Road Trip!! Getting from Zurich to Liechtenstein
Twenty-four hours…3 countries!!! Eins, zwei, drei….los!!! From Zürich, we had one big goal we wanted to accomplish…have a first meeting and quickie rendezvous with Liechtenstein…a mysterious micro-state that is not only little, but quite notably…loaded. Of course we could have easily gotten to Liechtenstein’s capital of Vaduz by train, but, by the time we compared the prices, we realized it was almost the same price to rent a car from the airport for $65 and return it the following day before we jetted off to our next destination. Plus, this also gave us a lot more flexibility to see more beautiful things along the way, and stay in a cheaper hotel option across the border in Austria.
Fortunately, the way to see more charming things in Switzerland is via the slow and meandering back roads where lots of cows and soaring church steeples seem to congregate. This worked out swell for us to avoid paying the astronomical charge of $50 to use the toll roads. (By the way, you can turn off toll roads on Google under “options,” in case you didn’t know.) For the record, this $50 is not a per use fee. It’s an ANNUAL fee, which works out terrifically for the residents or frequent users of them, and terribly for foreigners on a 24-hour roadie rendezvous.
In Switzerland, gas prices cost $2.30/liter, so one gallon equals $8.62. Really, Americans…
Because we were on the road 6-7 hours for this trip, one might think we spent an arm and a leg on gas. But nope! Thanks to this uber fuel-efficient hybrid Kia we rented, we paid $32 to fill the tank before we turned it back in. Now, we haven’t driven many new cars lately, so we were pretty interested in its innovative and robotic features…
- When you looked into the windshield, all relevant information my driver (Gregorio) needed, including the speed limit and next turn according to Google Maps, was floating in the clouds as if he were in a video game. Thus, he never once had to look away from the road (except to lovingly gaze into my eyes…haha).
- It chimed every time the speed limit changed even if there was no signage posted. This was both annoying and helpful
- If you started speeding, it chimed more feistily. This was both annoying and helpful.
- Upon backing out, it had cameras in all directions, and if you made a misstep, the wheel started vibrating like a washing machine on spin cycle. This was both annoying…and UNhelpful, especially when the “obstacle” at hand was some leaves.
Continuing our meander…
Most of this was nice, but being that it was magnificent sunny Sunday in late May, there were massive amounts of cyclists on the roads which made our travels a bit too slow…even for our taste. After we passed through the town of Weesen, we had planned to do a hike, and picnic, at Serrenbachfalle, a beautiful waterfall visit on Lake Walansee, but we got caught in a pretty gnarly Sunday traffic jam and gave up on the idea due to parking and chaos on the roads adjacent to the lake access.
Apparently everyone is at the lake. Not at church. And obviously not at a supermarket.
Because everything is closed on Sunday. Argh. Fortunately, I had planned ahead and we found a random bench to sit on to eat our sweet potato and tofu cakes, smeared with hummus.
Moving along from the chaotic north side of Walansee, we caught some more stunning vistas, including the first possible spot we could actually pull over and check out the brilliantly turquoise lake. And, as we headed toward Liechtenstein…
…the roads got much less crowded, as the clouds rolled in.
Speaking of roll, the town of Egg. Which was right next to Hinter Egg.
Arriving to the Little Land of Liechtenstein
At long last, the dapper prince and his fair lady traversed the magical River of Rhine to the Land of Little Liechtenstein, where Prince Gregory was awarded his (unofficial) badge for his 90th country. Yes, Liechtenstein is actually that kind of country. It’s so flawless, and enchanting, and unknown to many, that it almost seems fake. But fake it is not. In fact, this little land is laden with abundance, in more ways than one.
This constitutional monarchy of 40,000 people consistently ranks among the wealthiest countries in the world by GDP per capita. Although most of this is based on a disproportionate number of insanely wealthy people, for comparison, many middle-class residents of Liechtenstein enjoy a lifestyle that would considered upper middle class in the United States. They have stable employment, regular travel, top-notch healthcare and substantial long-term savings.
Wedged like a sliver of awkwardly-shaped mountainous pie between Switzerland and Austria, Liechtenstein is also one of the world’s smallest nations at 24 km (15 miles) from north to south, and 12 km from east to west at its widest point. There is no airport, and it’s one of two countries in the world that is doubly landlocked. Who knows the other one? (Hint: we went there recently).
There are two ways to arrive to the capital of Vaduz from Switzerland. By car bridge, or via historic pedestrian/cycling covered bridge. Ummm….you know what we chose! It was the most casual, and invisible border crossing we’ve ever experienced…full of charm, peace, and not a border guard in sight. (P.S Greg is holding up 9 fingers, because thankfully he doesn’t have 90 of them.)
Prince Gregory, bears the Royal flag.
His royal castle, which is perched on a hillside 120 metres above Vaduz. It is thought that the castle was constructed as a fortress as early as the 12th century, before living quarters were added in 1287. The castle came into the ownership of the royal family in 1712 and the west wing served as the family’s official residence until 1732. However, after that the building became increasingly dilapidated and fell into disrepair before being rebuilt and renovated between 1905 and 1912. Under Prince Franz Josef Il, the castle was extended and once again made fit for living. In 1939 the prince moved in with his family and adopted Vaduz Castle as his official residence.
The royal family still lives there today and are apparently worth around a paltry $7.5 BILLION. For comparison, King Charles and the royal British gang is “only” worth around $800…MILLION.
The Old Rhine Bridge was constructed in 1901 and spans the glacier fed Rhine River in 135 meters. Now that’s a nice border crossing!
This was my first time meeting the legendary Rhine River as well, although Greg once visited it in Cologne, Germany.
(In truth, we crossed the car bridge, parked in Liechtenstein, and then walked back across to Switzerland. But that story just didn’t have the same fairy tale effect.)
Unlike many European monarchs, the reigning prince has substantial political authority, including the power to veto legislation and evidently, sprinkle these little royal reminders all around the ground. There he goes right now! Never mind, that’s just a peasant…in a Ferrari.
Naturally, the crown also made it onto the flag. Other than this, the blue represents the sky over the country (which with this logic, most flags should have?) and the red represents the evenings fires that traditionally burned in the homes and mountain villages.
The Vaduz Cathedral, called the Cathedral of St. Florin was built between 1869 and 1873, which makes it practically a toddler amongst other European churches. It has some interesting images of Virgin Mary capturing two very important end caps of Jesus’s life.
Vaduz, the capital, has 6000 people which makes it smaller than most US suburban neighborhoods.
The main government seat of Liechtenstein
While there is no border control in Liechtenstein, gullible tourists like my husband can pay $3.84 for an “official” stamp from the tourist office. Since our passports are brand-new, this means the only stamp he had in his passport is fake. (Because they no longer stamp when you enter the Schengen Zone).
Wandering around the streets of Vaduz, we found a bizarre piece of architecture which was a modern art museum, a tranquil square where we guzzled down some fountain water, having forgotten our water bottle in the car, some houses with terrible views…
…and an astronaut. Which is weird because Liechtenstein doesn’t even have an army, much less a space program. The piece of art is called “Space Diverter” by Swiss Artist Max Grüter and actually represents protection from the outside world, but also symbolizes isolation. The artist intended the astronaut to reflect how people can feel in an increasingly complex, anonymous, and technological society…protected, and yet all alone.” (Vaduz Tourism).
Since we have a rule that we have to have a meal in every new country we visit for it to “count,” we had to buy something in Liechtenstein (besides a fake stamp.) Thus, hot, sweaty and with Fraggle hair, we rolled into an air conditioned coffee shop stupidly named “American Bagel and Coffee Company,” (which might itself negate our country counting rule). But ah well, we bought a frozen latte as our “meal,” which we shared because…it was $10.50!!!!! $10.50!!! That definitely goes on the record book for us!! But damn, was it tasty.
Moving on with a little more pep in our step, we wandered by a rendition of what at first looked like excrement. But, upon closer inspection, was actually a large and plushy lounging lady!
Ok….what was a Botero doing in Liechtenstein!?
Also…what were these clusters of Chinese tourists doing in Liechtenstein? Haha. Scoring major bragging rights…we believe.
In fact, there was weirdly so many Chinese tourists that the free postage museum didn’t even have English on their informational plaques. They had German. And Chinese. Apparently, postage stamps are kind of a big deal here. They are prized by collectors all over the world and have long been a source of revenue for the country.
Want to know another source of revenue for the country? At one time, evidently visitors could “rent” Liechtenstein for corporate events, gaining symbolic control of public space and even temporary street-sign changes.
Oh, but underneath all that pomp and circumstance…it really is so beautiful.
Getting High in Liechtenstein
After our visit to the “bustling” 6000 person capital of Vaduz, our original plan had been to go to Malbun the area of Liechtenstein which is most known for its mountain vistas and trails. But, time had gotten away from us thanks to our late start and traffic in Switzerland, so we continued on toward our hotel we had reserved in Feldkirch, Austria. On the way, despite the fact that the liquid sunshine was definitely inching its way toward us, there was still enough time to climb a 34 meter (112 foot tower) just in time to feel the thunder booming. The tower is called Aussichtsplatform auf Dux, which is a gruff way of saying “Viewing Platform at Dux.” From the top we got panoramic views of the Rhine Valley, including into neighboring Switzerland.
This artistic showpiece is situated as part of playground is FREE and one of Liechtenstein’s newest landmarks from 2024 situated in lush forest.
Looking a bit like a birthday cake candle, what makes it special is that the tower, made from locally sourced wood, is not just a straight vertical structure.
“Its curved, twisting shape was designed to blend into the surrounding forest and mountainside while featuring sustainable architecture.”
There are 190 steps over nine levels and visitors can walk right during opening hours. Its sweeping design makes it a truly unique ascent.
When we got to the top, we encountered a sampling of clouds and thunder…an ideal place to be when lightening is in the area! I’m sure the views are even more phenomenal when this isn’t the case! It does also feature one of those fun glass platforms, for those that dare, which we naturally did, although Greg who is a little more timid of heights, may have been gripping the railing for dear life.
Just don’t look down! More importantly, hold on tightly to your phone baby.
People in Switzerland/Liechtenstein sure are resourceful about using making natural water fountains dual purpose!
The sky was about to let loose, so we moved on for the last twenty minutes of our drive into Austria, where we flew through the border (because there isn’t one, thanks Schengen), and almost immediately noticed the architecture change. This is another country Greg and I had both been in previously, but never together.
Ho, hum. Just a medieval “princess” tower on the side of the road in Feldkirch. Is it just me, or slightly leaning? Sure beats the crowds in Pisa 🤣
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