2023 Scotland – 10 – Suzanne’s Travels

London once more, and thoughts on staircases and buildings

(One of my very favorite pictures I’ve ever taken. A staircase at the Melk Abbey in Austria.)

So we went to dinner on Queensferry Street, the next block over from our hotel. Julie googled ‘where to eat near me’ (how did I not know about this?!?), and Queensferry Street came up. They were not kidding. Anything you could think of was on that street. We ended up having Thai. After that we came back to the hotel. Our room has a huge soaking tub, and we both wanted to make use of it! My body could use it after this week.

Our hotel is really lovely. It’s about half of a block from Hyde Park, and I think we’ll walk to Kenningston Palace tomorrow (weather permitting). The new exhibit ‘Crown to Couture’ opened last week and we have tickets! I think we will hit the Victoria and Albert Museum after that. We’ll see how well we hold up.

Back to our hotel. It’s very old world in the lobby and the exterior, but the rooms have all the modern ammenities that you could wish, and did I mention that they have a large soaking tub in the bathroom? The service is great, and best of all, they have a lift. Maybe 4×6, but it’s a lift and we didn’t have to walk up stairs!

Speaking of stairs, I wanted to comment on the type of stairs we’ve seen. At home we don’t think much about stairs. They are just there, a way to get from one story to another. European stair cases are another case entirely. At least Old Town stairways. They are old, utilitarian, and designed to take up the least amount of space possible.

Paris was my first experience with their stairs. The appartment we rented in 2013 wrapped all the way around a square, with doors opening off the stairs. No landings, just doors off literal stair treads. I can’t find the picture, but I’ll add it when I do. Paris also had very old stair cases – one of the most impressive was the double helix staircase at Chambord. Amsterdam had the record for the steepest. I can’t believe anybody wearing a gown could get up or down one of those! But Scotland has to be the ultimate in killer staircases. I’ve never seen so many narrow steep spiral staircases in my life.

Going up the Scott Monument (or know to locals as the Gothic Rocket), I made it to the first level. 90 steps. I still can’t believe they got a staircase in the leg of that thing. (I’ve put a picture below, but google it for a better view.)

Space seems to be the main requirement. In all of the above cases, except Chambord (hunting palace of the King of France), stairs needed to fit in very small, very tight spaces. And it Scotland, where everything went vertical, they were necessary, and everywhere. It’s been fun to think about as I’ve explored. Necessity breeds invention. Various staircases below for your enjoyment.