Thousands and thousands of love locks on the bridge in Cologne, Germany. The fence cannot even be seen because padlocks are coveringg each other. In the background a train departure hall can be seen.

Stories of love, longing and dates to give a glimpse into how long these padlocks have been fastened to the fence. Here and there a name, or two names with a heart in-between.

The love locks in Cologne draw tourists everyday. And it is easy to understand why, as one can learn about people's love stories, although in short comments. And the vastness of this sea of padlocks gives an idea of the power of love.

More locks seen up close and pedestrians are walking in the distance.

Here a regional DBahn train can be seen passing by with the fence and the thousands of love locks adorning the hand rail and the bridge as a whole.

Some locks are very worn and tell tales of the rain and snow they had to endure as they have been around for many, many years.

To fully appreciate the amount of love locks, this photo shows a full image with padlocks in many various colors. Note how relatively few are in the common brass and shiny grey metal, but instead red, pink and green colors make the palette so much richer.