And there were gardens bright with sinuous rills,
Where blossomed many an incense-bearing tree;
And here were forests ancient as the hills,
Enfolding sunny spots of greenery.
Samuel Taylor Coleridge, “Kubla Khan“
In the entire history of the world, no has said, “My partner and I are planning a romantic getaway to Lichtenstein,” or, “Lichtenstein is on my bucket list of places to visit. I would be devastated if I wasn’t able to cross it off my list because I promised my nana on her deathbed that I would fulfill her dream, traveling to the fabled land of Lichtenstein.” In fact, if asked to list five things about Lichtenstein, most people would struggle with two. “Um, it’s a small country. Um, aren’t they famous for their stamps? I give up, that’s all I can think of.” Lichtenstein is indeed a small country, but did you know, of the smallest nations in the world, it isn’t in the top five—it’s number six! Vatican City, Monaco, Nauru, Tuvalu, and San Marino are all smaller. Of all the countries to visit in the world, there’s not much that is unique about Lichtenstein, not even its smallness.
So, why did I go to Lichtenstein? Um, because it’s a country. Because I am trying to see as many countries as I can this summer. Because it’s small, and I have a fondness for small countries after living in Qatar for five years (Qatar is number 37 of the smallest countries in the world.). Because I didn’t need to see very much of it and won’t feel bad if I never visit it again. Because I wanted to buy some of those world-famous stamps. Those were five good enough reasons. Plus, I don’t have very high expectations when visiting countries now; I just want to keep visiting them.
Before Lichtenstein, I had visited 30 countries. (Please note that I consider Northern Cyprus a country, even though most nations in the world do not.) I don’t meticulously plan out what I am going to do when I visit a country by myself—with my mom or sons, that’s another matter. I just make sure that I can get there, that I have a place to stay, and that I have access to WIFI. That’s pretty much it. I do a little bit of research before arriving about notable things to do and see what I can squeeze into my itinerary. If one of my expat friends gives me a recommendation, I usually see if it’s feasible and interesting, and maybe I check it out. If I know or meet a local, and they show me around, even better.
When researching inexpensive Airbnbs in Lichtenstein, I couldn’t find any results that I was happy with. $90 a night for that dump?! I must be able to find some place cheaper if I widen my search radius! And, I did. Just outside of Schaan, Lichtenstein I found a place in Buchs (pronounced Boo-ks), Switzerland for $30 a night. Looked fine, so I reserved it. Soon after, the host contacted me. “Um, why do you want to stay here? You know there’s no door to your room? You’ll be sleeping in our living room.” That’s fine with me, I replied, I just need a bed and WIFI. After getting my accommodation sorted out, I needed to figure out how I was going to get from Buchs to neighboring Schaan. Turn out, I could take a bus, or I could walk 15 minutes across the border. Ok, that’s all I needed to know.
After my stint in Switzerland with my oldest son was over (see previous blog post), it was time for me to catch the train from Zurich to Buchs and eventually Lichtenstein. The train ride took about an hour. Enough time to relish more of the Swiss scenery. You would be hard pressed to find an ugly landscape throughout rural Switzerland. There is an abundance of mountains, water, and nature everywhere, and this captivating combination of scenery extended all the way to Buchs. To the west of the town (population 11,000) were mountains, and you could spy homes and farm plots up the side of the mountain. The homes don’t reach the top, but they get pretty high, and I wondered about the old timers or loners that live up that high, just above the cloud line.
The Airbnb was a 5-minute walk from the train station. Once I reached the apartment building, I climbed four flights to the top and let myself into the attic apartment. The door was unlocked, but an apartment key was waiting for me on the kitchen counter. My Airbnb host was out of town for work. She later informed me that you don’t really need to lock your doors in Buchs. The apartment was spacious with three bedrooms, a rooftop deck, and a large living room with a fully stocked bar, TV with gaming system, and my bed. Also, a friendly white cat that shed wanted to make my acquaintance quickly.
It was still early in the day, so after dropping off my large travel pack, I put my vest, coat, water bottle, and passport into my daypack to make the pilgrimage to Lichtenstein. Google Maps said that it was approximately 3.2 kilometers from Buch to Schaan. I wondered what border system would be in place between Switzerland and Lichtenstein. Turns out, the Rhine River acts as a natural border, and the Swiss and Lichtensteiners have an open border policy, so people come and go as they please. I crossed from one country to the other as easily as Americans cross from state to state.
I spent several hours wandering around Schaan. Not too much in the town to see besides the church and the mountains in the background, so I headed back to my Airbnb and took a nap. At some point, my Airbnb host’s roommate came home from work. He was a friendly Vietnamese German who had relocated for work in Switzerland. We chatted for a bit, and then I retired to the living room to putter around on my phone. I did a little bit of research and discovered that there was a Postal Museum and Visitors Center in Vaduz, Lichtenstein, which would take me an estimated hour to walk from Buchs. That’s how I would spend my second day exploring Lichtenstein.
The next day, the roommate quietly left for work in the morning, but I woke up because the white cat gently clawed my leg so that I would pay attention to it. After some pets, I got up, put my dirty clothes in the washing machine, and ate some cereal that I had left over from my Swiss travels with my oldest son. It took about an hour for my clothes to finish washing, and when they did, I hung them up on a drying rack. With that chore completed, it was time for me to journey back to Lichtenstein.
It was a much sunnier day the second time I walked to Lichtenstein. I packed my vest and coat, but I didn’t need them. I probably should have worn a hat to protect my bald head from the sun, but it wasn’t white hot like the punishing desert sunlight that I am accustomed to in Doha. After about an hour, I made my way to the Vaduz where I ate lunch, visited the well-known Postal Museum and Lichtenstein National Museum, which I found interesting and worth my journey. I now possess some of the world-famous Lichtenstein stamps, and the country now has the distinction of being the 31st country that I visited.
I headed back to the Airbnb and thought that I would have an uneventful night. However, my host finally arrived from work in another city. She and her roommate began cooking. They were very hospitable offering me food and beer. I had already eaten dinner in Schaan on my walk back from Vaduz, but I was happy to drink a beer with the two of them. One drink turned into another, and we had a very nice night sitting outside on the the rooftop with the mountains in the background and stars overhead, clearly visible because of the lack of light pollution in Buchs. We chatted about life in Switzerland, Germany, and Qatar/America, and it was a perfectly fine way to end my trek to Lichtenstein.
The following are my pictures from my two days in Liechtenstein.
By the way, if you want to ensure that you know five facts or more about Liechtenstein, here are 11 for your consideration.
1. Liechtenstein, a tiny European country nestled between Switzerland and Austria, is nearly eight times smaller than the city of Los Angeles.
Katie Warren, “11 Astounding Facts about Liechtenstein, the Tiny European Country That’s 8 Times Smaller than Los Angeles and Has the 2nd-highest Per Capita GDP in the World,” Business Insider
2. Its largest city is home to only 6,000 people.
3. Liechtenstein is the only country in the world with 100% of its territory in the Alpine region.
4. It’s the second-least-visited nation in Europe.
5. Liechtenstein’s per capita GDP is $165,028 — the second-highest in the world.
6. Liechtenstein has virtually zero national debt.
7. The country’s only billionaire is worth 50% of the entire nation’s GDP — and he built his fortune on dental products.
8. Liechtenstein hasn’t had an army since 1868.
9. More than half of Liechtenstein’s workforce commutes into the country every day from neighboring countries.
10. Only 406 people were unemployed in Liechtenstein in 2016 — and that includes those who were on maternity leave.
11. Liechtenstein has no airport.
opusculum 