A Day Trip to Liechtenstein
We joined the school kids on the bus bright and early this morning. Liechtenstein was only a …bus to Luzerne, train to Thawil, train to Sargans, train to Buchs, bus to another bus and whala! In my head, it was right across the border. I suppose it was, just a few beautiful views in-between. We actually got to see one of the deepest lakes in Switzerland, the Walensee. It has a deep blue and almost turquoise quality.
The bus drops you off in front of the Post Museum which we skipped, but they give you a golden coin to enter into the Treasure Room. The fanfare of this is probably the best part. The treasure consists of a crown, a few ornately carved wheel-lock pistols and several gorgeous Fabergé Eggs. It is a button of a room, but if you pretend it’s a large treasure chest, you are good to go.
Simply walk two buildings over and you can go to Liechtenstein’s National Museum. Fierce really liked all of the historical exhibits like the WWII section. Liechtenstein was allied with Germany, so there was a German soldier’s helmet and gear on display. I appreciated the archeology and traditional costumes. There was a whole room dedicated to Napoleon Bonaparte. A painting of Liechtenstein’s Furst Johann I meeting Napoleon with Austria’s Kaiser Franz II caught my eye. I like it, the leaders are in full regalia, but seem casual or almost caught in conversation.
After visiting a much needed café for lunch, we headed toward a trail that would take you up the mountain to see the Vaduz Castle. It absolutely is a killer and although flat and totally doable, left me wondering what on earth angle that climb was on. Thankfully, there are a few benches along to way to take in the scenery and of course the higher you climb, the more spectacular the view. We went all the way up even past the castle so we could look down on the valley and had a respite with a game of chess (my openings are getting better). It had begun to drizzle, but that felt really good.
Soon, we made our day trip, travel plans in reverse and made it to our cozy room at Hotel Hammer. They allow you to get whatever drinks you might like and just write down what you took. It is really nice to be able to have a hot coffee or tea at night. What a lovely end to our adventure-filled day.
