Hello, Liechtenstein! I managed to get in bed just after 10 last night, and with the help of a 10 hour recording of a box fan on Spotify, I mostly drowned out the chatter of my neighbor Antonio, who was gabbing on the phone all evening. I even mustered up the courage to set an 8am alarm, and I was out the door my 8:25! (Jetlag, who?)
The reason I was all gung-ho about getting out the door was because my first activity in Liechtenstein was to take some llamas for a walk! No kidding!
This was also part of the frustration from the night before. I was supposed to get 10 CHF off (about $12), but I didn’t realize until I’d already paid. Ugh.
But it was lovely! I came to Liechtenstein with the intention of hiking, but I knew the rain was going to put a stop to that unless I tied some money to it.
My llama was named Balou, and he was taller than me. He was also very strong! But very well-behaved! We were warned that they would want to eat at every chance they got, and one of the ladies on the tour ditched very early because she was frustrated at her hungry llama and the uphill trek.
It rained and rained on our walk, but it wasn’t too bad. We still got some nice scenery in, but it did make me want to come back in better weather. Balou didn’t seem to mind.
Balou was resistant to a hug at the end of our walk, haha. What a cutie!
After my trek through Triesenberg, I bought some raw milk (unpasteurized and unhomogenized) from a little farm stand. It was so tasty!! So creamy and frothy and delicious. Yum!
Then I made my way back into town to visit the National Museum. I love national museums because you never know what you might find. How do you showcase an entire country in one building?
Liechtenstein, for their part, had one area for history, some art, some current events, some natural history, and a weird shrine to futbol (soccer). All in all, a fun visit!
I thought this was a real man in costume until I entered from a different part of the room and realized he hadn’t moved in five minutes. Ha!
There was a native art exhibit with animals that were made out of a wide variety of materials, including whale bone! Those were the coolest to me.
I thought the queen, Sedna, whose fingertips apparently turned into the seals, walruses, and whales, was a little funny looking. But I admire her contribution!
This narwhal is carved from a whale bone, and the horn is a real narwhal horn! Crazy!
Next, I wandered Vaduz center a bit (pronounced “Va-doots”) and visited the cathedral.
I wanted to visit the art museum, but my energy was waning, so I had a spot of muesli while I wrote a postcard. Yum!
Unfortunately, most of the art museum was being turned over into new exhibits, so only one room was open, but it was still nice.
Currently writing from the “princely” cellars of Hofkellerei des Fürsten von Liechtenstein, a wine cellar owned by the royal family of Liechtenstein. One of the activities included in the Liechtenstein Adventure Pass was a free tasting of two wines! Here’s a view from the vineyards outside:
I had to bumble about for a while as the wine lady catered to a couple who is actually paying for their tasting and may even pay for some bottles of wine, but eventually, I got a lovely table and a first pour of rosé. It was okay.
I was thrilled to receive a little piece of bread topped with what I believe is egg salad? Yum. Mostly I was thrilled, though, because the first glass was starting to hit me, and it seemed wise to have some food in my stomach.
After that, I was hoping to try one of the Pinot noirs grown locally, and the wine lady ended up just telling me I could try two rather than choosing! Currently sipping….
Update: I do NOT like the red wines. Bummer! They were both made from grapes grown in Vaduz, I believe just right outside where I’m sitting! But I’m not quite sure how to describe them…. Smoky, but with a strange bitterness I just can’t put my finger on. Or maybe it’s tang? The nose is acidic and sour in a very unpleasant way!!! Truly just does not taste or smell good, haha. I feel bad because the wine lady really talked them up! They are “cold weather wines,” since it doesn’t get very warm here. A similar climate to Seattle, I’d say. One was fermented in a steel container, and the other was fermented in oak barrels. I did not like either! I think the oak barrel one was maybe less painful?? Reminds me of…. If a smoked cheese tried to pretend to be a wine. Idk. I’m just doing my best to get them down so that I don’t insult my lovely host!
Earlier this afternoon, I tried one of their wines that the wine lady described as a “blonde Pinot noir.” I didn’t quite (WOO, I’m tipsy) catch her description, so I’m not sure how exactly a Pinot noir can be white, but it was, and it was tasty. I did, in fact, enjoy that one. (DAMN, I may have trouble getting home, hahahaha.)
OMG, wine lady just offered me ANOTHER taste!!! I seriously just can’t. This is about as far gone as I’ve ever been. If I had a buddy here in a better state, I would maybe accept the sample and trust them to get me home. But not alone! Gotta travel wise! Don’t want to end up in a ditch somewhere! Lololol.
I just overheard Wine Lady explain that they only sell their wines in this shop, in one shop in Austria, and online. Crazy!
…
Hoi! (That’s how they say “hi” in Liechtenstein.) Drunk Lizzy is gone. Thank goodness. I return to you as Sober Lizzy to finish my tale.
I did manage to make my way safely home that night, upon which I promptly fell asleep at 7:30. I didn’t want my sleep schedule to be all messed up though, so I roused myself an hour later, took a shower, caught up with folks back home, and was officially in bed around ten.
Unfortunately, I woke up at 2am to the sound of a screaming animal outside, and I was never able to go back to sleep! Ugh! I tried and tried for hours, enlisting the help of sleep podcasts and meditation, to no avail.
Eventually, I gave up and got to work planning out the latter half of my trip, which is as yet unplotted. So that was good.
When I determined I really wasn’t going to get any more sleep and it really wasn’t raining, I mustered the courage to get out of bed and put myself on a gorgeous bus ride back up into the mountains.
I headed up past where I took Balou for a walk, all the way into the mountains to Malbun, a ski resort. I was hoping to take the chair lift up to a small hike I found online, but everything was out of commission for the off-season. It was truly only me and the bus driver up there.
I played around for a little while and admired the most PERFECT mount for my aerial yoga hammock, and eventually, I caught the bus back into town.
Back in Vaduz, I grabbed a snack and this cool recycled cutlery set!
Then I started my trek up to Vaduz Castle, past some funky houses and some lovely viewpoints.
The castle was, of course, under construction. I have a knack for visiting beautiful places when they’re covered in scaffolding! The Colosseum, Trevi Fountain, the landmark building in Annecy, to name a few! I’ll add Vaduz Schloss to the list!
I kept waiting for it to rain, but it never did!! It was such a gorgeous day! I was attacked by biting ants when I tried to take some pictures at a little bench at one point, but I carried on!
Once past the castle, I decided to continue toward a viewpoint, and I’m so glad I did! The view was gorgeous!
I had to force out a bunch of locals so I could get my time on the platform, but it was worth it!
The way back down was much less strenuous, and I passed several beautiful views, including a famous Red House and several small vineyards.
My last museums to visit were the Post Museum and the Treasure Chamber. My favorite items in the Treasure Chamber were this gorgeous, 122-year-old Fabergé egg and the right hand glove for a ceremonial suit of armor. Look at those hinges and interlocking protective plates! Look at the gold and the jewels!
So pretty. After this, I made my way back outside for the 100-year anniversary celebration of Liechtenstein’s economic treaty with Switzerland. I got a delicious hotdog and a free beer.
The beer was surprisingly tasty, but it was so huge, and I barely made a dent in it! I mustered the courage to offer it to a boy at the next table over, and based on his, “Sure,” with a shoulder shrug upon my offer, I’m pretty sure he was American! I regret running away so fast, as per my plan before approaching. I wish I’d stayed to chat a bit!
All of Liechtenstein seemed to be out at the old and new Reine bridges crossing into Switzerland, which were closed to traffic for the festival. Live music, fun for the kids, and an acrobatics show were all going on!
I walked down into the river bed for a bit to investigate the dark grey waters, and I found a strange clay-like silt covering everything. It was so smooth and slimy! Made me want to take my shoes off, but I resisted.
Myself and my phone were both thoroughly exhausted now, having spent nearly eight hours in the sun, so I popped into the National Library (so tiny!) to recharge both. I passed the time by reading a couple German teen magazines. Easier than I thought it would be!
I was craving ice cream by this point, so I fixed myself up with some mango gelato and had an early dinner of a free bratwurst I’d picked up at the festival.
When they say bratwurst here, they really do mean just the brat. No bun. Add a bun, and it’s a frankfurter. I’ll save you the picture, though. It’s not very flattering!
Here’s a miniature of Vaduz Schloss I found in town, without the scaffolding:
Though it was still only six, I felt I was about to pass out from my lack of sleep the night before, and several strange parts of me were sunburnt (my wrists, my neck), so I went back home, did some phone chores, took a shower, and was out by nine. I got a full ten hours of sleep! Thank goodness!
This morning, I had breakfast with my host, Roswitha, added a Seattle pin to her guest map, grabbed a snack in town, and now I’m off to Austria!
Auf wiedersehen und ciao, Liechtenstein!
-Lizzy-wa
