Cologne, Germany: Love Locks on Hohenzollern Bridge

Every time I am staying over in Cologne, it always rains. On this particular evening though it did not rain (hallelujah!) so I was able to go out and walk to the iconic Hohenzollern Bridge. I have been meaning to do this for a loooong time you know.

Would you dare print out your faces on a love lock for the whole world to witness?

The Hohenzollern Bridge (HohenzollernbrÃ¼cke) is named after the defunct royal family of Germanyâ€”the House of Hohenzollern. The bridge is solely used for trains and pedestrians and it is the view you will first catch of Cologne (if you are coming from Amsterdam or the north of Germany) upon arriving with the train.

The main highlight however of the bridge is not just its design and history, but the love locks it proudly hosts. The River Rhine bears witness of it all as the bearer of all the keys thrown down below the river.

Love locks on bridges are a known phenomenon found all over the world, especially in Europe. Paris for example has problems with these public declarations of love and unions as the steel padlocks were too heavy for some of the bridges in the city. They all have to be unlocked and padlocked somewhere unfortunately. Here in Cologne, I found very interesting love lock designs, something I have not seen in other cities. Some even go as far as printing out their pictures on the lock.

I do wonder if people who do this come back after a few years? Or maybe after 5, 10 or 20 years later? Would they come back with their loved one? Would they come back alone? Or would they come back with another?

Love is a very powerful thing. It can change your life. It is a beautiful undescribable thing-concept-situation-existence, to have and to experience. But love can change through times. It is sadly very high maintenance. Because it is a union of compromises. But it is friendship as well. Moreover, love helps us see the future with a little bit of perspective, and I quite like that.

If you can love, love.