Some years ago (five years, actually--whoa) when I was first traveling around Central Europe, I told everyone I was going to spend a few days in Liechtenstein, and to the limited extent that people recognized what that meant, I was met with skepticism. I will not again belabor the reasons underlying my admittedly idiosyncratic affection for geographical oddities such as tiny Micronesian islands and obscure European principalities (as I've already articulated said preferences in sufficient detail elsewhere), but here's the kicker: I not only did spend three days in L-stein back in 2005, but revisited the tiny nationlet just the other night.
Here's how: I got a ride from Wildbad-Kreuth (where the initial conference was held) into Zuerich with my new colleagues from ETH (Swiss Federal Tech Institute, sort of like the MIT of Switzerland). The route took us east a bit and then south through Austria, then back west through (and in some cases, even under) the Alps into Switzerland. But what, broad readership, lies between Austria and Switzerland? That's goddamned right: der Fuerstentum Liechtenstein!! And so when the question arose where to stop for dinner, DF the tour guide insisted on inflicting his Liechtenstein obsession on his kind and generous compatriots.
We parked in "downtown" Vaduz, which is in quotes for reasons too obvious to elaborate. I insisted on showing everyone around the main street, Staedtle, which is really only a couple blocks long, although it's very charming. We passed the main Vaduz WC viewing area, where Argentina was in the process of defeating Greece. It was only about a quarter full, but in terms of per capita representation, that's a pretty impressive turnout. I showed the folks around my fave spots, like the "Crash Bar" where I commisserated with sad Liechtensteiners when FC Vaduz failed to win their playoff game in 2005 that would have sent them to the Swiss First Division. I pointed out the hilltop castle, and related the story of the Prince after which the principality is named, who's young-ish, and actually somewhat relevant to the FL's governance, and annually invites the people of the country to hang out at and enjoy the castle grounds.
I had also talked a big game about a pizzeria that was pretty good, and was expected by all to find it, which--astonishingly--I did. We all filed in, looking forward to some chow, but were told by the freakishly weird-looking proprietor that they had run out of pizza. This seemed to call for some serious skepticism, but rather than press the issue, we walked back up Staedtle to another Italianate place, where we had totally delicious pizza and then adjourned to drive to Switzerland.
Oh, and also, the trip from Wildbad-Kreuth to Zuerich took us through four countries in a single day, which I think is a record for me. And also somewhat related: we were stopped at exactly none of these border crossings. I've been hassled pretty seriously when going between the US and Canada, and even between California and Arizona. But going from Germany to Austria, then into Liechtenstien, then into Switzerland? No problem! Good thing I spent three days at the Swiss consulate in LA making sure I had my visa papers in order.
Image: The Vaduz Rathaus. While this sounds gross, I can assure you that there are no actual rats in this haus, and that it's merely the structure where governance happens (kind of like a statehouse).
