Licking It Up In Liechtenstein

I had family come and visit me in June of 2014. We had five fabulous days in Switzerland planned. I decided to make a small detour over to the tiny country of Liechtenstein to check it out. Now when I say Liechtenstein is tiny, I mean it is teeny-tiny. Not as small as Monaco, but pretty small. In fact, it's really not even considered a country. It's called a microstate. 

Can you see that little purple blip? That's Liechtenstein. Liechtenstein is squeezed in-between Switzerland and Austria. It's doubly landlocked which means it's landlocked by two landlocked countries. I wouldn't say that Liechtenstein was worth a trip in itself to Europe, but if you are in the area, check it out. You get one more notch on your country belt, after all.

We spent our time in the green and lush mountain valley city of Vaduz, the capital of Liechtenstein.

In the city of Vaduz, there is a model of the Vaduz Castle as it appeared in the Middle Ages. The actual castle sits above the city on a hill.

Vaduz Castle is still a private residence. The Prince of Liechtenstein lives here and he isn't to keen on letting people in to walk around his living room. You can still hike up to the castle and check it out up close, though. Which is exactly what we did.

Half-way during our hike up the hill towards the castle, my boys became utterly exhausted. It was hot (80 degrees Fahrenheit, not really hot, but warm), it was long (it was about half a mile), it was steep (I wouldn't even call it a hike, it was more like a leisurely stroll through woods). They had had enough. What has happened to these boys?! Europe has made them soft! We used to climb mountains over 10,000 feet when we lived in Utah! I need to whip them into shape.

After a hot, long, and steep (but not really) hike up the hill, we arrived at the back of the castle. The castle was built some time in the 12th century and has been expanded and restored, giving it a kind of mishmash of architectural styles.

When we got to the top, we found that the prince still wasn't letting people in to see his castle. Or use his bathroom, much to Andre's dismay.

These are the royal roses on the royal wall protecting the royal grounds from all the commoners. That was us.

This turret is the oldest part of the castle. I would like to live in a place someday that has a turret. Then when people asked where I was I could answer them, "In my turret." Probably with a fake British accent.

Right across the street from the castle is this cute alpine style house. But compared to your own castle, it's just a shack. Imagine having a house as cute as this, and your house is the eye-sore on the street, because when the street has a castle on it the only way you can compete with that is to have a bigger castle.

After only a couple of hours in Liechtenstein, we had to get going. We weren't very far from our final destination in Eastern Switzerland. While leaving Liechtenstein I was thinking - it may be small, but what it lacks in size it sure makes up for it in beauty.

A Rhein (Rhine) River Cruise - Germany

First, let me start out with the fact that I wasn't sure how to spell Rhein for the title of this post. I know how to spell it, it's just that there are two spellings. The American spelling of R-H-I-N-E and the German spelling, R-H-E-I-N. I am an American, but I live in Germany. Which is correct? As you can see, I totally went with the German spelling (when in Rome, after all), unlike what I do in my blog with most places. I usually use the American spelling of European places because that is what most people type in to Google. And I want to be searchable! Okay, on to the river cruise.

Matt and I went on a Rhein river cruise for the day clear back in April for our anniversary. There are several companies that offer a day cruise up and down the Rhein where you can just sit back and enjoy the scenery and a meal. Here is where we got on in Rüdesheim. You can also start your cruise in nearby Bingen which in on the other side of the river. HERE is a link for the website for the boat we used to go up and down the river. All in English and great!

This here is Ehrenfels Castle. It was built in the 1200's and destroyed in 1689. It is open for tours.

The real appeal to going on a Rhein (Rhine) River day cruise are the castles. This section of the Rhein is sprinkled liberally with castles and the ruins of castles. 

All these castles and picturesque villages are in the little section of the Rhein from Rüdesheim to the Lorelei rock. That's a lot of castles in a little place.

Next up is Rheinstein Castle. It is privately owned by an opera singer, but still open for tours March through November.

Right across form Rheinstein Castle is a quaint little town with an even quainter name.

Yes, that is really the name of the town. 

Even though it has a funny name it is just a normal German river village. I didn't notice any ass men walking around the streets.

Assmannshausen, Germany. If you are wondering why the hills look a little brown that is because those parts are the vineyards and the grape vines were just getting their leaves. In two months these same hills will be lush with ripe grapes.

This is Sooneck Castle. Like most of the castles along the Rhein, it was built by a robber/baron. The Rhein was, and still is, a major shipping lane for this part of Europe. It is the easiest way to get goods from the south up to the ocean. Back in the 1200's, everybody wanted to stick their fingers in the shipping pie. They would build these castles on side of the Rhein gorge and stop anyone or anything going up or down the river, and of course, take a cut of whatever it was they were moving. There are so many toll stops on this part of the river, I am amazed that anyone arrived at their final destination with any cargo left at all.

Here is Heimburg Castle. It was destroyed in 1689 and is not open to visitors. It does sit above a cute and colorful town, though.

Right next to Heimburg Castle sits the Fürstenberg Castle ruin. It too is privately owned and not open for tours. Who are these people that own castles in Germany? And how can I be one of them?

Not only were the castles impressive, the little villages that sat on the banks of the river under steep hills were just as eye catching as the castles.

The next castle is Stahleck Castle.

Stahleck Castle was built in 1135 and then blown up in 1689. It has been restored and now is a popular youth hostel. You might be saying, 'Hey, a lot of these castles were destroyed in 1689. What happened then?' Funny you should ask. The Thirty Years' War (1618-1648) was fought by almost every country in Europe, but mainly on German soil. By the end, a third of all Germans had died. France emerged from the war very powerful, but it was not enough for the French king, Louis XIV. He started the Nine Years' War and set out to take parts of Germany where he instituted a "scorched earth" policy where the French troops destroyed everything in their path. They made it as far as this section of the Rhein. Here the Rhein River sits in a deep gorge and is difficult to cross. His troops never made it across, but they decimated the left (west) side of the river. This is also the war that they destroyed the Heidelberg Castle. Read about that HERE. Okay, history lesson over. Okay, maybe it's not over. Germany ceased to be a major player after France had their way with them. The events of the 1600's and then the Napoleonic Wars of the 1800's directly influenced Germany's deep distrust (read hate) of France. This distrust and hate directly influenced the decision for Germany to invade France, and many the events leading up to WWI and WWII. Maybe if France had been nicer 400 years ago, certain events never would have happened. I'm just sayin...

Okay, NOW the history lesson is over.

This is Rick Steves favorite town along the Rhein, Bacharach, Germany. In fact, this town is the cover for his Germany travel book. 

More of the beautiful Rhein.

Up next is Gutenfels Castle. It too is privately owned and not open for tours. It is, however, a working hotel, as you can see by the paint on the wall. 

The end of the line is in St. Goar. That is where the boat turns around and makes the return trip to Rüdesheim or Bingen.

Beautiful Sankt Goar, Germany with the impressive Rheinfels Fortress in the background. The boats stop at several towns along the voyage where you can stay on or disembark to explore the village. Just make sure that there is another boat scheduled to come later on in the day and you aren't trapped in the quaint village without a way out. At least you know there are several castle/hotel/hostels to stay in along the river.

Katz Castle was built in the late 1300's and then destroyed in 1808 by Napoleon. It has since been restored and is, you guessed it, a hotel. Want to know more about the castles on the Rhein? Click HERE for a map and descriptions about all the castles including opening times and restaurant information.

Even though our river tour was over in Sankt Goar, it is not the end of the castles.

Off in the distance we could see Maus Castle, an intact castle built in the 1300's and open for tours and even weddings.

The castles continue on to Koblenz. The river cruise that we took can be completed in about five hours and is great way to spend an anniversary, or any day, just drifting down the Rhein. 

Saarburg And Hangin' With The German Family - Germany

We recently traveled over to the little town of Saarburg, located near Trier in the Rhineland-Palatinate state of Germany.

Did you know that Germany has states? We used to live in Baden-Württemburg, now we live in Hessen. The state names seem to be much more of a mouthful than the state names in America, though. I mean really, Rhineland-Palatinate? Baden-Württemburg? Or how about Nordrhein-Westfalen? Or my favorite, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern? Back in America, you couldn't even get people to call California by its full name, it is often shortened to Cali (which I hate). Imagine cramming the state names of Germany into a song like we sing in America about our states. I don't see it happening.

Anywho, we went to Saarburg for one, to see it, and for two, to visit Matt's German Cousin, German Cousin's Wife, German Cousin's Daughter, and German Cousin's Son. German Cousin was really the only one that could speak English. German Cousin's Wife, German Cousin's Daughter, and German Cousin's Son could speak "a little" English and since we can speak kleine Deutsch we had a hard time communicating. So we turned to the international language of Fußball and food to communicate.

My daughter, Ashlenne, and German Cousin's Daughter were reluctant to try to use their language skills. So they reverted to a language every teenage girl knows. iPod's and Google translate.

Matt and German Cousin may have grown up on separate continents, but they have always been close. They laughed the same and had the same mannerisms. They even wore matching shirts.

 

The actual meeting of German Cousin was a little awkward for me. It was the first time in Europe that I got the "Two Cheek Kiss Greeting." And I was not expecting it. I was better prepared when we left, offering my own "Two Cheek Kiss Goodbye." I felt so European.

After lunch we went exploring the town of Saarburg. We climbed the 1,050 year old castle tower (it has been reinforced since then).

Climbing the tower gave us great views of the town of Saarburg.

German Cousin told us that Saarburg is known as the "Venice of Germany" because of the canals that run through it. You tell me, does it look like Venice?

We stopped and got some Spaghetti Eis which is vanilla ice cream squeezed out to make it into long noodle shapes and then topped with strawberry sauce and shaved white chocolate. It is really good.

I tested German Cousin and tried out my sense of humor on him. Don't worry, he laughed. You were right blogosphere. There are some funny Germans out there.

We rode a chairlift to the top of a nearby hill. Our doggie, Minkie, even rode with us. And she didn't even try to jump off once.

We played and relaxed at the top of the hill. 

That beer is Minkie's, not Alexander's. See how tipsy she is?

Then we hiked back down the hill through the vineyards of Riesling grapes that cover the hillsides.

All in all, it was a pretty good day in Saarburg.

When we got home, I checked another little corner of Europe off my list.

Schwerin Castle - Germany

After exploring Rostock, it was time to see Schwerin Castle. (Do you want to know how to say Schwerin correctly? It's shvair-een.)

Schwerin is an hour and a half drive southwest from Rostock. It's easily accessible by car and there is parking in the town.

So what's so cool about Schweriner Schloss any way? For one, its absolutely gorgeous. For two, its built on an island in the middle of a picturesque lake. We had an absolutely perfect weather day. Blue skies and mild breezes. I whipped out the camera and started taking pictures of my kids.

Say cheese!

Say cheese again!

By this point Alexander was getting tired of the photo shoot. (But isn't this cool? They have a cement wall with a life size picture frame in it so you can "get in the picture." It would have looked a whole lot cooler if Alexander's arm wasn't hanging out of the frame. Way to go Alexander.)

Can you see the sailboats off in the distance? I felt like I was in Nantucket or something. 

Until I turned around and saw this. I don't think they have castles like this in Nantucket. Early Germans built a fort on this island in 973 AD. In 1525 the fort became a castle. And a pretty impressive one at that.

Down around one side of the castle grounds, there is a grotto where small boats can launch. One of my boys shown here started climbing the rock tower to see how high he could get. He then fell in and soaked himself to his knees. I'll give you a hint who it was. It was the boy old enough to know better (Alexander! I guess that is what you get for ruining the frame picture).

I asked Matt if he would someday build me house just like this one. "Done," he said. Here I am basking in the future glory of what my new home will look like. Want to come visit?

Here are the rose gardens and orangery. 

The little island the castle is built on has a little river flowing through it filled with ducks.

On a second island behind the castle, the formal gardens stretch out. Seeing a lawn like this just makes me want to play croquet.

Here is the town of Schwerin across the lake from the castle. As we left Schwerin, I felt a little strange. We were back in Germany after almost a week in different countries. Denmark, Sweden, Estonia, and Russia. It felt good to be back in Germany. It felt like I was home. But we had to go back to the boat, go back to Copenhagen, Denmark, pick up our Volvo and drive back to Heidelberg. I really didn't want to go back to the boat. I wanted to stay in Germany. I wanted to stay where things made sense to me (Russia was confusing). I wanted to stay "home." But we were in a rental car and I had left some really cute clothes on the Costa Fortuna, we drove back to the port and embarked and headed away from where we felt we belonged back to Denmark (where people drive too slow).

Sigh...

I never really believed either that Germany would feel like home. At least a version of home that I can work with. Until next time! 

 

Want to cruise with us? We are scheduled on the Costa Serena in November porting in Italy, Spain, Morocco (Africa! Yes!), and Portugal. It's bound to be a blast!