“Two centuries ago, there were dozens of independent states in German-speaking Europe. Today, there are only four: Germany, Austria, Switzerland…and Liechtenstein.” That’s how I start the bit on Liechtenstein in our “Little Europe” episode.
I love the way tiny countries are defined so clearly by geography. Liechtenstein is a bowl in the mountains — high ridges on the east, milky baby Rhine River still giddy from its tumble out of the Alps running south to north on its west, and a stout and classic castle guarding the entry to the valley on the south. About the size of Manhattan, it’s truly landlocked, with no seaport and no airport.
We had a day to shoot it, and a guide to make sure we got it right. The good news — it was gloriously sunny. The bad news — it was Sunday, and the streets were dead. We drove around looking for a few of the 35,000 people with Liechtenstein passports, and found little more than empty villages.
The prince was in the news recently for threatening to actually abandon his principality if his citizens didn’t give him more political power. Liechtensteiners, who seem pretty easygoing about these things (women didn’t claim the right to vote until 1984), accepted his demands. Now, apparently, Prince Liechtenstein has more real authority than any other royal in Europe. (Though ruling a country the size of Manhattan, with the population of Yankee Stadium on an off day, doesn’t exactly give you a lot of power.)
The prince’s palace — not open to the public — overlooks his domain from atop a cliff. We knocked on the door, and the guard looked at me and my film crew like we were nuts.
I ended the segment at the literal top of the country, saying, “Like Switzerland, a big part of the principality’s modern economy is tourism and sports — hosting visitors enjoying its dramatic natural beauty. Ski lifts, busy both winter and summer, take nature-lovers to the dizzying ridge that serves as the border with Austria. Even in little, little Liechtenstein…the views are big, and the hiking possibilities are endless.”
Crossing the Rhine back into Switzerland, we snooped around to find the perfect vantage point from which to film a wide shot showing the entire country. Liechtenstein all faces west. The entire country is in shade late into the morning. And each evening it’s all bathed in the rich light of the setting sun. When our cameraman took the big camera off the tripod, our Little Europe show was in the can.
Over the last two years, we dropped into San Marino, the Vatican, Monaco, Andorra, and now Liechtenstein. In just over a year, the show will air on PBS. As we zipped back to Zürich — just an hour away on the autobahn — I pondered just how candid I want to be about the visit-worthiness of three of these little lands.
(By the way, in response to comments that I seem down on Switzerland: I really like Switzerland — from the lakefront promenades of its elegant cities to the scalps of its Alps.)
I count myself among the blessed few who has actually not only seen, but held in my very own hand, a Liechtenstein passport. Its owner was an acquaintance who drove me and a a van-load of other visitors betwen Vienna and the Czech Republic. When, during conversation, he mentioned he was from Liechtenstein, I brazenly said, “I don’t believe you. *No* one comes from Liechtenstein!” To prove me wrong, he handed me his passport. One of those rare life-changing moments, it was…. :>)
Rick, I don’t know if you are going to Appenzell this trip, but the water they bottle there is the most delicious thirst quenching water I’ve ever had. Maybe there is a “high” lithium content.
My memory of Liechtenstein was small. Additionally it was expensive. I hurried back into Switzerland and headed for cheese country. Appenzell was my destination and it was a very nice visit. I can still smell the cheese shop we visited. It reminded me of my days on a dairy farm in the barnyard. What a strong smell and what a wonderful flavor. We stayed in the city center at one of your wonderful recommendations. The women we met could not speak english and we could not speak german. We drew pictures and were able to get our message understood. What fun!!
Liechtenstein has the beauty of the mountain area, but the first time we visited, the weather was so cloudy we couldn’t see much of the reported perfection. Another year we spent a few hours enjoying the mountain scenery we missed the first time we were here.
One of the things we remember best was the wonderful, tasty, rolls we bought for dinner, at a small bakery in Vaduz. The second year we visited, we stopped again at that same bakery and bought some of those exact same rolls. We found that while they were very good, they did not compare to what our memory says they tasted like, a couple of years earlier. We often say, â€Wonder what the baker had for breakfast?†and “Which year did he make the mistake, the year it tasted so good, or the year it tasted normal.†Come to think of it, maybe it’s just the state of our taste buds, and how hungry we are, from one time to another.
Rick, we have also been to the five “little countries†you mentioned, but Luxembourg is number 6.
Dear Rick, I love that you knocked! Wouldn’t it have been something if you were invited in? I am looking forward to the new shows. I have the whole lot from 2007. I have also really loved using your guide books and have traveled inexpensively using your tips. ( the beehive was great!) I have become a travel junkie who needs a yearly fix and it is all your fault! I am glad you went to Liechtenstein. I can’t wait to see it. Cheers, Lesley P.S. You taught my sister piano on Olympic view drive years ago and she remembers being afraid of your beard!
… to the scalps of its Alps. Rick, you crack me up. :)
Indeed, I saw Liechtenstein. I also saw France. From the GAS bus rushing past.
I’m glad you knocked. Too bad they didn’t let you and crew in to see more. Looking forward to seeing the new ep. :)
Candor or Not Well, I vote for candor.
I visited Lichtenstein and viewed it as a destination to see “if you’re passing through, or wind up here with with some time to spare (before a work meeting, etc.),” but not a destination in its own right compared with the attractions in Austrian Tirol and even Zürich. One thing I enjoy about your guidebooks is your frank assessment of destinations not worth seeing. I remember when, in spite of your description of Geneva as a “boring city of bankers and diplomats,” I went anyway. And when I was there — I wised that I had listened. I hope you explain the same on your tv shows.
Our “not to be forgotten” moment in Leichenstein occured when I did something no self-respecting Back Door afficianado would do: I ordered sushi for lunch at the Vaduz art musuem restaurant. Granted, not local cuisine — but a part of the cosmopolitanism that impressed me about this tiny country. I say yes to candor, but with the caveat that surprises can happen anywhere (such as along the beautiful promenades of “boring” Geneva) and in many forms(like an unlikely lunch of sushi in Vaduz.)
I went to Lichtenstein in the 80’s – It was the first time I saw anyone hang glide from a mountain top – way back then. I loved the mountains and the cleanliness and the idea of this little country surviving in the middle of Europe.
We drove through Liechtenstein on the way to Gimmelwald to show it to our son after our visit 32 years earlier. IT’S ALL GROWN UP! A real city now. Back then it had a 4 store strip on the bend in the road. But it was winter, the snow was falling in huge flakes, making it difficult to see through it; the tree limbs were loaded with snow. We drove above the prince’s castle to take a picture, then kept going through the tunnel and up into the ski slopes until the the road became so steep the studded snow treads on our VW were slipping. We didn’t shop or stop or eat there, but what a beautiful memory we have of that time and place. Winter in Switzerland can be a real adventure.