Liechtenstein

This is R writing!

On Saturday we all headed off to Liechtenstein! This is the fourteenth country I've been to, so I've now been to more countries than I am years old. However, in a ratio of countries to age L is best off with a whopping 3.5:1. Sadly, she won't be able to remember any of it.

We hopped on the good old S7 to go to Oerlikon market to get some snacks for the trip to Liechtenstein. But when we got to Meilen (4 stops short) there was a horrific train delay. They eventually kicked us off and we found out that there had been an accident up ahead and trains were out from Kusnacht to Herrliberg. Basically, between Meilen and Zurich. So we changed our plans and took the Southern route through Rapperswil. No market, though.

You can't take a train all the way to Liechtenstein. There is a special green Liechtenstein bus. During the drive to Vaduz (the capital of Liechtenstein) the view was beautiful. The mountains were cool and craggy and there were apple trees blooming in what seemed to be every backyard. Daddy missed some of it because he was trying to fix the stroller. Its front wheel was flat and wasn't pumping back up. When we got to Vaduz he took it to a gas station and pumped it there.

First on the agenda was to get our passport stamps. T and L didn't really know what it was about, but then knew S and I were excited about it, so they were, too. T didn't want to give his up to put it away and he tried to hide it where no one would think to look - down his pants.

The littles were fascinated by this small fountain which jets water over your head when you stand in the doorway.

The government building

 

Before we went to the museums T spotted a little park across from the government building. All things like that are playgrounds to him, so naturally we had to stop for a bit. He loved running through the apple trees in what he called the apple forest. After a short game of tag we sat down in the sculpture in the picture on the right, which T claimed was his rocket ship, and "blasted off to Mars."

Then we went to the stamp and postal museum. Liechtenstein is known for its stamps. We saw a video on how they are made and saw some beautiful stamps in their archives. They also had old mail bikes, mail boxes, mail scales, and horns for the mailmen. All that mail made us think of our Aunt Karin!

Color your own stamps! (We were pretty into it. Hardly anyone noticed L's problem.)

After that we got some stamps and postcards to write over lunch. When we were done, M and S walked up the hill to the castle a bit. They saw this cool modern building, but decided not to go all the way up to the castle because it was starting to drizzle and you aren't allowed inside anyway.

Last of all was the Liechtenstein National Museum. They had a special exhibit on gladiators at the Colosseum. That's what the picture at the top is of - L trying on one of the Gladiator helmets. There were also the normal exhibits. The natural history exhibits had some animals you could pet. L and T went crazy for them. T loved the eel and pretended to be electrocuted by it, which was adorable. They also had lots of exhibits of life in Liechtenstein like household items, military medals, holiday decorations, recreation paraphernalia, etc.