European Trip 7: The Klausenpass, Switzerland and Vaduz, Liechtenstein.

Tuesday 24th September 2024 (day 11)

I have always thought that the journey should be a part of the holiday whenever possible, especially when motor-homing. Our plan was to spend a night in Vaduz, Liechtenstein, which is a principality just over the eastern border with Switzerland. So instead of opting for the easiest, motorway-based route, which would have taken around a couple of hours, we chose to take the high road, over the Klausenpass, which hopefully would provide some pleasant views.

The Klausenpass

To access this route, we firstly needed to travel down to the southern end of Lake Lucerne before turning left and heading for the pass.

It was a remarkable journey, with many hairpin bends as we climbed ever higher and the scenery became more and more spectacular.

After passing a hotel, when we reached the top of the pass, there was a parking area, a restaurant, some public toilets (with a fine view) and a small chapel:

Heading down the northern side we encountered many more hairpin bends:

…and a couple of classic cars ascending towards us. The occupants were each filming the other on cameras or mobile phones. The second car driver was doing this with one hand and steering with the other which must have been interesting on the hairpins.

On the descent we were treated to many more amazing views. It seemed to take an age to get back down to the valley floor and ears were popping many times along the way.

Vaduz:

It is clear right from the off, that Vaduz is a very wealthy place. There were many high value cars around and (very) posh shops. There was even a retail shop which specialised in the sale of safes:

The chocolate shop was very interesting …and pricey:

Vaduz is the place where the Royal Family reside, in the castle, high-up overlooking the town:

The town is right next to the river and the border with Switzerland. A wooden, covered footbridge joins the two countries and you can have one foot in each of the two countries if you stand at the appropriate point on the bridge:

The town centre is mostly pedestrianised and has been made into a large sculpture park. There are works of art everywhere. I think that the fact that it was raining, enhanced to appearance of many of them:

The church stands on a small rise at the end of the main street.

Under the front entrance, there are two alcoves with modern interpretations of the birth and death of Christ:

Inside the church is nice and relatively simple:

Built into the wall, high up on the right hand side of the choir, there is a balcony which presumably enables the Royal Family to worship without mixing with the congregation.

---

Tomorrow we head south, towards the Italian Lakes.