The Eiffel Tower has reopened, but the lifts are not in use, for social-distancing reasons. But you are free to go up the 674 steps to the viewing platform. Sounds like an excellent opportunity for some good training.
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The Eiffel Tower has reopened, but the lifts are not in use, for social-distancing reasons. But you are free to go up the 674 steps to the viewing platform. Sounds like an excellent opportunity for some good training.
I have vague memories of going up and down those steps in the early '80s. On subsequent visits we took the lift - the stairs were so much better, unless of course you are going to the top - ideally at night.
I used to train on the stairs inside our so called town house in Suffolk - a typical session was walking up/down 40 flights with a 14.8 kg pack; and then 100 flights running without the pack - the total session took about 34 minutes. The 5 storey car park offered similar opportunities, but without the back pack.
There's a medieval tower in the centre of Bologna (incidentally the finest city I've ever been to).
498 wooden steps up to the top. It is incredibly steep and the steps are irregularly sized. Descending that would be great fell training, although the design of the staircase means a fall could potentially be very disastrous...
That tower is pretty scary to climb - not only is it leaning, it is amazingly narrow for its height, and the staircase supports look like they could come away any minute. My partner is pretty game on scrambles - she waited at the bottom.Quote:
Originally Posted by Travs
I spent half a day in Bologna a few years ago. I saw the big tower, but didn't go up it. I had the most expensive ice-cream of my life at a cafe in the central square.
I was there for a football match (Bologna vs Fiorentina), but spent the entire day there as it was only an hour down the (fantastic) railway line from Milan where i was staying.
Beautiful city and would love to spend more time there.
Also quite scary at the top. Very narrow. The steel bars and chain-link guards to prevent people falling out or chucking stuff off, aren't entirely substantial either. Worth it for the views though.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike T
When i was training in Bangkok, there was a huge temple in the next street from our gym. An absolutely amazing place... several buddha statues made from gold and what looked like Jade. 14 floors. Most of the floors were "closed" but i sneaked up the staircase for a look round... floor after floor of old Thai artefacts, statues. The sort of stuff you'd expect to see in the British Museum.
Yet this place is not in any tourist guide-book.
At the very top (95 metres) it opens out and you can get outside. A harrowing experience... the sense of exposure was unreal, down the vertical sides of the temple. No protective railing, just a wall which wasn't even waist height. The walkway round the outside was less than a metre wide in most places so you were forced up close to that waist-high wall if you wanted to walk round.
Fantastic 360deg views of Bangkok though!