Liechtenstein

When grandpa Larry and Nona come to town it's time to have fun, and hit the road! We started off a family vacation into a country we had never visited-Liechtenstein.  Liechtenstein is a landlocked country, in the middle of the mountain slopes of the Rhine Valley, bordered by Switzerland, Austria and Italy.  It's one of the smallest countries in the world, with not too much time needed to explore its beauty so we came, saw and conquered.

The geographical landscape in Liechtenstein is mostly alpine and mountainous; a great place to cozy up in a nice alpine hotel and look at the beautiful mountains.  We stayed at Vogeli Aplenhotel Malbun above Valduz, and woke up to a beautiful view!

Bode even got a good nights sleep (I kept waking up to check on him) and when he woke up he was ready to go!

Dad-da and Bode went on an early walk 

Got to see all the sheep

Looking at the sheep and moo-moos

The family who owns and runs the hotel are avid skiers and have had multiple family members participate in the Olympics, note to self: if Bode wants to be an Olympian get Citizenship in Liechtenstein. 

They had a lovely spread for breakfast with some great local cheeses. We've grown very fond of the breakfasts we get at these traditional Bed and Breakfasts.

Come on guys lets get going!!

Bode and grandpa had fun in the car together down the hill to Valduz

CoOkIe MoNsTeR

The streets up the mountains are windy, and coming down we were stopped by an almatreib of cows coming down from the high alpine pastures for the winter.  Typically, if all the cows stay safe during the summer months they decorate the cows with flower crowns to celebrate a good season, but if something happens to one in the herd, they come down untouched.  Looks like the herd wasn't too lucky one way or another.  

We made it down to Valduz, the capital of Liechtenstein. A little history lesson here...The Holy Roman Empire ruled over this little valley for several centuries.  In 1806 Liechtenstein became part of the Confederation of the Rhine, gaining independence in 1866.  For many centuries most of the country remained a quiet and rural area that was unaffected by any conflict among its European neighbors, and it remained a neutral country during both World Wars. After World War II the country officially became a member of the UN, experienced rapid growth and development due mostly to its banking sector, and is thriving.  We took a walk in the downtown main street, and enjoyed all the art. 

That's pretty much Liechtenstein (minus the castle)!  We are off to continue our trip to one of the neighboring countries, can you guess which?!?