Liechtenstein 5/3-7/3

I checked out from Zürich the next morning, and arrived in Liechtenstein in the early afternoon.  I spent the afternoon wandering around Vaduz, with the first stop being the Rheinpark Stadion Vaduz.  The girl in the reception was really nice, invited me to training on Wednesday, and went the extra mile to make sure that I would be able to pick up an FC Vaduz shirt on Wednesday, with the name and number.  She also took me out into the stadium proper.

The View from my Hotel, (lookng south) you can see Balziers:

The Western Stand of the Rheinpark Stadion:

I then went along the Rhein. There were placards at distances representing the solar system, with the gaps between the placards to scale with the solar System; I got to Jupiter, with Saturn 550+ metres further on when I left the river. I saw the first bridge built over the Rhein in the area. I went to McD’s in Triesen for Lunch, then back to Vaduz where I saw the Parliament Buildings and the Cathedral.

Looking south from the Eastern Bank of the Rhein:

That night I had dinner at the Älplërösti, where I had a bit of a problem with the German menu!

Triesenberg Rathaus: (my hotel was in Triesenberg)

The next day I went into Schaan, wandered around for a bit, and had yummy Weißensandwich bread for lunch. As I was walking around Schaan, a bus drove past, and it was driven by the driver who had dropped me off in the morning, I assume he recognised me, as he gave me a hearty wave. One of the things I love about the country.
A House in Schaan:

I went back to Vaduz, where I looked at model trains for Dad’s birthday (I want to get something like the train that brought me to Liechtenstein). The shop also sold Warhammer, and they had all these old models that haven’t been in production for years, and they also had a ½ price sale, which was so amazing, I settled for 1 blister of an old lot of models. I also went to the Landesmuseum in Vaduz, which was really interesting. It covered the history of Liechtenstein, and the history is tied into that of the Major European powers of the 18^th-20^th centuries more than I realised.

Vaduz Rathaus:

The Main shopping street in Vaduz

Vaduz Cathedral

For dinner that night I had a French “Steak au Poivre”

My Hotel in Triesenberg:

Next morning, I bought the train engine and some rolling stock for Dad, and went to the Post Office to send it, so it would get home not too long after his birthday. Then I had lunch and went to the FC Vaduz training that I was invited to on the first day. After that, I caught the bus to Feldkirch, and took the train to Bregenz; the train was running late, and I just made my connection to , and went from there to München.

 The Centre of Vaduz, as seen from the Lookout near Schloss Vaduz:

The South of Vaduz, as seen from the Lookout near Schloss Vaduz:

The Middle and East of Vaduz, as seen from the Lookout near Schloss Vaduz:

The North of Vaduz, and the Medieval part of Vaduz, as seen from the Lookout near Schloss Vaduz:

Schloss Vaduz:

Vaduz, and Schloss Vaduz, as seen from near the Rheinpark Stadion:

Blog Post, 05/03/2012 – Switzerland

I’ve spent this last week travelling around Switzerland. I arrived in Geneva, then went to Bern via Nyon, then Basel, and I finished off in Zürich. 

Geneva – 27/2/12 to 29/2/12

I left Portchester station at 10:22am Monday 27/02, bound for Geneva; however I had a few stops to make along the way. The first stop I had to make was in London. I alighted at London Waterloo Station; I then caught the Bakerloo line to Oxford Circus, where I switched to the Victoria line, bound for Kings Cross, St Pancras International.  From there I caught the Eurostar to the Gare du Nord in Paris (I wasn’t next to a friendly German this time, just a French girl who slept most of the time), then I had to catch the Green Paris Metro line to the Gare de Lyon. I was planning on getting some traditional French cuisine for dinner while I waited (i.e. McDonalds), as there were stores next to the Gares du Nord and St Lazaire; however there wasn’t one at the Gare de Lyon (boo hiss), so I paid a ridiculous price for a ham and cheese baguette (a pretty rubbish one at that), and a drink.  I then had a 3½ hour train to Geneva station, which wasn’t bad – I even got a free dinner (paid for with my first class ticket); but train food is just like aeroplane food unfortunately – I even had food that was one day from its expiry date.  Needless to say, when I arrived at Geneva station I was a very happy chap. 

Lake Geneva

The hotel I was staying in was situated just outside of the Old Town of Geneva.  I arrived there, checked in and basically went straight to bed.  The next morning I headed into the centre of Geneva, mainly to the Post Office and the Tourism Office.  At the Tourism Office I got a map and guide of the city. There is in Geneva (and Bern, Basel and Zürich) a route through the old town that shows you the best that the town you’re in has to offer.  I followed that route pretty thoroughly and I had a great time doing it.  When I got to the Cathedral St-Pierre, I paid 4 Francs to walk up to the top of the spires.  The view from the top was just amazing.  I was planning on going on a boat tour of Lake Geneva, but it was booked out when I arrived, so I bought a cheaper, more edible way of “remembering” Geneva – that’s right, chocolate.

The view of Geneva from the Tower of the Cathedral

Nyon-Bern – 29/2/12 to 1/3/12

The next day I left Geneva for Bern; however I did have a small detour to make. I stopped off at Nyon, a town on the shores of Lake Geneva, where the HQ of UEFA is located. I left my luggage in a left luggage locker, and had a bit of a wander. When I got to the UEFA HQ, I went in to see if there was a tour of the building available, but alas there was not. On the plus side, they had in the foyer all of the trophies of UEFA competitions, including the Champions League and Euro trophies. I got pictures of all of the trophies and winners’ medallions.

The View of UEFA HQ from the Street: Lake Geneva is behind:

After lunch in Nyon, I caught the next train into Bern. I had to make one changeover, but it went really smoothly.I arrived at the Youth Hostel Bern at around 3:30, and I checked in immediately. I decided that I’d spend the rest of the day relaxing at the hostel.

The Liechtensteiner Fussball Verband (the Liechtenstein FA) Logo:

The Champions League Trophy

The Champions League Winners Medals:

The next day in Bern I went to the Museum to see the Einstein Exhibition, then had a look around the old town and saw the Bear Pits before having lunch. In the afternoon, I went to the Rifle Museum. Off to Basel next - Mum and Dad have friends there and were going to see if they could recommend somewhere for me to stay, or even put me up; but Mum got her geography and dates mixed up, and booked me for Zürich by mistake. Luckily, my hostel was able to get in touch with the Zürich one to change my booking; but by the time we’d sorted all that out, it was too late to make a booking for Basel, so I’ll just head off there and hope I can book when I arrive.

 The Parliament House in Bern

One of the Black Bears of Bern

Basel – 1/3/12 to 3/3/12

The train to Basel was sold out for half of the trip, so I had to sit on the floor by the door – not the best way to travel. When I got there, I went to the desks at the station to see if I could book into one of the two-star hotels, but they were both sold out; but the second one also handled a four-star, so I checked in there instead! 

 The Rhein River:

The next morning I went and wandered around the old town.I went to the Pauluskirche, then to the Marketplatz and from there to the Mittlere Brücke over the Rhein.I crossed to the East Bank and wandered along the Rhein, where I crossed on a little boat ferry. I got off at the Cathederal, and from there I went to St Albans Kirche and the St Alban Gate, and also saw a part of the town walls.I then returned to the hotel.In Basel they speak both Swiss German and French – and in Maccas I heard the manager speaking both German and French in the one sentence!

The Ferry that got me across the Rhein: 

 The View of Bern HBF from my Hotel Room:

Zürich – 3/3/12 to 5/3/12

I left Basel the next morning for Zürich, and arrived to find that the re-booking had been mixed up, and they had expected me the previous night, so I was charged for the night I missed and had to book another night at the end. :-S

I spent the first day in Zürich relaxing, and did my washing.I was unable to get a ticket to Verdi's Othello, which was showing the second nght I was there.

The View of  Zürich from the Universität

 

On the second day I followed the route of the Old Town on the map, with a small diversion up the hill to the University.In the evening I went to see Don Carlo at the Zürich Opera, and had a great time.I was standing in line with a Lithuanian couple – the girl studies in Zürich and the boyfriend in Paris.The opera was great, and then the older couple sitting next to me, who were Friends of the Opera Company, invited me to the backstage shindig, where I met the cast, and got some autographs in my program.

The Beginning of the 2nd Act in Don Carlo