A to Z of Postcards – L is for Liechtenstein

“It occurred to me that there is no reason to go to Liechtenstein except to say that you have been there.  If it were simply part of Switzerland… nobody would dream of visiting it” –  Bill Bryson – ‘Neither here Nor there’

Liechtenstein is the fourth smallest independent European state after the Vatican City, Monaco and San Marino and is closely aligned to Switzerland.  It is also the sixth smallest independent sovereign state in the World if you add Nauru and Tuvalu.

It is one of only two countries in the world that are double landlocked (the other is Uzbekistan) as neither of its neighbours, Switzerland and Austria have access to the sea either.  It is therefore safe to say that fishing is probably not an important contributor to the economy in Liechtenstein and it doesn’t have any Blue Flag beaches.

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Liechtenstein and What Makes Switzerland Famous

“I’ve always wanted to go to Switzerland and see what the army does with those wee red knives”                                                                                                                Billy Connolly

After we left the hill top tavern in Tregen we continued along the scenic route and through the Ruppen Pass with yet more impressive views and then we picked up a main road that took us south through the low lying plains of the Appenzell region.  This wasn’t quite so scenic but as we drove the Alps got closer and their high peaks began to loom overhead rising in dramatic style from the meadows and arable farmlands of this relatively flat part of Switzerland.

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Switzerland, Car Hire, Ferries and Self Cleaning Toilets

“Switzerland is a small, steep country, much more up and down than sideways, and is all stuck over with large brown hotels built on the cuckoo clock style of architecture.”  – Ernest Hemingway

After a second generous Teutonic breakfast we booked out of the hotel and took a taxi to a car rental office a couple of kilometres out of town.  Our plan was to take the ferry across to Romanshorn again and then drive through Switzerland to Liechtenstein.   At this stage we didn’t have a road map because I tend to consider these to be an unnecessary expense and I was fairly confident that the place would be signposted and not too difficult to find, as it is, after all, an independent European sovereign state.

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