It’s autumn and with that, the start of the time of year where the photos are at their best. With a combination of fall colors on trees, changing weather patterns between sun, storms and wind- ending up with snow and lastly long nights with long, bright color of the moon, one can come up with the best photos no matter where you go and what objects you are photographing.
This Pic of the Week is a prime example of it. This was taken in Jena in the German state of Thuringia three years ago. It was in September and it was a cold night. Yet with the super moon that happened during that time, it was irresistible to take the bike out there and get a few pics, including one of the bike itself with the lights on:
And this covered bridge in the village of Kunitz, located a kilometer from the city limits:
This bridge has a unique history along with the town of 400 inhabitants. The crossing over the River Saale is a replica of a covered bridge that was built in 1832. It survived over a century until the end of April 1945, when Nazi soldiers detonated the structure in an attempt to foil any attempts of the allies to encroach on Germany even further. Jena and Thuringia became part of the Soviet Zone after the war and instead of restoring the bridge, they constructed a concrete slab in 1947, which lasted 74 years. Still, locals worked together to preserve the memories of the bridge and took advantage of the expansion of the Saale Bike Trail by constructing the bridge’s replica in 2012. The bridge was erected on a new alignment, using the piers of a temporary bridge (Behelfsbrücke) used when the original crossing was being replaced. After the new bridge was opened, the covered bridge was built mimicking the original. The covered bridge today carries a branch of the Saale Bike Trail between Kunitz and the industrial area in Jena-Nord.
I took a lot of pics of the bridge with the Pentax but to do a bit of clean-up with the lighting, I doctored this one via Instagram: an oblique view with the moon rising from the eastern hills of the Saaletal and the weeds growing in the front of the bridge’s portal entrance. The brightness of the wood and vegetation was in part because of the lighting installed to provide safe passage at night. One could not imagine walking around Kunitz at night 15 years ago. Today, with a company of friends and/or family, it is safe to say that an evening walk is solely OK, photo opps with a good camera and graphic program is even better.
And as for the finished product like what is seen here, they speak for themselves. Happy Bridgehunting and happy Photoshooting! 🙂
Information on the Kunitzer Hausbrücke, the official name of the covered bridge, can be found by clicking here. There is a restaurant between the two bridges on the banks of the River Saale which bears the bridge’s name and provides a great view of the River Saale and the town’s two bridges.
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