Lovelocks

My readings and site-hopping have brought me to this interesting picture, which in turn led to the discovery of lovelocks :

Credit : lovebot.tumblr.com

Locks of love are the padlocks fixed by loving couples, on to a fence or a pole or metallic chain/string alongside some wall etc at a public place, to symbolize their eternal love. A couple would hang a padlock after inscribing their name or initials on it and throw the key away so that their love is locked forever. Some couple use two inter-twined locks, each lock bearing their name/initials. Besides lovers, often family members and close friends also put such locks at these places, to lock their relationship forever - CuriousJM

From Google Earth Community, in CuriousJM's Locks of Love Around The World, you can read more about lovelocks, and places around the world which have them. There are some great pictures too! This one in Ponte Milvio, Rome is amazing in the sense that people kept on putting the padlocks on the street light until it's bent due to the weight. The street light was later saved when the authorities provided chains for the padlocks to be hung from.

Image from Panoramio by psetron

Lovelock locations are in China (where this tradition is thought to have originated), South Korea, Estonia, Russia, Italy, Hungary, Latvia, USA and Guam.

I am sure there are romantic travellers around the world who will make it their mission to visit as many of the locations as they can.

Now, that's what I call passion.