sight, memorable, personal and really, even if you are traveling solo and without a partner, the views can be pretty amazing.

To think that Cologne was heavily bombed during WWII, with almost 80% of the old city and infrastructures were destroyed,looking at the successful reconstruction of the bridge contributed much to the pregressive status of this city to where it stands now.Aside from the majestic view of the tall spires of the Kölner Dom ( Cologne Cathedral), there are also two giant statues from both sides of the bridge which makes it even more impressive.In fact, Cologne is one of the most visited city in Germany.

Looking back at the different kinds of lovelocks attached to this bridge, I was quite amused that there are quite a number of unique, funny and ones who really stands out.I have seen Buddha, lion, horses, self painted and much more.Imagine that the owners of these locks probably traveled half of the globe just to declare their undying love here, sealed with a promise.

What´s your viewpoint about lovelocks? Would you hung one for yourself?

Until then, it´s almost weekend. Tchüß!