I’m settled into my apartment, in a calm, sedate and rather bourgeois part of Munich, close to Goethe Platz. I love how, in Germany, you can wander down streets named after astounding classical composers (Beethoven. Mozart and Hayden) not to mention travel on u-bahns, browse in pharmacies and loiter in squares named after influential philosophers (Kant, Schiller and, in my case, the greatest German thinker of the modern era, Herr Goethe).
I’m within easy walking distance of the centre but before I set about exploring well-trodden tourist haunts, I’m going to wander two kilometres in the other direction, in search of an installation that I read about in ‘Atlas Obscura’ (my favourite online travel magazine) which always has ideas for unique and off-the-beaten-track attractions).
I’m off to find the ‘Staircase to Nowhere’, situated outside the city’s KPMG building, in the quiet and unassuming Schwanthalerhohe neighbourhood. It’s a pleasant enough stroll that I take, through the area where Oktoberfest is usually held (it’s now been cancelled for the second year running - thanks Corona!) and past the ‘Bavaria Statue’ which, at an impressive 18 metres high, is a female personification of this part of the country, all in bronze and exuding strength and glory. But I’m not looking for a statue...I’m looking for a staircase. And then I see it.
Here it is, outside a group of very standard, modern office blocks that belong to a large, international accounting firm. It’s actually quite pleasing to my eye - a very unusual installation indeed. It’s about 9 metres long and a classic spiral design - all swirly and continuous - which some might even feel to be a bit of an optical illusion.
I did some research before I set off - it was constructed in 2004 by a Danish artist by the name of Olafur Eliasson. In German, it is called ‘Umschribung’ which apparently means ‘euphemism’ (I don’t quite understand why, but I’m sure the Dane had his reasons).
I had heard that, in the past, you were able to walk up it but as I come closer I see a sign. The word of which the Germans are most fond - ‘ verboten’ - is written on it. Forbidden. (I am later told that the staircase cannot hold more than 10 people at a time and that when too many viewers arrived simultaneously, it became a potential danger).
So I just have to walk around it, which is quite fun, in and of itself, although as I look up and down I begin to feel slightly dizzy. The staircase turns at 90 degree angles, up and across, but then connects on itself and starts to descend. So, as the name suggests, you could climb it and climb it and still get nowhere.
It’s an interesting metaphor for these current times - the idea that, as much as we try, Covid is stopping us from ascending, aspiring, reaching our dreams - and despite our efforts, we just can’t progress. Or perhaps I’m projecting my current malaise a little too much!
The ‘Staircase to Nowhere’ - with its double helix design and bold colours - is actually very clever and even though I couldn’t actually walk up it, I’m glad I found it. It’s a marvellous piece of public art and striking on the eye (which means I’ll always get a few good photos and that’s something else I enjoy).
My advice? Check it out if you’re in town.
“Staircase to Nowhere’
KPMG Building, Ganghoferstraße 29, 80339 München