Liechtenstein

This is just a brief post to share news that we've arrived in Vaduz, the ever so tranquil capital of Liechtenstein. We left Kitzbuhel shortly after 9.25am this morning, transferred to a second train at Innsbruck before arriving in Buchs, Switzerland shortly after 2.20pm. A ten-minute taxi ride across the border soon had us standing outside our very stylish hotel in Vaduz.


With only a couple of daylight hours remaining we promptly set off for a walk around the town. Vaduz is a very tidy and rather sleepy place, nestled in the shadow of a dramatic rock face. High above the town, on a rocky crest sits the country's famous castle. The Schloss is home to the nation's head of state, Prince Hans-Adam II. He rules over 34,000 people, all of whom reside in a territory of 160 square kilometres. From end to end Liechtenstein is 24.6km long and only 12.4km wide.


Incredibly it's highest peak is 2599 metres hight and its lowest elevation is 430 metres. The rugged nature of this tiny nation was all too evident after seeing a spectacular 3-D relief map we found in the suprisingly informative national museum. This venue held all manner of exhibits on Liechtenstein's history, culture and wildlife.


As we left the museum fresh snow was falling, blanketing the town centre in the largest flakes imaginable. With dusk falling it was the perfect setting for soaking up the Christmas street lights. Heavy snowfall had also been a feature of our earlier train journey through the Austrian Alps. Sadly, none of the photos I snapped were able to do justice to the winter wonderland that unfolded around every bend in the track.

Today Garry has added another country to his growing list of travel milestones. Sadly, it's my second time in Liechtenstein so my tour map remains unchanged. Tomorrow we'll catch the Glacier Express and spend a day travelling through the Swiss Alps.


UPDATE

It took a while, however, I've finally published a post about our ride on the Glacier Express.

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• Location:Liechtenstein