 |
18 Days Through Europe
In An Audi
Stresa to Liechtenstein
Leaving Belgirate we kept Lake Maggiore on our left this time and circled around it to head north into Switzerland. All was fine until we hit another small town that seemed to have more cars than than people. When some places began to look familiar, we knew we were driving in a circle. "Stop at a hotel," I said. "They'll probably speak English." "No, no," came the male reply. "We'll find someone at the gas station." Well, this time they did. A tall Italian man preceded our two guys out of the gas station and jumped into his car. Bob and Dick jumped into the front seat and said, "Follow that car!" The Italian's car pealed out onto the street and we screamed right after him. The guys told us that he spoke English, was headed for the border and offered to lead the way. We followed him out of town and onto some back country roads. Polly and I began to look at each other with the suspicious minds of the females we are. "Are you sure this guy is going to the border?" we asked. Laughter from the front seat did not put us at ease. "Are you sure he's Italian? You know there are some people who would love to get their hands on four unsuspecting Americans." More laughter from the front seat. Farms and fields and forests whizzed by as the road seemed to narrow even more. Suddenly we came out of the woods and onto a highway with the border crossing obviously in front of us. Heart rates slowed as we approached the Swiss border. The Italian went to the first booth and we took the second. The guard looked at our passports and reminded us that we needed to purchase a driving permit for the car in order to drive in Switzerland. He waved us through and we parked to stretch our legs and purchase our permit.
While Bob and Dick were in the license bureau, Polly and I noticed the
Italian still talking to the guard at the border. They had not let him
through yet. Those suspicious little minds of ours began to work again.
The guys returned and we pointed out that our "friend" was still waiting
to get through. They looked in his direction and he gave a little salute in return. "Quick, get in the car." Dick said between his teeth that were clenched in a smile. "We're out of here." Bob echoed. We have no idea why he was still waiting as we pulled away. I don't think we want to know. Once in Switzerland navigating became a cinch with wonderfully clear road signs that matched the information we had on our maps. We headed for Lake Zurich and the winery of some friends we had made on a dive trip to Papua New Guinea.
As we waited for a ferry ride across the lake, we could see the acres of
vineyards along the hillside across
They live just above the wine cellars in a home that has been passed down
through generations and is about 200 years old. On our personal tour, we
were intrigued
Liechtenstein is a tiny country of
34,000 inhabitants. It is bordered by Switzerland and Austria. We crossed
the open border from Switzerland and found ourselves in a Alpen
countryside. Vaduz is the capital but we chose the Hotel Post in Balzers
for our two night stay. There are about nine little towns in the country
and we drove through most of them, setting out early in the morning to
drive up to the ski area in Malbun.
In summer, you can take the ski lift to the top of the mountain (6,560 ft.
above sea level) and opt to hike down. The view from the top is
spectacular. Below us were lush green valleys and behind us, reaching even
higher, were snow capped
On our way back down to Vaduz, we stopped in Triesenburg for lunch at a
little restaurant that clung to the side of the mountain giving us another
perfect view of the farming landscape below. We enjoyed schnitzel and
noodles (actually little dumplings) and explored the museum that housed
historical artifacts from earlier settlers. Exploring an interesting side
road that led to a panoramic view, we found ourselves parked next to a
field full of brown cows all with various sized bells around their necks.
It sounded like a field full of large wind chimes. I don't
We arrived in Vaduz just in time for a
City Train ride around the town in a drizzling rain. Unfortunately the
prince was not in so we were not invited to the castle (actually, the
castle is not open to tourists). The castle sits on a small
That night as we listened to the sounds of Balzers beginning to quiet for the night, I thought about our day and how beautiful the scenery had been. But if I were to remember one thing from Liechtenstein, it would be the wonderful lady we met in the Backeri in Triesenberg. She asked, in German, if she could help us. I replied that I spoke only a little German. She replied that she spoke no English. "Well then," she said slowly in German, "We will speak with hand signals and smiles." We carried on quite a conversation. She was patient with my elementary German and spoke slowly with a vocabulary I could understand and yes, many hand signals and smiles. When I think of Liechtenstein I will remember the beauty not only of the countryside but of the spirit of that lovely lady.
Through the Black Forest to Stuttgart
©Karen Robbins All text and photos on this page are copyrighted in my name. Please obtain permission for use.
|
|
from us. The grapes are provided perfect growing conditions along
the shore of the lake. The ferry deposited us in Meilen, a quaint little town
with a few small wineries. We found a parking
place and had lunch at a little cafe next to the water before we set off
to find the winery of 
by the beautiful carvings on some of the large wooden wine barrels. There
was no processing but Celeste explained the stages of bringing in the
grape harvest all the way to selling the bottled vintage. We enjoyed a
taste of their product in their beautiful garden along the lake and
relived some of the highlights of our dive trip in PNG before continuing
on to Liechtenstein.
mountains.
It was a "Sound of Music" moment.
know how the cows put up with all the noise but it was a delightful
encounter.
outcropping
of a mountainside that overlooks the town of Vaduz.