Liechtenstien

It is true my friends, I am in Liechenstien! It is as entirely delightful as I had hoped. The idea that some people travel to Europe and do not visit Liechenstien saddens my heart. It puts me in mind of a country-themed amusement park, on a massive and grand scale. It is the distilled and condensed essence of an entire nation, squeezed into a scant 160 square kilometers.

Today I walked between the most populous city in Liechtenstien (Schaan) and the capital city (Vaduz). It took 20 minutes! My original hope of walking across the entire country, widthwise, has been unfortunately dashed, due to a rather sizable and inconsiderate mountain bisecting my supposed path. I did attempt to walk up to Vaduz Castle, home of the Prince of Liechtenstien and his family, but after 30 minutes of fruitless searching for a path not marked "private" I gave up. Considering that you cannot go into the castle (Could you imagine tourists wandering through your home!) I decided that I could see it well enough from where I was.

My only regret is that I have not found anyone to share my rapture of this fairytale place with. Throughout my time in Switzerland I had been taking a break from talking with people, having gotten quite sick of the same repetive conversations that occur between backpackers (Where are you from, where have you been, where are you going, oh, was it pretty?, repeat ad naseum) and it was a glorious time to be solely in the company of my own meandering thoughs but now I again feel up to setting upon myself the great burden of conversation. Unfortunately, the other guests of my hostel are:

• Three Koreans who share my room and speak very little English. One makes loud smacking noises with his mouth for no reason, I may have to smother him in his sleep.
• A gang of middle-aged German bikers, who despite their hardened appearances are actually very polite. But again, speak no English.
• An American family with a slow-witted patriarch and two young daughters.
• A German-Swiss family