Vaduz, Liechtenstein

I’ve always had a fascination for principalities, other than the one I regularly declare within my own walls at home I mean. I was so excited to actually visit my first one in the shape of Liechtenstein. It took me about half an hour to drive from the border to the capital city, Vaduz, where I stopped for the night. Before bedtime I went for a long walk up above the town, past the castle, which is where the ruling family lives (I’m not sure whether you were supposed to, but you could walk right up to the front gates and peer inside), and to the nearby town of Triesenberg.

Schloss Vaduz (Vaduz Castle).


Castle grounds.


More castle grounds, with view towards the nature preserve and the Alps.

The many hiking trails are marked with little signs marked "Wanderweg" which I think is rather sweet. The sheep behind the signs in this photo were all wearing bells.

A massive summer thunderstorm hit when I was halfway there, in the middle of a nature preserve, and I got some terrific shots along the river between the Alps.

I took many photos, as you can imagine, but this one was far and away the best.

Didn’t get a lot of sleep as popping noises kept going off regularly not far away after dark – in my bleary-eyed state of half-asleep-ness, I kept wondering whether it was some coup starting (obviously all the recent news has worked its way into my subconscious), or whether they were the sounds of gunshots from coups in some nearby country (and then I couldn’t remember which ones bordered Liechtenstein, but was pretty certain it was just Austria and Switzerland), or whether hunting was allowed in the woods I was camping in. Finally, just as I was exhaustedly debating whether I should pack up and head out on the next leg of my trip, I noticed a flash of light out of the corner of my eye – fireworks! I realised it must be a bonfire night or something along those lines, and almost before I had finished the thought I was asleep.