I wrote about the great coffee in Liechtenstein, but in this post I will write about the great day I had with my family in the vibrant nation of Liechtenstein.
Our Day Trip To Liechtenstein – A Great Hike In Vaduz
The drive from Basel, Switzerland to Liechtenstein was about two hours, with beautiful views of Zürichsee (Lake Zurich) and the Swiss Alps.
We arrived in the early afternoon and after a coffee, drove up to Vaduz Castle, the official residence of the Prince of Liechtenstein. The castle was closed, but we parked nearby and found a hiking trail nearby. We did not have the right shoes (I was wearing dress shoes and Heidi had heels) but decided to hike anyway. Heidi went barefoot and I just got my shoes dirty…
It was a beautiful day, but the hike was particularly lovely, with a lot of shade and great views of Liechtenstein. The hike turned out to be a four-hour ordeal, but it was really nice (even though at some points I did have to put my three-year-old daughter on my shoulders and carry her…a good workout uphill).
We found some refreshing mountain spring water on the way…
…and mushrooms.
If you want to go on the hike, just walk up to Vaduz Castle or park near there and then find the trail near the castle entrance. It will take you on a big loop around the mountain.
The pinnacle of our hike was reaching Schalun Castle, also known as Wildschloss (castle in the wild), dates back to the 12th century. My six-year-old son was thrilled to “explore” the castle ruins, looking for buried treasure.
I’d say the hike was a bit much for the two children, but we made it back in one piece.
I took too many pictures and left my power bank at the house, so by the time we completed our hike and went into Vaduz for dinner, my phone died…sorry, no dinner pictures, but we ate at Altenbach Restaurant, where I had a nice schnitzel for dinner.
We also stopped at the tourist office and got our passports stamped – a bit gimmicky, but now my kids have Liechtenstein stamps in their US passports.
CONCLUSION
From many parts of Switzerland and Austria (and even some parts of Germany and France), a day trip to Liechtenstein is quite easy. This is a beautiful part of the Germanic world and everyone agreed we would like to return. If you enjoy hiking, the trails around Vaduz Castle are excellent.
Last thing. I loved the black license plates on vehicles here:
