Two new meetings: Switzerland + Principality of Liechtenstein
4. Travel notes. 03.05. 2013
We left Stresa at 08.30. We have a shift on the schedule for half an hour.
A mutual decision was made to exclude Zurich from the program.
And everyone relaxed! But here's a small traffic jam on the "cornice" of Lake Maggiore added to the backlog in the schedule. The border with Switzerland was crossed at 10.00.
Hooray! New country. Another bird in my travel story! Today is the first, but there will be more!
So, we are heading to Vaduz, the capital of the Principality of Liechtenstein. You have to drive 230 km in almost 4 hours. Speed is significantly reduced by moving over "rough terrain". By "rough terrain" I mean roads through passes with many turns and incredibly beautiful landscapes outside the window. I was mentally prepared for this, but ...the reality shocked me!
In order to minimize costs as much as possible, the route was planned in such a way as to capture the Swiss beauties as much as possible and return to the Italian part.
But more on that later. Let's not rush.
During the two days of our stay in Switzerland, emotions overflowed what was expected!
The slopes of the Alps, covered with fresh dark green forests, gradually gave way to snow-covered slopes. Turns, turns, turns.... Our path from warm Italy to proud Vaduz passed through the San Bernadino pass, an altitude of 2065 meters. It's cold. My summer (white with green! ) jacket and colored sneakers look especially unusual against the backdrop of snow-covered mountain giants. Fantastic views outside the car window. Although it was quite predictable, and yet - beauty around!
Here are the flags of the new state! On the bridge over the Rhine we enter the Principality of Liechtenstein. Checkin! And one more plus sign in the piggy bank of European countries.
On the clock - 13.00. Completely off the charts. Yes, Zurich has already been crossed out anyway.
The castle of the reigning monarch rises solemnly on the mountain. The flagpole is empty. So the prince is not at home. We rise to the castle.
Along the streets with clever German names (for example, Fü rst-Franz-Jozef-Strasse).
Sakura blossoms. But the beauty here is not only visual: we are immediately enveloped in a delicate aroma of pink magic.
We were not allowed to visit the prince, but we did not ask in principle. We wandered near the gates of the castle - the raging green grass, blooming dandelions and various trees confidently declare - spring is in the Alps! !
We descend from the castle to the center of Vaduz. We raise our eyes up to once again admire the castle. And on the flagpole the flag is already fluttering. The owner returned home.
Walking around Vaduz. The ubiquitous Japanese filled the tiny town. Something is mumbling in their own way. We are lucky that we were able to get to such a distance! !
Souvenir shops. Draconian prices. The magnet cost 6.10 €. But there was no choice.
It should be noted that plastic cards for payment are taken reluctantly, or not taken at all. Interested in €-coins. OK. I'm paying.
Photo for memory with "lying metal woman". The dimensions are impressive. She lies there for days and nights, no one will cover her. It's probably frozen!
In the information center, for an acceptable price (3 francs or 2.5 €), they put a Liechtenstein tourist visa stamp in our passport. A few more photos.
Checked in after finding unstable WiFi near the hotel. And we left Vaduz - 14.20. There were no plans to visit museums, and the surroundings were at a fairly close distance.
Our further direction is Lucerne. Distance 138 km, or 1.5 hours.
I would like to believe! But here is also an unscheduled stop for picturesque photos in a village called Mü hlehorn on the shores of Lake Walensee. While we were descending to the lake, a freight train flew past us at crazy speed.
I want to say that we do not have passenger trains at such a speed. And Hyundai even more so. And then there's the truck! !
Turquoise water in the lake, mountain peaks on the opposite shore - a beautiful Swiss picture!
Before Lucerne - 40 km - it started to rain. Decided to scare us, like.
We were at the hotel at 4:00 pm. Almost on schedule.
Settled. All OK. Paid at the reception with a card.
They charged us 115 francs: room rate 111 + tourist tax for 2-[ people 4 euros.
The room is, of course, tiny. Everything is not right? which is compact - mega compact. But quite stylish and thoughtful. The replacement is that it was the lowest price for a stay in Lucerne during the search for hotels.
A sign in the hotel warns us not to smoke in the room or cook food. And then they will be fined 200 francs ! ! !
Just our case! Therefore, we went to the machine at the reception twice to purchase a universal adapter for Swiss sockets and not only for Swiss ones. The price of such a "multi-miracle" is 8 francs. But the benefits are obvious! More on that later.
There is a super market next to the hotel.
The Swiss adventures are about to begin.....Just getting started!
Adventure one: to get a cart - we need a two-franc coin. But we have two one-franc ones. Here they figured it out very quickly, changing the coins at the checkout.
Having stocked a full cart, including souvenir "toblerons", we drive to the checkout and here is a new new inconsistency. Or the second adventure: the inscription "No credit card" on the cash terminal.
And the elderly Frau at the checkout spreads her arms....A question mark on three faces "Was ist das? "
In the most civilized country in Europe, such oblomans awaited us.
But the aunt at the checkout kindly offered us to pay in ....Yes! - in € banknotes. Now they would be enough - these bills. No one expected such unprecedented generosity. Prudently stocked up with cards for settlement in the Swiss and Liechtenstein territories! And here - this!
We solved the problem of banknotes in the following way: paid in euros, received change in francs.
In the process of preparing dinner, we ignored the hotel's warning about a 200-franc fine and boiled sausages in a kettle. Traditionally, we drank a couple of bottles of wine and went for a walk.
We decided to start our acquaintance with Lucerne by looking for a mobile communications store. The habit of being tied to the Internet makes itself felt. And since our hotel was in close proximity to the railway station, we decided to start from there. The search was successful. The Orange store was found fairly quickly. Taking out a tablet, we began an explanation with the manager using three languages: English, German and sign language.
As a result, we got a Swiss Orange microSim card for 10 francs (1 GB for 3 days).
"Happy and satisfied" we left the station building towards the Vierwaldstattersee lake and the Reuss river. Next to the wooden Kapellenbrü cke bridge, Lucerne's most recognizable symbol, the Wasserturm tower, sticks out of the water. Stretching out their graceful necks beseechingly, snow-white handsome swans scurried near the shore.
I am in awe of these amazing birds. Maybe also because our family has the same beautiful surname - Lebed.
Lucerne is incredibly beautiful in the rays of the sun setting behind the snow caps of the Alpine peaks. The majestic Pilates proudly rises above the city. But we decided that it was too small for us (2128 m). There are also higher places. That's why they put off climbing the mountain. But I will return to Lucerne again to still climb Pilates and enjoy the gorgeous view of Lucerne and the Vierwaldstattersee.
It was getting dark, and twilight was falling on the city, and we still had an unexamined object, a must-see, the saddest masterpiece of Thorvaldsen - the sculpture "The Dying Lion".
When I looked at the photographs of the attraction, for some reason I didn’t even think about its size. Perhaps that is why the dimensions were especially impressive. And the idea of the author, of course, is unusual! ! A very touching sculpture. One of the best works of Bertel Thorvaldsen.
Already familiar with the work of this unique sculptor. His museum in Copenhagen was carefully examined during his last trip to Scandi.
Returning to the hotel, we examined the Mathauskirche from the outside. Simple but tasteful!
We got to the hotel, already with difficulty moving our legs. Disciplined arranged in our tiny room. With an early rise warning and a mandatory check-out at 7.30.
Morphine covered us all almost simultaneously. Till tomorrow!
And tomorrow we have the Equator. Climbing the Klein Matterhorn.
We knew it would be unique. But they could not even imagine that fate had prepared for us several more trials for tomorrow.
