The View From My Beer
Today’s view comes from Feldkirch, Austria. It provided a better view than the beer I had in Liechtenstein for reasons I’ll explain later. I had a small glass of Mohenbrau at the Levendl Brewist. I now know the German word for ‘small’ is ‘Klein’. I thought I was ordering a glass of Klein beer
Liechtenstein
I chose to visit Liechtenstein as part of my European travels that filled a gap in my itinerary between my Eastern Mediterranean cruise and a return to Australia for my niece’s wedding. I have always been intrigued by these small European states. How and why do they even exist?
Even after spending a day in the tiny country of Liechtenstein (pronounces as lik · tuhn · stine), I am struggling to remember how to spell it. For some reason my brain keeps telling me to put the ‘t’ in front of the ‘ch’.
At just 62 square miles, Liechtenstein is smaller than many cities. Liechtenstein is sandwiched between Austria and Switzerland. Its border with Switzerland is defined by the Rhine River. Liechtenstein is one of only two countries in the world that are double land-locked. It is surround by the land-locked countries of Switzerland and Austria. The other double land-locked country is Uzbekistan
Most of the 40,000 people who live in Liechtenstein live in the Rhine valley between soaring mountains. It is the only country that is entirely Alpine. It also has one of the highest GDPs per capita in the world and has almost no national debt. That might explain why a country with only 40,000 people can support SIX casinos! Liechtenstein is ruled by a prince, making it one of the world’s few principalities. Liechtenstein has not had a military since 1868. In many ways it has relied on the strong independence of neirboring Switzerland to ensure its own survival.
My Walk
I ended up taking a walk in two separate countries today. When I looked at the map to decide my priorities for my walk, I decided my close proximity to Austria provided a good opportunity to revisit Austria. My stay in Lietchenstein included free travel on Leitchenstein’s bus network, which included a route into to Austrian town of
Schaan (Liechtenstein)
My trip to Liechtenstein started with a 4-hour train journey from Munich to Buchs, a small Swiss town 4 km away from my hotel. Close enough for a quick cab ride. There was a train station in Liechtenstein, but my travel app would let me book tickets if I added the extra stop.
Having arrived at my hotel around 4pm, I decided to take a stroll around town to get acquainted to the new surroundings. I don’t think any of my photos accurately portray the feeling of the towering mountains that rose above Schaan. The town had a distinct Alpine feel, reminding me of my visits to Austria, Germany, and Switzerland. One thing that was a bit different was the number of buildings that included rustic wooden structures. Unfortunately the sky was quite gray, which always tends to make photos a little less colorful.
Not everything in town was old. Every now and then I would encounter a few very modern building that looked a little out of place in this setting. Eventually I located a pizza restaurant close to the Rhine River, allowing me to enjoy my first ever beer from Liechtenstein.
The next morning I got up early as I had a lot to cover. I had decided to spend the morning in Fieldkirch (Austria) befor heading to the capital of Liechtenstein, Vaduz. And then, if I had time, head over to the Swiss town of Busch. That would allow me compose a rare three-country view from my beers. But everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth…
I had gotten so used to every day on my trip being a fine day, I had not considered the possibility of rain. This was only the third day on my eight days of travel that I had to pull out the raincoat.
Fieldkirch (Austria)
I had no plans to visit Austria, but it was 7km away and having stayed overnight in Liechtenstein, I was allowed free public transport around Liechtenstein and into Austria and Switzerland. Feldkirch was a very charming small town. Its buildings were decorated in the distinctive style common in Austria. I had never heard of this place before yesterday. My travels end up being so random at times.
Valduz (Liechtenstein)
Next, I planned on visiting Valduz, Liechtenstein’s capital. I got on the bus from Fieldkirch to Valduz. While I was sitting there, I looked at my Liechtenstein Travel Pass I started wondering why it expired today. If I had booked two nights accommodation, then it shouldn’t expire until tomorrow. I checked my hotel booking, and to my horror I discovered I had only booked one night of accommodation. Somehow in order to fit everything in I had varied from my usual approach of spending at least two nights in each place I visit. It was now 1:30PM and I hadn’t checked out of my room! I jumped off the bus and decided it would be faster for me to make a 25-minute walk to my hotel. I was staying at a self-service hotel, so there wasnt’t a recoption. It took me a while, but eventually I was able to get my stuff, that had been packed up for me and sitting outside my hotel room. Next I had to figure out how to get a train to my next destination, Zurich. Life was complicated by the fact that all my credit cards had stopped working. Leichtenstein, is a well known place for scammers, and so my credit card companies had put a hold on my ccounts when they started seeing a bunch of transactions from Liechtenstein. After a mad scramble I eventually found myself on a train headed towards Zurich. I could relax after a few hours of a mad panic. I still had a view from my beer from Austria, and I’ll just have to put Valduz on my wishlist.
