I'm a simple emigrant and I see echoes everywhere

If you've been following me for a while, you probably already know that I’m from Tyumen. Long ago at our factory they made scales. The very sturdy ones that stood in every market and still pop up somewhere in garages and dachas. And now I’m moving to Frankfurt, anticipating a new life, the Main, the skyscrapers, a business city of Europe. How surprised I was when I was walking along the Main and suddenly – a bridge exactly in the shape of Tyumen scales. Well, naturally, rubbing my hands, I thought, now we’ll uncover such a wonderful story of the connection between these objects. I set out to search, perhaps the architect secretly fancied Soviet design or at least, on a layover here for half a day, he spent the whole time in line at the Tyumen market. From there he was impressed by the scales. Or maybe he stood at the origins of the design of our weights. I rummaged through a bunch of German, English, Russian sources — and nothing. They simply built Flößerbrücke (флёссербрюкке) in the 80s to unload the old bridge. No fanfare! But Flößerbrücke turned out to be interesting as well. The name translates as “bridge of the timber raftsmen,” in honor of raftmen who for centuries hauled wood and goods down the Main to Frankfurt’s fairs. Even then, the city was an important trading and transport hub. This bridge was built at an angle of about 70° to the river, so ships could pass underneath. Hence the asymmetry, and the locals’ cute nickname “das scheppe Ding” — “the crooked thing.” Nevertheless, it is one of the city’s busiest crossings: tens of thousands of cars pass here daily. And also, from here one of the best views of the Frankfurt skyline opens up: in front is the neighboring Ignatz-Bubis-Brücke with trams, and behind it the skyscrapers – the same famous postcard view. They say this angle is called “Gotham City am Main.” That’s how I sometimes stand there, enjoying this view and think, so what if the connection didn’t turn out; for me it still exists! After all, I, my move, and my associations are the very connection. Do you have cities or places like that that unexpectedly rhyme with your childhood? #frankfurt #history