We began our day at around 7.30 this morning, and headed down to the common area for breakfast. They had a typical continental breakfast laid out (included with our stay at any Hostelling International hostels), containing traditional swiss bread, yogurt, cereal, salami, cheese, juice, tea/coffee, and fruit salad. We both ate our fill, as we were somewhat unsure about where lunch was going to come from.
We caught a bus to the Vaduz city centre (short distance - ~3km), and spent a few minutes walking around the city centre. We found a bus terminal full of tour busses, and lots and lots of tourists. From there, we made our way up to the castle.
We went the round-about way up to Schloss Vaduz. The trail was marked with a “use at own risk” sign. We decided that the best interpretation of that sign was that boulders sometimes fall down, there was a giant fence along one side that was reinforced to protect nearby buildings. Fortunately, no rocks fell on us during the hike. However, we did walk into a huge patch of stinging nettles and thorny plants that were encroaching on parts of the trail. Jeff did not find it very painful, but Mary found the nettles very uncomfortable. Mary even used her sweater as a shield. We survived and eventually made it to the main trail that all the tourists were using. Finally, we arrived at the main trail where signs were posted that dealt with the history of Schloss Vaduz
The castle dates back to the 12 century. In the Schwaben War of 1499 much of the castled was burned by the Swiss. The castle was acquired by the Liechtenstein family in 1712 when the Principality of Liechtenstein was formed. Between 1905 and 1920 the castle was restored. In the early 1930s it was expanded. Since 1938 the castle has been the primary residence of the Liechtenstein Royal Family.
After the trail we walked along the road’s sidewalk and Jeff took many pictures. The castle was really impressive. It would have been interesting to go inside. Unfortunately, it is closed to visitors. The Prince of Liechtenstein lives in the castle.
The weather was wonderful. Mary would occasionally remind Jeff that “es ist sonig” (it is sunny – trying to implant at least a little German into Jeff). We took a break in the parking area and had our pre-lunch granola bar. After a short break we started to walk back down to Schloss Vaduz and took a side trail for a slightly different view of the castle. On this trial we setup the mini-tripod and took a picture of ourselves with Schloss Vaduz and the nearby mountains.
We caught a bus to the Vaduz city centre (short distance - ~3km), and spent a few minutes walking around the city centre. We found a bus terminal full of tour busses, and lots and lots of tourists. From there, we made our way up to the castle.
We went the round-about way up to Schloss Vaduz. The trail was marked with a “use at own risk” sign. We decided that the best interpretation of that sign was that boulders sometimes fall down, there was a giant fence along one side that was reinforced to protect nearby buildings. Fortunately, no rocks fell on us during the hike. However, we did walk into a huge patch of stinging nettles and thorny plants that were encroaching on parts of the trail. Jeff did not find it very painful, but Mary found the nettles very uncomfortable. Mary even used her sweater as a shield. We survived and eventually made it to the main trail that all the tourists were using. Finally, we arrived at the main trail where signs were posted that dealt with the history of Schloss Vaduz
The castle dates back to the 12 century. In the Schwaben War of 1499 much of the castled was burned by the Swiss. The castle was acquired by the Liechtenstein family in 1712 when the Principality of Liechtenstein was formed. Between 1905 and 1920 the castle was restored. In the early 1930s it was expanded. Since 1938 the castle has been the primary residence of the Liechtenstein Royal Family.
After the trail we walked along the road’s sidewalk and Jeff took many pictures. The castle was really impressive. It would have been interesting to go inside. Unfortunately, it is closed to visitors. The Prince of Liechtenstein lives in the castle.
Even Bear managed to make his way all the way up to the castle!
The weather was wonderful. Mary would occasionally remind Jeff that “es ist sonig” (it is sunny – trying to implant at least a little German into Jeff). We took a break in the parking area and had our pre-lunch granola bar. After a short break we started to walk back down to Schloss Vaduz and took a side trail for a slightly different view of the castle. On this trial we setup the mini-tripod and took a picture of ourselves with Schloss Vaduz and the nearby mountains.
Then we walked the rest of the way down to the city centre. Mary visited some souvenir shops and bought a post card. We could not find a shop that sold authentic Swiss style cuckoo clocks, only German made clocks.
At this point, it was near 1 o’clock and we decided that we needed some food. The nearby coop store was closed because it was Mother’s day, so we had to find a café that would serve us some food at a reasonable price. All the local places served meals that were minimum 20fr. The local Kabab shop had food for a much better price. We decided to go there and bought two Bratwurst. The Bratwurst came with a large bun and a generous helping of mustard from a tube. They seem to have quite a few condiments in tubes here, like toothpaste. We’ve also seen tomato paste and mayo in tubes at the grocery store. Mary had a brief conversation in German with the shop keepers about where we are from and how long it took to fly here from Canada (~11 hours). They were pretty impressed at how long it took, and said that they’d never make that sort of trip; it’s much too long.
Once our meal was done we headed towards the main centre of town to check out the local environment. On the way we came across a Coop that was attached to a gas station. Under Swiss law, stores can stay open on a Sunday/Holiday if they are a transportation service. A gas station is most definitely an essential transportation service! We bought a bagged salad, a small container of dressing (single serving), a bottle of wine, and a chocolate bar at the gas station for 8.65 fr. The wine was very reasonable, though not as good as other wine that we have had. However, for ~3.50 fr, we were not about to complain. And it was much better than what they served on the plane…
With our purchases in our bag we proceeded up into the main town. We walked along a path that took us through some of the Prince’s vineyards. These vineyards were attached to a very expensive restaurant and cellar that the Prince of Liechtenstein owns.
In the centre of town we found a very old stone building that had an attached vineyard. Unfortunately, we do not know anything about this building. We also came across a swimming pool that had a retractable greenhouse roof instead of a thermal blanket, and watched as a young boy and his father pushed it back so they could go for a swim.
All of the household gardens were well kept. Almost all of them had large sections of roses planted, many in bloom. Compared to Zurich, Liechtenstein is several days ahead in terms of the season. As an indicator of the warmth in this area, many gardens were also planted with various types of palms and even aloe vera. We did not expect such Mediterranean plants. We stopped at a fountain for a few minutes to have a drink, and Mary took the opportunity to literally stop and smell the roses. She says they smelled amazing, and quite enjoyed their scent while enjoying a soft serenade from a pianist inside the nearby restaurant.
After this walk through the residential town centre we walked back towards the hostel on the main road. Along the main road we saw various “take away” restaurants, public buildings, and even two cows grazing on a small field.
At this point, it was near 1 o’clock and we decided that we needed some food. The nearby coop store was closed because it was Mother’s day, so we had to find a café that would serve us some food at a reasonable price. All the local places served meals that were minimum 20fr. The local Kabab shop had food for a much better price. We decided to go there and bought two Bratwurst. The Bratwurst came with a large bun and a generous helping of mustard from a tube. They seem to have quite a few condiments in tubes here, like toothpaste. We’ve also seen tomato paste and mayo in tubes at the grocery store. Mary had a brief conversation in German with the shop keepers about where we are from and how long it took to fly here from Canada (~11 hours). They were pretty impressed at how long it took, and said that they’d never make that sort of trip; it’s much too long.
Once our meal was done we headed towards the main centre of town to check out the local environment. On the way we came across a Coop that was attached to a gas station. Under Swiss law, stores can stay open on a Sunday/Holiday if they are a transportation service. A gas station is most definitely an essential transportation service! We bought a bagged salad, a small container of dressing (single serving), a bottle of wine, and a chocolate bar at the gas station for 8.65 fr. The wine was very reasonable, though not as good as other wine that we have had. However, for ~3.50 fr, we were not about to complain. And it was much better than what they served on the plane…
With our purchases in our bag we proceeded up into the main town. We walked along a path that took us through some of the Prince’s vineyards. These vineyards were attached to a very expensive restaurant and cellar that the Prince of Liechtenstein owns.
In the centre of town we found a very old stone building that had an attached vineyard. Unfortunately, we do not know anything about this building. We also came across a swimming pool that had a retractable greenhouse roof instead of a thermal blanket, and watched as a young boy and his father pushed it back so they could go for a swim.
All of the household gardens were well kept. Almost all of them had large sections of roses planted, many in bloom. Compared to Zurich, Liechtenstein is several days ahead in terms of the season. As an indicator of the warmth in this area, many gardens were also planted with various types of palms and even aloe vera. We did not expect such Mediterranean plants. We stopped at a fountain for a few minutes to have a drink, and Mary took the opportunity to literally stop and smell the roses. She says they smelled amazing, and quite enjoyed their scent while enjoying a soft serenade from a pianist inside the nearby restaurant.
After this walk through the residential town centre we walked back towards the hostel on the main road. Along the main road we saw various “take away” restaurants, public buildings, and even two cows grazing on a small field.
We ate a late(ish) dinner that consisted of take away pizza, salad, and wine. It was delicious. Unfortunately, there are no pictures for this dinner, pictures were far from our thoughts. We went back to the pizza place that we had visited yesterday, and ordered a Hawaii pizza. It was very tasty, with large chunks of ham and pineapple. They came out after a few minutes to say that there was a problem with the first pizza, and so they were making us another one.
Once dinner was done, the day was almost over. Jeff took some photos of the late sunset over the mountains (yesterday). Tomorrow we pack up our bags, throw them over our shoulders, and head out into the unknown, where the unknown is Brugg.
Once dinner was done, the day was almost over. Jeff took some photos of the late sunset over the mountains (yesterday). Tomorrow we pack up our bags, throw them over our shoulders, and head out into the unknown, where the unknown is Brugg.
No comments:
Post a Comment