Ponte de Dom Luís I. Porto

It is weird how some folk can look at an object a building a structure and get a "fuck me" moment, and yet others look at it non plussed.

I remember many years ago visiting the Taj Mahal, the first glimpse as you enter the arched gate way, and yes it is one of those moments. I returned a couple of years later and the squeeze that was accompanying me looked and commented " Is that it".

Some people are just well......
...ex-squeezes

I kind of got that same moment when I saw this big heap of steel, spanning the Douro river joining Porto to Gaia.

Thankfully squeeze free!

The Dom Luís I Bridge is a double-decked wrought iron, single arch bridge spanning the Douro River between Porto and Vila Nova de Gaia. The construction started in 1881 and was completed in 1886. Contrary to urban myth it was not designed by Gustav Eiffel, the tower man, but a Belgian engineer, Théo Seyrig.

When built its 564 ft span was the longest of its kind in the world.The record stood until 1903 when New York City’s Williamsburg Bridge surpassed it.

The upper deck, originally for trams and pedestrians while lower level catered to general vehicular traffic with narrow pedestrian paths on either side.

The upper deck currently serves as part of Metro do Porto since 2003 after tram services ended in the late ’90s. Walking the upper deck one has to be on the ball, as these trams sneak up on you, silent and fast enough to turn you into a dismembered lump of road kill under the wheels.

The sun sets, it's beer o'clock.