Why go to little Liechtenstein?

No offence Liechtenstein, but there are really only three reasons to visit this tiny little country squished between Switzerland and Austria... a stamp for your passport (which you have to pay 2 CHF for), stamps for your postcards, and simply to say you've been there. The country is only 25km (15.5 miles) by 6km (3.7 miles). When you ski cross country here you really go across the country.

I decided to take advantage of my "alone time" in Europe and explore a little further a field while G was still in the US, attending a worldwide sales meeting in San Francisco. I had my sights set on Liechtenstein which takes about 5 hours to get to from Geneva by train. I figured I would spend the night since the thought of over 10 hours on a train in one day didn't seem too fun to me (and my rules for "being to a country" is spending the night or having a meal outside the airport - so Tunisia doesn't count for us, damn!). I stayed in the capital, Vaduz, which as the most happening town in the country, leaves a bit to be desired. There are a couple of restaurants and a few souvenir shops that mostly sells Swiss stuff. There is also a castle the prince lives in (and can survey almost the whole country from) but you can’t go inside. The big draw for tourists is the TI office that sells the passport stamps.

I saw the whole town in about 20 minutes. I was headed back to Switzerland before I knew it, where I got to see most of the rest of the country on the bus ride back. On my way home I stopped into the town of Appenzell, Switzerland. Appenzell is famous for its cheese and for being the last canton in Switzerland that allowed women to vote (in 1971). Sounds crazy, but each household only had one vote, and the man would be the one to represent the rest of the family. It's a very traditional place, but 1971? Even the Soviet Union gave women the right to vote in 1917. But anyway, the town is super cute and definitely worth exploring.

When I "bragged" to my friends here that I had gone to Liechtenstein, they responded with a confused look, "Why?!?" "Uh... because it's there!" My journey did help to educate me on this very little corner of the world. Here are some fun Liechtenstein facts:
~ It's the world’s largest exporter of false teeth.
~ There is no airport, train service or freeways in the country, it's just too small.
~ You may not know you have crossed the boarder from Switzerland; the two countries share a postal system, currency (CHF), and public transportation (PostBus).
~ The number of companies registered here is more than double the population of 32,000 - big tax haven you think?