The Locks Story

If you ever go to Frankfurt, the Eiserner Steg is one of the top ten things in the city to see.  It's a pedestrian bridge which dates back to the 1912 era of Frankfurt.

One of the odd things that developed in the 1990s in Germany.....was this habit to profess love and the permanent relationship that came with it.  Naturally, you'd want to LOCK-IN your relationship.....which meant that you bought a lock....had your name and the gal's name on it, with a date typically.....and then affix it to some bridge.

Some bridges have rules....absolutely no locks.  The Eiserner Steg has no problem with locks.  If you did some bean-count, I'd say at least 80,000 locks exist on the bridge.  Now, if you ask.....since ten or fifteen years ago when such-and-such lock got put up between Martin and Andrea.....well.....things might have changed and they aren't a couple anymore, and Marin now has a lock with George.

It would be curious for some engineer to sit down and add up the weight added to the bridge....it has to be at least a couple of tons.

What I do find interesting is that there are at least 500 different types of locks used for this business.  Some guy put up a 1920s heavy-weight lock which I noticed.  A number of folks simply bought a three-Euro lock which doesn't really serve well in safety or security.....but it was the thought that counts I guess.

Most are key locks, with maybe ten-percent combination locks.  Some are expensive (over the thirty-Euro point) and some are cheap (three-Euro types).

At some point, some engineer will deem the weight as a problem and some poor city worker will get the job of cutting the locks (a four-week job if you ask me).

A romantic point?  I would say that the bridge does amount to a five-star romantic point.  On one side is the walking trail along the river, and on the other side is the old city area with tons of cafes and ice cream shops.

So, if you were on a outing in Frankfurt.....it's worth an hour to check out the bridge and it's locks.