Field Report 032: The Sonnenburger Brücke

by Anthony Georgis

A bridge is a metaphor for a lot of things. It’s about traveling, reaching out, exploring, and connecting the past with the present. Even though it’s not much to look at, the Sonnenburger Brücke is pretty special in that way. It’s a simple little pedestrian bridge that crosses the train tracks between two small neighborhoods. On this particularly sunny day it was traveled by a host of characters: Christian the accordion player (who told me about his three children and provided our meandering soundtrack), burly looking men reminiscent of Frankenstein, and cyclists swerving around the steady stream of pedestrians, trainspotters, and my camera—which I probably shouldn’t have placed rather inconsiderately in the middle of the path. For me the Sonnenburger Brücke is a symbol of a bigger journey that’s just beginning, which makes it the perfect subject for the Field Report.