Title : Why Liechtenstein?
link : Why Liechtenstein?
Why Liechtenstein?
And yes, I know this is 4 months (or so late), but priorities. And it just didn't seem to be at the top. But it's happening before I finish off the blog!
So Why Liechtenstein?
Because though incredibly inconvenient, it'll be more inconvenient at all other points in my life.
And I would love to cross this off my 51 Things to Do Before I Die list. And I have! YAY.
In fairness, the trip didn't make all that much sense, but I knew that if I didn't do this, I wouldn't get this item crossed off the list. I've wanted to go since I was young, after I read a book that featured Liechtenstein. It was small, off the beaten track and had a castle with a prince that lived inside it.
Whimsy appeal, anyone?
So for my last St. Patrick's Day in Ireland, I hopped on a plane and spent it outside of Ireland (as I had for the last 4 years).
But first, I had to get up at 4 am to write a 4 hour exam for residency that would prove I understand Canadian culture. Then I drove the 2 hours to Dublin to get on the plane to Zurich!
It was a lot of travel, but I made it. There was a lady beside me on the plane who was a VERY nervous flier, but (according to her and the flight attendant who knew her), I did a very good job of distracting her for the flight. In return, she gave me lots of tips and suggestions for places to eat, things to drink, and overall helpful lady. She invited me to a winery with her boyfriend and herself the next day, but since I had planned to go to Liechtenstein, I had to decline.
I will say that I found the Zurich airport not the easiest to find my way around. Surprising, right? I finally made my way out to an exit, and decided to walk the 20 minutes to my AirBnb apartment rental. It was a little sketchy as I had to walk along a small creek path, and it was nighttime, but all turned out well. After a bit of TripAdvisor searching, I headed out for a quick walk to my dinner destination - a fondue place modeled after an Alpine chalet. What luck!
I hadn't had anything except a London Fog since my very early breakfast so although the waitress warned me a fondue pot would be too much for one person, it was done within 20 minutes. She didn't know my relationship with cheese.
I woke up early the next morning, walked to the airport (grabbing a yogurt and croissant along the way) and got my rental vehicle to drive myself to Liechtenstein. Now, if I thought the Zurich airport was not that great for signage, try driving in the rain to Liechtenstein. The rain held off for most of the drive, which allowed me to (safely) gape at the Alps around me. It was pretty amazing.
Crossing into Liechtenstein was a bit less impressive than I thought it would be. It would have been very easy to miss the turnoff to the country ... I almost did.
There were a few places I wanted to hit up, most around Vaduz (the capital of Liechtenstein). Unfortunately, the rain picked up while I was wandering around, and the fog came in, so my hike to the castle was kyboshed. It was also impossible to find any good views of the mountains, and also impossible to find a restaurant in Vaduz open for lunch. That was unexpected - the capital city of a country without things open for lunch.
So, that meant I had to drive a little. Drive a little upwards, on some switchbacks with lots of fog. But I found a place for lunch! The views would have been incredible from the mountainside restaurant but I couldn't see a thing. However - the food. The food was incredible. Tender beef, and once the owner found out I had never tried rosti (potato pancake type thing in the region), she made sure to add it to my plate :)
The rain wouldn't stop and the fog kept getting worse so I had to abandon my plan of driving around the country. On my way out of the country, I stopped at the covered bridge that "bridges" Liechtenstein and Switzerland. I walked to the "country border", avoiding the donkey (?) droppings. I never saw any donkeys, but it seems they are around ... somewhere?
So I made my way back to Zurich, the views completely obscured by monsoon and fog. But that wasn't the worst part. The worst part was when I got back to Zurich to try to drop off the car.
Zurich has to be the most infuriating city to drive in. There are no (helpful) signs, even to the airport. The traffic lights stay green for about 10 seconds, and red for about 3 minutes. I had a serious case of (tired) road rage. It took me over an hour to go 5 km.
Seriously. I now understand why Jason Bourne had assassin-like tendencies. The road rage alone would need to be worked off somehow. Joking. Kinda. Sorta.
I had a bit of time before dinner, so I took a little bit of a rest before heading out on the train system to the city centre for dinner. I had booked at one of the top fondue restaurants in the city - it was nestled in the old part of Zurich, and by the river with the old buildings lit up, it was gorgeous.
The restaurant was busy, and HOT. The man beside me (finishing up his meal) tried explaining what fondue was to me ... in German. I smiled and nodded, as he was a few schnapps in. I love travelling solo ...
The food was definitely good, and the dessert was boozy with kirsch. But it did the trick, as bread and cheese does, and then I wandered back to the train stop to get back to my rental flat.
The next day was my final day. Checkout was a bit earlier than I'd have liked, but I packed up my stuff in my backpack and headed into the city. I ended up meeting a guy from a summer program I went to back in 2005 (Shad Valley!) - he was there for work-ish type stuff, so we met for some fondue - which he had never had.
And he didn't. The restaurant was one of the only ones open on a Sunday, but it was a bit of a disappointment. Ah well. It was kind of cool meeting up with someone after so long! Not a total loss.
I had a lot of time before I had to get to the airport (like 8 hours or so), so I wandered around the town centre trying to take nice pictures. It was more difficult than anticipated. So, I decided to compare a bunch of Swiss chocolates by the waterfront.
Well, I was going to anyway. But there ended up being a massive protest (unknown to me) and there were SWAT teams and tanks and we were ushered away from the tourist areas. Of course. The one day I needed to explore a place and I couldn't! So I took my chocolates and chose an open park bench where there was free WiFi, and was close to the main train station ... only to be joined by a homeless man dressed in McDonald's wrappers.
Sigh.
Needless to say, I went to the airport early. Very early. As in 4 hours early. Early enough I had to buy Wifi before Zurich has a cap on their free limit.
I remembered during this time that I had been through Zurich before, on a connection to Italy back in 2011. This is where I also remembered food was hard to find and when you found it, it was HELLA expensive. After all the bread and cheese I'd eaten, all I wanted was vegetables and healthy stuff but it seemed like it had to wait.
It seemed like forever before my plane was ready to take off. The flight also seemed to take forever. I finally did arrive back in Dublin, late late late. Took the shuttle to collect my car (deja vu from my trip to Wales) and drove back to Limerick. At least this time there were no circus transport trucks on the road! In bed before 1:30 am, ready for Paeds in the morning.
Overall, was the trip worth it? I think so. It's hard to say. I do love traveling, and I crossed an item off my List, and two more countries. At the same time though, it was extremely expensive, and I do wish the weather had been better. If it had been, I think my "was it worth it?" question would have been a resounding yes.
Ah well, you can't win 'em all! And I would love to go back to Switzerland, in the summer or winter with proper snow and weather ... but maybe when I had a bit more disposable cash handy!
Bonus pictures of the week:
So Why Liechtenstein?
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| Border crossings |
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| Made it! |
And I would love to cross this off my 51 Things to Do Before I Die list. And I have! YAY.
In fairness, the trip didn't make all that much sense, but I knew that if I didn't do this, I wouldn't get this item crossed off the list. I've wanted to go since I was young, after I read a book that featured Liechtenstein. It was small, off the beaten track and had a castle with a prince that lived inside it.
Whimsy appeal, anyone?
So for my last St. Patrick's Day in Ireland, I hopped on a plane and spent it outside of Ireland (as I had for the last 4 years).
But first, I had to get up at 4 am to write a 4 hour exam for residency that would prove I understand Canadian culture. Then I drove the 2 hours to Dublin to get on the plane to Zurich!
It was a lot of travel, but I made it. There was a lady beside me on the plane who was a VERY nervous flier, but (according to her and the flight attendant who knew her), I did a very good job of distracting her for the flight. In return, she gave me lots of tips and suggestions for places to eat, things to drink, and overall helpful lady. She invited me to a winery with her boyfriend and herself the next day, but since I had planned to go to Liechtenstein, I had to decline.
I will say that I found the Zurich airport not the easiest to find my way around. Surprising, right? I finally made my way out to an exit, and decided to walk the 20 minutes to my AirBnb apartment rental. It was a little sketchy as I had to walk along a small creek path, and it was nighttime, but all turned out well. After a bit of TripAdvisor searching, I headed out for a quick walk to my dinner destination - a fondue place modeled after an Alpine chalet. What luck!
I hadn't had anything except a London Fog since my very early breakfast so although the waitress warned me a fondue pot would be too much for one person, it was done within 20 minutes. She didn't know my relationship with cheese.
 |
| They warned me it was a lot for one person. They were wrong. |
 |
| Driving to and through the Alps |
Crossing into Liechtenstein was a bit less impressive than I thought it would be. It would have been very easy to miss the turnoff to the country ... I almost did.
There were a few places I wanted to hit up, most around Vaduz (the capital of Liechtenstein). Unfortunately, the rain picked up while I was wandering around, and the fog came in, so my hike to the castle was kyboshed. It was also impossible to find any good views of the mountains, and also impossible to find a restaurant in Vaduz open for lunch. That was unexpected - the capital city of a country without things open for lunch.
 |
| Vaduz Castle - Prince lives there still |
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| Vaduz, Liechtenstein (the fog lifted a little!) |
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| Vegetables, beef entre-cote (omg) and a traditional rösti. For some place in Liechtenstein up a mountain, population 12, this was amazing. |
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| The covered bridge to get you walking back to Switzerland from Liechtenstein Beware the donkey droppings. |
Zurich has to be the most infuriating city to drive in. There are no (helpful) signs, even to the airport. The traffic lights stay green for about 10 seconds, and red for about 3 minutes. I had a serious case of (tired) road rage. It took me over an hour to go 5 km.
Seriously. I now understand why Jason Bourne had assassin-like tendencies. The road rage alone would need to be worked off somehow. Joking. Kinda. Sorta.
 |
| Mine. All mine. |
The restaurant was busy, and HOT. The man beside me (finishing up his meal) tried explaining what fondue was to me ... in German. I smiled and nodded, as he was a few schnapps in. I love travelling solo ...
The food was definitely good, and the dessert was boozy with kirsch. But it did the trick, as bread and cheese does, and then I wandered back to the train stop to get back to my rental flat.
 |
| Zurich by night |
And he didn't. The restaurant was one of the only ones open on a Sunday, but it was a bit of a disappointment. Ah well. It was kind of cool meeting up with someone after so long! Not a total loss.
I had a lot of time before I had to get to the airport (like 8 hours or so), so I wandered around the town centre trying to take nice pictures. It was more difficult than anticipated. So, I decided to compare a bunch of Swiss chocolates by the waterfront.
 |
| Open squares in Zurich |
 |
| Lake Zurich from the Zurich waterfront |
Sigh.
Needless to say, I went to the airport early. Very early. As in 4 hours early. Early enough I had to buy Wifi before Zurich has a cap on their free limit.
I remembered during this time that I had been through Zurich before, on a connection to Italy back in 2011. This is where I also remembered food was hard to find and when you found it, it was HELLA expensive. After all the bread and cheese I'd eaten, all I wanted was vegetables and healthy stuff but it seemed like it had to wait.
It seemed like forever before my plane was ready to take off. The flight also seemed to take forever. I finally did arrive back in Dublin, late late late. Took the shuttle to collect my car (deja vu from my trip to Wales) and drove back to Limerick. At least this time there were no circus transport trucks on the road! In bed before 1:30 am, ready for Paeds in the morning.
Overall, was the trip worth it? I think so. It's hard to say. I do love traveling, and I crossed an item off my List, and two more countries. At the same time though, it was extremely expensive, and I do wish the weather had been better. If it had been, I think my "was it worth it?" question would have been a resounding yes.
Ah well, you can't win 'em all! And I would love to go back to Switzerland, in the summer or winter with proper snow and weather ... but maybe when I had a bit more disposable cash handy!
Bonus pictures of the week:
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| Hi There, Liechtenstein. |
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| Recommended by a lady on the plane. OMG This chocolate comes in sheets and you ask for pieces to be broken off. Vanilla white chocolate and chili pepper dark chocolate. |
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| Oh yeah, I can see the mountains now as I'm going to fly away. Jerk weather. |
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