Morning in Liechtenstein
10 September 2017
I could have stayed in bed for another couple hours. The weather was rainy and cold, and the bed was nice and comfy. We had to get moving though, as today was set to be the longest drive distance of the whole trip. We were leaving Triesenberg, Liechtenstein in the morning and needed to be in Furtwangen, Germany by a reasonable time to check in to our hotel. The place we picked was in the middle of the woods, down a windy forest road that went for a couple miles until the dead end. We didn't want to get stuck finding this place in the dark!
I was happy to have our little kitchen back in Zurich where I could make our breakfast with our findings from the markets, but today I get to enjoy one of my favorite things on a trip to Europe – a continental breakfast buffet! Nothing is better in the morning than a table of sliced meats and cheeses, soft-cooked eggs, different flavors of yogurt and muesli, a variety of breads and croissants, and of course endless cups of hot coffee. This to me is absolute heaven, and I make a point to find hotels that offer a breakfast like this. Such a simple, small thing... but I love the simple pleasures, and this one looked good!
I love good cheese, but I'll admit I do struggle with the really funky ones. It's bad enough when my sweaty hockey equipment develops that funky pungent smell, but I can't imagine eating something with that aroma. I just can't do it! Some people love it though, and Beth has grown in appreciation for those cheeses. Thing is, when you have a buffet of different kinds of cheese laid out and you aren't familiar with them, you don't know what has the funk and what doesn't. Well, after our lovely little stop at the Heididorf yesterday, I was inspired to take a slice of the Heidi cheese sitting in the case. It was an awkward cut, and I sliced a piece a little bigger than intended. I got back to the table, tried it, and... nope. Nope, nope, nope. I swear they aged this cheese in my hockey skates. I am usually emphatic about everyone trying something new and pushing their boundaries. And I certainly tried. I really did. Luckily Beth also tried some and loved it, which was good because I was feeling a bit guilty about the size I sliced. I really hate waste, so good she took it... along with the notice that under no circumstances is there any kissing or close up talking until something else covers up that funk!!!
We left the car in the lot after we checked out, and decided to walk a bit through the town. There were so many great spots and viewpoints along that windy road, but there was really no place to pull over and stop to enjoy them. Walking was our best bet, so we set out in the cold, damp morning. It was cloudy... and we were basically in the cloud cover. It would come and go, opening up great views down to the valley for a few short moments before hiding them again behind a dense layer of white. Despite the conditions, that was such a fantastic walk! Despite the dampness and cold, a good deep breath was near intoxicating, the mountain air was so fresh and clean. The extremes in perspective were amazing and the view was so beautiful. The river and buildings looked tiny in the valley so far below, but turning around the other way saw the village seem to climb the hillside up to the snowy mountain peaks as they towered so high above. Spectacular! I especially loved the way the houses were all set up, with one end facing the street and the rear hanging out over the cliff side. All of them had patios or decks, and I couldn't fathom the idea of stepping out to that view every day. I really hope that even after years of living here the locals still keep a sense of awe and appreciation for their surroundings. The view from their deck down the mountain and over the valley is far more impressive than looking out my door to a dirty South Philly street. I hope they take a bit of time to appreciate where they are and the magnificence that surrounds them.
The clouds rolled out for a good fifteen minutes or so as we found a little path that led up the hill through the houses. I couldn't decide what I liked better, the view down to the valley, or the view looking across the village with the mountains providing their epic snow-capped backdrop. I got as many pictures as I could in that short window, and before long the clouds rolled back in even denser than before. We hiked the rest of the way up the hill, stopped to look around the church and the small cemetery in the courtyard, and bid our farewell to Triesenberg and Hotel Kulm as we began our slow drive back down to Vaduz.
The Schengen Agreement essentially ended the borders between participating European countries. The benefit of this is the freedom to travel from country to country without stopping for customs, much like travelling from state to state back in the US. For travelers, the (admittedly very minor) downside to this convenience is the lack of passport stamps. We will travel through four countries on this trip, yet only Switzerland will get stamped. In the grand scheme of things this is really no matter, but the fact that very few – if any – people will enter the EU via Liechtenstein, they decided to have their own unofficial customs stop in the Liechtenstein Center. The Center, which is basically like the country's tourism office, will add a commemorative stamp to your passport for a small fee. Touristy? Absolutely, but for only three Euro we had to do it!
We drove out from Vaduz and through the larger city of Schaan ("large city" being relative in Liechtenstein), stopped at a grocery store to pick up a water and a few local beers, and then crossed the border back into Switzerland. In planning the trip, we had a few options to take from here. Option 1 – take the highway quickly through Eastern Switzerland, around the Bodensee through Austria, and up to Hohenzollern Castle in Germany before heading to Furtwangen. Option 2 – take the highway along the Swiss banks of the Bodensee, stop in Konstanz just across the German border, then on to the Black Forest. Option 3 – take the highway through St. Gallen to the Rheinfall at Schaffhausen, then up to the forest. We couldn’t do all three and had to pick only one. I really wanted to see Hohenzollern. It is such a magnificent castle and the mountains around it provided great viewpoints, but unfortunately was also the longest travel time of all options. We decided to plan the castle for another time, and chose option 2 through Konstanz. We drove along the highway to the Bodensee, the flat seascape before us a strong contrast to the towering mountains behind...
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