We are the same age, me and the bridge, still hanging on. Älvsborgsbron over the Göta Älv river where the river meets the ocean. It was open for traffic in 1966 but the inauguration was not until 1967 for some reason.
Now you know my age, ha de Gött!
It is always there. Even in the darkest hour. Behind the thickest cloud. In the longest night.
Trust in it. Hold on to the promise. Close your eyes and dream the day. Keep it, in your heart.
Faith, hope and love. Light will come through.
Shine the light, ha de Gött!
Alone in solitude.
Surrounded by the vast blue.
Highly valued so true.
Everyone counts, ha de Gött!
Caught in the vortex. On a downward spiral.
Go oblivious with the flow. The euphoric dance to something.
Better?
Be a stone of reason, take a stand. Heels down in the ground.
Have we not been down this path before.
Panem et circenses, ha de Gött!
Like the Easter Bunny I was roaming the land. Don’t think we look for the same things but as I went through my pictures I realised that water is my favourite model.
I remember as a young boy, me and my friends spend our time by the creek. Like beavers we built dams, just to tear them down to see the fast flowing water fearlessly, like there’s no tomorrow, rush to the lake. One time we built a dam so large that people got their basements flooded, prescribed now I hope.
I can sit for hours watching the water flowing by. The soothing sound and the ever changing dance of the water. Most see the water flowing at a steady rate but if you sit down to watch you see it pulsing. Just like a mothers heartbeats.
Don’t take water for granted, ha de Gött!
Stora Bommens bro in Göteborg, Sweden. In English The Large Gate Bridge. The bridge is used as bike and walk bridge over the Harbour Channel but was built as a train bridge. The name comes from the toll gate that was here in the past. The gate protected the channel from invading enemies but also ensured that the mooring fees and toll could be collected.
It was replaced with a replica, where the steel parts has been kept, in 2015 and cannot be opened. The old bridge was a swing bridge, swinging open around its centre leaving two lanes for boats to pass. The old bridge was very low and slowly sinking, making it more and more difficult to pass under during high tide. It was therefore called the cheese slicer bridge by the sightseeing tour boats. The possibility to open was disabled during a renovation in 1929. I haven’t been able to find out why, but a guy-guess is that the harbour was moved out to the river bank as the boats became bigger.
The white building in the background is the the court of appeal for West Sweden.
Hold your head down, ha de Gött!
It’s gone out, somewhere.
I’m left here all alone.
Walls creeping in on me.
Through the crack I can see.
How it gently sails away.
Out of reach, on to the open sea.
A ship loaded with inspiration.
Sorry but it got me really bad, ha de Gött!
Old shed and rowboat has seen better days, ha de Gött!
Sometimes you walk for hours without finding anything interesting to photograph. Waiting in vain for that special light that could make anything interesting. Then suddenly as you cross a gorge there is a little hidden creek and the sun sends down its rays through the trees. Hallelujah moment! Makes you wonder if God has a camera.
Just wait for it, ha de Gött!
For many Swedes this quay with the white building behind was the last steps on Swedish soil as they emigrated to America. The building is named Amerikaskjulet, the Amerika Shed. It was built in 1910 to 1911 as a warehouse for the Port of Göteborg. The docking place with number 36 was the first quay with enough depth for the Svenska Amerika Liniens steamboats. As the name suggest the shipping company established in 1915 was dedicated to traffic between Göteborg and New York, USA. The company was closed in 1975 after a, in many cases, dramatic history.
To name this quite large building a shed, must be a proof of the very special humour in Göteborg. It was the first building in the area built of granite stone and concrete. Quite different to the other wooden sheds along the quay. Behind it one of Göteborg’s most famous landmarks, the Seafarers Tower with the statue of a sailors wife looking out to the west praying for husband and sons safe return from the sea. A reminder of the importance of the city as a port that it still holds today as the largest in Sweden.
Sail safe, ha de Gött!
UlleHaddock 