(This post by Karen Date)
I’ve always been interested in going to Liechtenstein. I don’t know why, exactly, but probably because it’s a tiny country with a funny name — and well, I was curious and just wanted to see what it was like!
So we went to Liechtenstein from northern Italy. But on the way, we did quite a bit of driving through Switzerland.
This short landing strip in the town of Quinto would make for a thrilling flight, whether you’re coming or going.
On our way from Lake Como, we drove through Luzano (in the Italian part of Switzerland). We’d been told that Lucerne was a beautiful city, so we thought we’d spend most of a day there.
Yes, Lucerne IS beautiful, but it rained almost all day. We cut our time short after managing umbrellas and wet feet for a few hours. It’s a place we both agreed that we’ll return to and spend more time the next time we’re anywhere near there.
We stayed at an AirBnb about 15 miles outside the city of Lucerne.
Covered bridge in Lucerne
The sun came out the next day, as we motored for several hours through some stunning mountain and lake landscapes as we headed east toward that mysterious little mini-country of Liechtenstein.
We went through the town of Mols which is on a lake named the Walensee. There was a particularly unique, ornate old house by the road painted bright yellow. We stopped to take some pictures and perhaps find out more about the house. I started talking with a woman walking on the path (see photo below left) who was the nanny for a cute two-year old girl.
The woman, who has lived in this area her whole life told us about the yellow mansion. It was originally built by a wealthy man. Somehow, it became a home for immigrants for quite a long time. Recently it’s been restored to its original grandeur by another rich guy.
Next stop . . . Liechenstein!
This country really is tiny — barely 20 miles long by about 5 or 6 miles wide, it’s wedged into a Rhine River valley between mountain peaks. This country of only 39,000 people is the 4th smallest in the world (62 sq miles — think Washington D.C.) and has the highest per capita income in the world at $176,000 per person (man, women, child).
Liechtenstein is the little pinkish splotch.
We looked for a place to have picnic lunch in Vaduz, the capital city. We stumbled on the perfect spot — a cute city park with picnic tables, kids playing, free toilets, a kiddy zip line and views of the mountains in all directions.
How’s this for clever — (clean and mirrored) public toilets on one side and a climbing wall for kids on the back!
And while we’re on the subject of toilets, I was impressed by this this stately church in Vaduz, where unlike many other European countries, they leave their public bathroom doors unlocked — and they are free! And clean!
We thought we were being being adventurous, wandering Europe in a teeny Fiat on a zillion mountain roads (with a stick shift) in 5 countries . . . and then I met Alexandra, a 33 year-old woman from Poland and heard about her travels! (See the short video below.) I spoke with her in the ladies room under this church in Vaduz — behind the scary gargoyle(s). She was doing a little personal spiffing up :)
I’ll leave you with a couple of videos that I did in Vaduz. The on on the left is in Women’s bathroom under the church where you’ll meet Alexandra, the young woman solo hiker from Poland, as she tells me about her current voyage (totally on foot) across Europe. At this video’s end she talks about her walk last year — 5,000 km from Poland to Spain, ending with walking the entire Santiago de Compostela . (That 5,000 km walk equals 3,100 miles !!!)
And finally, on the right is a little video of my reactions to finally making it to Liechtenstein. Once again, it’s not so much about the destination as the people you meet along the journey!