Weekend in Liechtenstein

We are spending a week with Steve, Maria, Anna, and Kate at their home near Geneva, Switzerland. This weekend we added Liechtenstein to Bill's wish list of visiting the seven European microstates of Andorra, Liechtenstein, Malta, Monaco, San Marino, Vatican City, and  Luxembourg. His first was Malta , which he visited while he was in the Navy in 1959. This weekend added the seventh and last to his list.  Liechtenstein is located in the Alps between Switzerland and Austria, about four hours from Steve and Maria. Liechtenstein's area is just over 160 square kilometers (62 sq mi) and its population is about 35,000.

This was our hotel in Triesenberg.

This was the view from our balcony in Hotel Kulm in Triesenberg. You can see the Rhine River, which is the border between Liechtenstein and Switzerland. The hotel is located about in the middle between Switzerland to the West and Austria to the East.

These little guys, located in the stairway of Hotel Kulm, represent the Alpine hiking and banking traditions of Liechtenstein.

This bank is located in the capital, Vaduz.

We spent a couple of hours in the Vaduz Christmas market. This picture shows a couple of the outdoor vendors' stalls  in front of the side of the city hall.

Lunch in the Christmas market consisted of sausages and bread for all and gluhwine for the adults. 

This tiny little guy was giving rides to tiny little children in the Christmas market.

 Anna went a bit off the path to the castle to examine some wildflowers blooming in December.

Our goal at the end of the hike was a view of the castle, the private residence of  the royal family of Liechtenstein.

Saturday afternoon, we visited the national museum in Vaduz.

While Jean, Maria, Anna, and Kate hiked, Bill and Steve visited the local vineyard and winery.

This is a view from the town center of Vaduz, showing the front of the same castle. 

Anna and Kate had a great time climbing a snow-covered hill in Madun and sliding down on their bottoms.

Jean in Madun ski area

Someone else left a very nice snowman for us to enjoy.

While Jean, Maria, Anna, and Kate were playing in the snow, Bill and Steve drove all the way  to the North end of the country, which was only a few kilometers. It's a small country, but we certainly enjoyed lots of enjoyable activities during our stay. We left at noon so that we could get back in time for Anna and Kate to participate in the Christmas Pageant in their 5:00 church service in Nyon, Switzerland.