I am not sure which bridge it was, but my father liked to tell a story about how they had a Portugese harbor pilot on board a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier on which my father served in the late 1940's, and they were making a port call in Lisbon.
The harbor pilot insisted that the aircraft carrier proceed to dock, even though the tide was coming in. The only way to steer a ship, of course, is to move water across the rudder, so they had to charge the aircraft carrier in at nearly full throttle in order to go faster than the tide, otherwise the carrier would have drifted right into and taken out some bridge that was nearby.
My father said that storming into their place for docking in Lisbon at high speeds and just missing smashing into the bridge was among the scariest episodes of his 20 years in the Navy (which included getting bombed in the South Pacific in World War II).
This is a fascinating story, David, but I'm intrigued now... :-) Lisbon has two bridges only: this one built in 1966 and the other in 1998. The closest bridge is 30km up the Tagus, built in 1951 and I believe an aircraft carrier couldn't go this far... What a mystery this is! :-)
Terrific image and the comments are fascinating reading. Why 25th April? This is an important date in Australia but what meaning does it have in Portugal?
Jacob, There are at least two Monsanto in Portugal: the mountain where this park is located and a gorgeous old litlle town in northern Portugal. I have no idea where the american company got its name from...
Julie, The 48 years of Salazar's dictatorship ended on the 25th of April due to a revolution in Lisbon (1974). We have just lived in a democracy for the last 35 years. By the way, the name of the bridge was... Salazar!
JM, What a splendid view! Thanks for looking up the comparison information on Christ the King and Christ the Redeemer statues. Amazing! Was this shot a possible contender for theme day?
My daughter spent 10 days in Lisbon last month and loved it so much she would like to move there. Such are the charms of your lovely point on the globe. I, of course, did not have to travel there to enjoy your area, just visit you and Sailor Girl to know how wonderful it is. -Kim
25th of April seems much more appropriate than Salazar for the bridge... Glad that many dictatorships are over by now, still sad to know there's many more still surviging... God bless you! Cezar
JM, You information about the two bridges leaves me puzzled. In giving further thought to when my father was on the aircraft carrier in the Mediterranean, it would have been in the years 1950-1953, not the late 1940's as I previously estimated.
Was there an earlier bridge? Maybe it was a dock or a pier that the ship was about to run into, but my memory is that he told the story about a bridge. I definitely remember it being Lisbon, and certainly among the Mediterranean ports, Lisbon would certainly have the strongest tides, I would think because of its location at the mouth of a river rather than being a harbor in a bay.
Like many people from the generation of the Great Depression and World War II, my father passed away a few years ago (in 2002), so I am not able to ask him to clear up this mystery.
Christ the King and 25th of April Bridge over the Tagus River on a hot misty day, as seen from Monsanto Forest Park, Lisbon's lung.
31 comments:
The statue is so tall!
Glad you have a good green lung.
That's quite a statue of Christ the King! I wonder how it compares with the Jesus statue in Rio?? Is that the "Golden Gate" bridge of Lisbon?
How beautiful. I love the echo of the statue, the bridge towers, and the cranes.
Its a beautiful
name for a bridge ;)
And a wonderful view !!
Wonderful view, perfect image.
wow , compared to the bridge the Christ is huge !!!
Leif Hagen,
Here are the differences between the two:
- Christ the King (Lisbon):
pedestal-82m + statue-28m = 110m
Location: Tagus River south bank-113m
- Christ the Redeemer (Rio):
pedestal-8m + statue-30m = 38m
Location: Corcovado Hill-700m
I am not sure which bridge it was, but my father liked to tell a story about how they had a Portugese harbor pilot on board a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier on which my father served in the late 1940's, and they were making a port call in Lisbon.
The harbor pilot insisted that the aircraft carrier proceed to dock, even though the tide was coming in. The only way to steer a ship, of course, is to move water across the rudder, so they had to charge the aircraft carrier in at nearly full throttle in order to go faster than the tide, otherwise the carrier would have drifted right into and taken out some bridge that was nearby.
My father said that storming into their place for docking in Lisbon at high speeds and just missing smashing into the bridge was among the scariest episodes of his 20 years in the Navy (which included getting bombed in the South Pacific in World War II).
This is a fascinating story, David, but I'm intrigued now... :-) Lisbon has two bridges only: this one built in 1966 and the other in 1998. The closest bridge is 30km up the Tagus, built in 1951 and I believe an aircraft carrier couldn't go this far... What a mystery this is! :-)
There is a lot to see in this shot! The bridge reminds me of the Golden Gate Bridge. Beautiful!
What a fantastic view. The bridge reminds me of the Golden Gate bridge in San Francisco.
Uma visão bem diferente das que estamos acostumados a assistir, pelo menos eu desconhecia este ponto de vista. A foto está excelente!!!
Great view.
Enlarged this is even more spectacular! That's some fantastic sculpture & bridge!
Why the name "Monsanto"? That name is associated with chemical horrors in this country!
Terrific image and the comments are fascinating reading. Why 25th April? This is an important date in Australia but what meaning does it have in Portugal?
Jacob,
There are at least two Monsanto in Portugal: the mountain where this park is located and a gorgeous old litlle town in northern Portugal. I have no idea where the american company got its name from...
Julie,
The 48 years of Salazar's dictatorship ended on the 25th of April due to a revolution in Lisbon (1974). We have just lived in a democracy for the last 35 years.
By the way, the name of the bridge was... Salazar!
That is a breathtaking view JM!
I like the statement that bridges make on a city.
I really like that perspective.
JM, What a splendid view! Thanks for looking up the comparison information on Christ the King and Christ the Redeemer statues. Amazing! Was this shot a possible contender for theme day?
My daughter spent 10 days in Lisbon last month and loved it so much she would like to move there. Such are the charms of your lovely point on the globe. I, of course, did not have to travel there to enjoy your area, just visit you and Sailor Girl to know how wonderful it is.
-Kim
25th of April seems much more appropriate than Salazar for the bridge... Glad that many dictatorships are over by now, still sad to know there's many more still surviging...
God bless you!
Cezar
Wonderful shot and excellent view. Beautiful blue water of the Tagus. MB
Beautiful view!
Great bridge!
Wow, which one was first, Golden gate bridge or this one? :) Wonderful view!
JM,
You information about the two bridges leaves me puzzled. In giving further thought to when my father was on the aircraft carrier in the Mediterranean, it would have been in the years 1950-1953, not the late 1940's as I previously estimated.
Was there an earlier bridge? Maybe it was a dock or a pier that the ship was about to run into, but my memory is that he told the story about a bridge. I definitely remember it being Lisbon, and certainly among the Mediterranean ports, Lisbon would certainly have the strongest tides, I would think because of its location at the mouth of a river rather than being a harbor in a bay.
Like many people from the generation of the Great Depression and World War II, my father passed away a few years ago (in 2002), so I am not able to ask him to clear up this mystery.
This is stunning...
A great view indeed :)
spectacular bridge and view!
JM
Incrível a altura da estátua. Uma bela foto !
Bom final de semana !
JM
Look:
http://foview.blogspot.com/2009/05/christ-redeemerrio-de-janeiro-brasil.html
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