Curious about Liechtenstein
 

Has anyone traveled to Liechtenstein? What do you know about it? I am planning a vacation to Europe and Scandanavia in 2007 and I am starting to think about places I want to see. My husband and I met a family from Liechtenstein while we were honeymooning in Bermuda. So that has sparked the interest. I see on the world atlas that Liechtenstein is very small. Makes me think how meeting a family from here seems rare and special.
Anyone have anything to say about this place?
Thanks,
Annika

I have been there, but it's been many years ago so I'm not sure how much might have changed since then. I enjoyed my day trip there, however, and think it would be even more enjoyable if you know someone there.

Yes, it is very small and if I recall correctly, it only took about an hour or so to drive across the entire country. :)

Thank you for the reply Statia. Something tells me it is the road less traveled and I wont get many replies. Makes it even more appealing really. Let me know if you think of anything else about it though. I would appreciate it.
Annika

Other than the postage stamps the place is noted for all i can tell you is that to GET there you'll have to do it by road since all trains apparently pass through without stopping.

It's about the size of a postage stamp - and indeed they have a postage stamp Museum if you're interested. It's not that interesting - think Luxembourg as an example - but smaller. The people are nice enough though.

It is famous for being the biggest producer of false teeth in Europe, or the world, or something odd like that. Like Monaco, it teeters between being a private estate and Ruritania, and there was quite a bit in the papers not so long ago about constitutional arguments between the Grand Duke and the parliament.

Bill Bryson said some rather uncomplimentary things about it in "Neither Here Nor There" - but his title may indeed cover what he said!

Liechtenstein is indeed small but VERY rich. There are a lot of secret bank accounts there.

You can visit Liechtenstein in an hour or two and then go to Appenzell and Urnasch to see a very quaint part of Switzerland.

We went to Liechtenstein this past May. We were driving to Appenzell and decided to detour to Liechtenstein for a few hours.

I read in several places that the detour wasn't really worth it, and after we did it I realized that the information is correct. The country is small and, in my opinion, really not that picturesque. We weren't impressed so after I paid my euros for my passport stamp we decided we had our fill. We ended up gettig a little lost trying to get out of the country so the detour ended up taking longer than we thought.

If you have the time and want to add stamp to your passport, go for it. Otherwise I probably would just skip it.

Tracy

Wow! I'm so glad I asked! This is great stuff. (To me anyway). I would be traveling by car. My idea was to actually start my trip in Switzerland. I've always wanted to see the Alps. Then make my journey north to Sweden and then back down to Switzerland. Thanks so much for the replies. I am interested in all the suggestions on what else to see. I have no set itinerary yet though. Just in the planning stages.
Annika

P.S. It has a very nice castle where the Prince and his family lives. I couldn't find any available public tours of the castle though.

Other sights in the vicinity:
Sargans, Switz.: A nice castle to tour for SFr. 5.-- (my family's coat of arms is painted on the walls)

Feldkirch, Aus.: a nice old city

You can drive easily from Zurich - 100km, about 70 miles. They grow some wine in Liechtenstein and you can apparantly ski there - though I have never done so.

If you're planning on getting a passport stamp in Liechenstein, be prepared to pay a small fee for the stamp to prove you have been there.

How do you grow wine?

i've also been through it...klosters to munich. it has lovely mountains and the castle is a nice site (saw it at sunset). agree that it is hardly worth it as a destination, however.

You stick an empty bottle with a cork in it in the soil. You pour old wine over it every day and then presto, a case of bottles appears.

Very helpful and also very funny! Thank you everyone!
Annika

lawchick, something like growing potatoes? ((b))

Very similar. We can't grow wine in Ireland so we grow potatoes and make a type of moonshine out of it.

I thought about including a side trip to Liechtenstein (from Bregenz, Austria)when I'm biking around the Bodensee (Lake Constance), but haven't yet inquired as to distance or "elevation" change. Schuler, do you have any info that would help me decide? I'm not sure a passport stamp would be worth it. :)

No, it is really not worth the detour. The scenery in nearby Swiss regions is much more beautiful. Think of Lake Walensee, the Raetikon mountains, Maienfeld and the Heidi village (for those who like it), Appenzell ...

There are no guided tours of the castle in Vaduz. It is private and you cannot get in.

Thanks, Ingo. I'll skip. :)

Hello trav:

Here is a flyer with a map of the area:
http://www.tourismus.li/prospekte/30...akarte%20d.pdf
The dotted lines are for bike routes.

You can also go the Liechtenstein tourism website but all in all, I have to agree (as usual) with Ingo. If you were going to pass through the area anyway, definately stop. Otherwise, I wouldn't make it a "detour to see" destination.

P.S. I've always wanted to do a bike tour around Bodensee. It's supposed to be fabulous. Do you have any good websites that offer good tips for your bike ride?

I'll check out that website for the map. Thanks!
I ordered a Bodensee Radweg map (found it by using Google), and I've checked each town's website for information. The German ones are generally .de and then I click on Tourismus or similar. Right now I'm planning to start in Lindau, have hotel keep my bag, rent a bike there, take small pack, bike clockwise around the lake with a detour to Stein Am Rhein, spend probably 3 nights along the way, final night back in Lindau. Then probably take train to Noerdlingen/night there/bike to Dinkelsbuehl and back, etc. and train my way back to Haarlem/Amsterdam via some other stops such as Witzenhausen, Celle, Bremerhaven, etc.

Hi trav:

Thanks for the info. I just found a german website that offers luggage transportation for your bike ride around Bodensee. Eight Euros per piece of luggage and section (Etappe). They also advised to go around the lake clockwise because you'll always be lakeside (which I see you already cleverly planned).

Here's the website: http://www.bodensee-radweg.com/gepae...rt/angebot.htm

I've heard the hostels are quite good in that area. They are called Jugendherberge (fyi only). You can find lots of good hotels under Unterkunft in the above website. Good luck with your planning and pray for sunshine!

Visited Liechtenstein once...had breakfast a charming cafe in Vaduz...drove around for the morning, vineyards were ready for plucking (September)..spent the next three days at the Bodensee (Lake Constanz)..beautiful countryside...as for Liecht, it's worth a few hours driving...tiny place..easy entrance from Buch in Switzerland...passport stamp was only equivalent of three dollars at that time. As far as tiny countries are concerned, I found Andorra to be a zoo with unspeakable traffic problems from both France and Spain, San Marino to be the best:clean, colorful and welcoming... Luxemburg to offer the prettiest, scenic countryside, and Liechtenstein rather bland by comparison.
Stu T. (now that I put my cglasses on to correct the horrendous typing above)

maybe I really DO need new glasses...""cglasses"...
Stu T.

Travlsolo:
Stein am Rhein is a lovely Swiss town..but I got caught in Swiss army manuvers several years back...rather offputting in peaceful Switzerland!

Thanks Schuler and Stu. I'm hoping to be able to find a room each night along the way around the lake, with no reservations except first and last nights in Lindau. This will be end of May, so it's not as busy yet, right? Jugendherbergen would be okay, too, altho I'm too old for Bavarian ones. And I'll leave Liechtenstein out.

My family and I just returned last Thursday from the Alps. We were in Europe for about a month over Christmas and New years and spent about a week in Switzerland, driving through the tiny country of Liechtenstein. We entered from the south near Chur and I exited off the roadway at Valduz, Capitol of Liechtenstein (Mainly for a gas stop). The area is very pretty and I remember seeing a couple of castles high atop mountains. I don't know if its a wine producing little country, but I saw what looked like vinyards near Valduz. The weather was going down hill with heavy snow, so we had to make it back on the road towards Imst, Austria. An Austrian I met while on our trip said that wealthy people like to use Liechtenstein for "money cleaning" in his words. If you drove through the country, it would take about 45 min or so. And its true that Liechtenstein exports more dentures than any other country in the world. It's a pretty drive and I'm sure there's some interesting history to learn about the small place.

We detoured over to Vaduz while driving up the beautiful east side of Switzerland. Leichtenstein IS interesting and pretty, but VERY small. We spent the noon hour in the town. The restaurant we had in mind on the "main street", the only street really", was closed. We went into a small supermarket (which is always fun), visited some with the locals and purchased a sandwich, soft drink etc and ate it out in the "patio". Looked up and got a complete view of the Castle, close to town on a hill. The drive in and out and the length of the country is fun, and pretty,with vinyards etc....but mainly it's just saying you've been to Liechtenstein.
No one checked for our passports. We just crossed over a small bridge to get there.

Just got back from a little European tour - including Liechtenstein! I too was intrigued by a country few had heard of, few were knew where it was and NOBODY I knew had ever been there. So I researched (took a lot, there just isn’t a lot out there) and planed my visit. I am so glad I went there! There people are friendly and nice (nice than the Swiss, although i have met WONDERFUL Swiss people) and the mountains are beautiful. And PLEASE don’t do what 99% of the tourists do - they visit Vaduz (the capital) for three hours, get their passports stamped, do a little shopping and then leave. I dug a little deeper by staying at the the ski resort of Malbun at the Alpen Hotel for three nights - LOVED IT. Beautiful setting, nice big room, family friendly and I encountered that rare European breed over and over again: the Liechtensteiner! Many people there speak French as a second language. “Hoy” is the informal greeting, and “Ciao” is the informal goodbye. It just amazed me that this little tiny place had it’s own little culture! And beyond vaduz, I didn’t encounter a single American! I met many English tourists and many of the Liechtensteiner’s guessed that I was from England (a bit of a compliment!)

Some facts:

The world’s fourth smallest country

One of only two doubly landlocked countries on this earth

The world’s only German speaking monarchy

Small yes, and people said to me: “why are you going there?” but as the late, great architect Philip Johnson said “It keeps the boring people out”

Please email me with questions :)

We stopped in Vaduz on our way from Zurich to Fussen. OF course we got our passports stamped! We bought Liechtenstein t-shirts and a Liechtenstein shot-glass at a little shop. The scenery was pretty and the people were really friendly. An older lady in a mink coat insisted (in German) that we take her parking place because she had not used up all the time on it. Maybe she was the Queen of Liechtenstein or something!

If you go, don't forget to actually buy postage stamps. They have scenic stamps of the country. We bought 5 in a series and had them mounted and framed. A relatively cheap keepsake and pretty too. You almost have to go if you are passing by, how many people do you know that have been there!

I happen to like little Liechtenstein. Have stayed overnight twice in very comfortable lodgings and the food was great. The shopping is not bad either. Of course it is a small country with not a lot to see but it is different and I find it to be rather picturesque. And yes, the postage stamps are beautiful.

Been there and done that and never again. Drove in and out in ten minutes. They wouldn't even stamp my passport. The valley was beautiful but this is not your best travel destination.

To all: Speaking of the "smallest" European destinations...Andorra, Liechtenstein, San Marino and Luxemburg...as I mentioned above, I've been to all four.

When you're next in Italy (especially Tuscany, Umbria and/or the Marches)..drop in on this gem,the Republic of San Marino. We planned it to be there on one of the two days each year when the new Chairman of The Board of Deputies is invested (April 1 and Octoiber 1). Pomp and circumstance of great color and band concerts, and all round good cheer...it is particularly clean, welcoming, a number of good eateries, large parking garage, and elevators to whiz you from the garage to various levels of the mountainous town. Certainly worth a good looksee, and part of a day...don't forget the stamps!
Stu T.