May 5, 2018
On the way from Neuschwanstein to Lauterbrunnen we stopped in two more countries for a short time. The tip of Austria, which was not really anything to do there. So we spent the afternoon in the tiny country Liechtenstein. I’m glad we stopped so we could see it. Reminded me of a landlocked Monaco. There is a castle on the hill and a beautiful church. We actually ran into a road race going on so of course we grabbed some Liechtenstein flags and cheered on the runners!
So far on this trip I have learned that it really doesn’t take much to entertain 4 year olds in Europe. Here is my top ten list of things that these girls had the most fun with for 12 days, in no particular order:
- Flags – everywhere in Europe
- Fountains/water – every time the girls saw a fountain, canal or moat they would just run straight for it.
- Maps- we got lots of maps on this trip and saw big maps on walls and murals of maps. They had a blast finding their way on the maps through new towns, castles and museums.
- Dogs- most places were dog friendly in Europe, so we met every dog we saw.
- Rocks- throwing rocks into moats, streams fountains, etc. was a big hit.
- Souvenir shops- collecting postcards was super fun and they just liked looking at all of the souvenirs. Never really asking to buy a lot, but “pretend shopping” seemed to be a thing for the girls.
- Hotel rooms- from the stairs, room key, phones to the coffee cups it was all entertaining. I unplugged the room telephone and Eloise would play just “talking on the phone”
- Smashed Euro machines – we collected lots of smashed Euro pennies. Everywhere we went had the machines.
- Sweet treats- we tried the different kids of sweet treats in each new place. Ice cream, waffles, macaroons, stroopwaffle, creme brûlée, it was all yummy.
- Statues/monuments/bridges/stairs- any structure that they can climb on. Giant Miffy bunnies, huge shoes, big rock piles, if it can be climbed on, they will.
Liechtenstein is officially the Principality of Liechtenstein is a doubly landlocked German-speaking microstate in Central Europe. The principality is a constitutional monarchy headed by the Prince of Liechtenstein.
Liechtenstein is bordered by Switzerland to the west and south and Austria to the east and north. It has an area of just over 160 square kilometres (62 square miles), the fourth smallest country in Europe and has a population of 37,877. Divided into 11 municipalities, its capital is Vaduz.
Gutenberg Castle in BalzersPerched on a hillside in the country’s southernmost municipality, Balzers, Gutenberg Castle was built in the High Middle Ages. The castle stands about 70m above the nearby village, on a hill which has been inhabited since the Neolithic Period.
