Up, finish packing, suitcases in the hall, down to breakfast, a bit of blogging, on the bus.

The bus took us over the mountain and past Zurich (same route Paul took on Saturday).
The same traffic jam (construction) sent our driver onto surface streets and probably didn’t save us any time, but at least we were moving.

We eventually made it out of the urban mess and into the high Alps.

The covered bridge was a sign that we had arrived in Lichtenstein.
The capital, Vaduz, is pretty much all there is in this pocket surrounded by Austria and Switzerland.
Their economic ties are most closely aligned with the Swiss so the currency is the Swiss franc (although euros are common). Like their larger neighbor to the west they have never joined the European Union, but are part of the Schengen accord.

The bus parked in the town square and Antonine led us on a brief walking tour, then turned us loose to make our way back to the bus. We did a bit of shopping, got our passports stamped (not really, but it’s a cute marketing ploy), boarded the bus and we were on our way.

Lichtenstein is rather famous among numismatic circles. Here are a few examples of their stamps – laid out on the sidewalk in poster size.

We were struck by the contrasts in architecture.
Lichtenstein has, at times, been a very poor country. Their current affluence has allowed them to embrace more modern forms.

Moving into Austria we stopped for lunch at a cute little cafe.
Lunch was great.
After we had a few minutes to stand around and wait before boarding the bus.
We noticed the two girls sitting high on the wall of the neighboring church.
It’s probably a hint that they weren’t supposed to be there that whenever a phone was pointed at them they covered their faces. Another hint was when one of them appeared to roll a doobie.

Venturing on into Austria we were awed by more mountain splendor.
Austria is one of only 2 truly Alpine nations. The Alps account for over 70% of its land area.
The views along the way were even more Majestic than what we have seen before.

We arrived in Seefeld and got checked into our hotel and unpacked.
Dinner was a sampling of Austrian dishes served with drinks in the hotel bar.
Then it was off to the room to blog and get ready for tomorrow.

So that’s the day. We’re based in Seefeld until Friday. Lots of adventures in store until then.
Starting tomorrow when we head out to tour a castle.

Till then…
R