Liechtenstein is a very small country bordered by Switzerland and Austria. It is only 24.6 km (15.3 miles) north to south and 12.4 km (7.7 miles) east to west. It has about 32,000 people living in 11 villages. The country is a constitutional hereditary monarchy with the interests of the people looked after by the Parliament. The Head of State is currently Prince Hans-Adam II, the 13th Prince of Liechtenstein. Once of its main businesses is banking and the country is well known as a tax-haven. We visited Liechtenstein briefly in 1997 then returned in early May, 2002. We spent only a day here, but since the area is so small, you don’t need much more than that. We stayed in the capital city, Vaduz, where the castle of the royal family is situated, high above the town (right). In the town, there are several other interesting sites, including St. Florin’s Cathedral (left) as well as an ornate government building (below, right).

There is a relatively new art museum as well as a postage stamp museum (evidently Liechtenstein postage stamps are something of a collector’s item and there are multiple stamp shops around town). There is also a small shopping area, but nothing of great distinction.

However, if you walk just a couple of blocks from the central area, you will find yourself in the country, with delightfully quiet bike/walking paths (but beware, the paths are also used by the local farmers as access roads for their tractors!). Here you can spend several hours just enjoying the countryside or hiking up into the hills. Just a block off the main street through the center of town, you’ll find a huge field freshly planted with lettuces (above, left) and strawberries. Verna was particularly intrigued with the topiary offerings of the local garden shop. Out front, several topiaries are on display, including a VW Beetle, a bicycle, a golfer (pictured at right), and several animals. All were quite well done and very expensive.

At left is one of the many bucolic sights of this lovely land, where the stream passes local residences. With a little bit more time, it would have been nice to take a hike up into the hills or drive up to the local ski area, Malbun, only about 10 km away, for a view of the whole country.

And if you walk outside of town a bit, you can get a good view of the Prince’s castle on the hill, the local residences and fields in the foreground, and the snowcapped mountains in the distance (below).

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