It’s been a few weeks, so here is another chapter of our European adventure. You can catch up with our time in Austria here. One of the most important things on Justin’s wishlist was to visit Liechtenstein. That tiny little country has always fascinated him. Because we had a car, there was no reason to not detour about 20 miles of out of the way to have lunch here and explore a little.
We were pretty shocked. When you hear that it’s a tiny country ruled by a prince, it sounds so fairytalelike. Once we crossed the border (it was the only place we got stopped the entire trip) we kind of felt like we were in the suburbs. Convenience stores and gas stations lined the road. We were determined to find the magic and it didn’t take us long. There was a sign for a winery, so we pulled in. Of course, the lady working greeted us with a smile and set us up in their tasting room – we had the whole place to ourselves. The winery is actually owned by the prince. We tasted three different kinds and ended up taking a bottle with us to Switzerland.
After we finished sipping, we strolled through the property with great views of the castle. We found the road that goes up the mountain and we discovered that you can park right up near the castle and walk around the area. I thought that was so amazing that you could be so close to the royal family. They seem so accessible. They even open the castle doors every year on their national day.
I would recommend stopping here. There are some amazing hikes you can access and some beautiful sights in Vaduz. Make sure to read about the little country because it just has such a cool story.
We also learned after our amazing winery visit that it’s actually really hard to get a tasting there, but we got there at the most perfect timing. Usually they are closed for private events or are packed with reservations. It was one of the highlights of our trip and we have the wine bottle filled with fairy lights on our barcart as a souvenir.
What’s the smallest country you’ve visited? Do you have a bucket list item like this one?
"The winery is actually owned by the prince." UM IS THIS REAL LIFE???