Joe requested a trip to Liechtenstein for his birthday, so off we went. Why? you ask. Warum nicht? is a better question! The country is only about 60 square miles in area, barely holds a spot on any map, and gets no love from the “Europe” travel book I own. Not even one page, or one paragraph on the corner of a page. The Union is probably bitter because Liechtenstein chooses to associate closely with Switzerland, uses the Franc, and has a royal family. We figured we should give the miniscule Principality some attention…since no one else appears to.
On Saturday afternoon we pulled into Vaduz, the capitol, and unexpectedly found ourselves face-to-face with the Fastnacht kick-off parade. Fastnacht holds many different names throughout Europe and is basically the equivalent to American Marti Gras: the last chance to party before Lent begins!
Sometimes it was hard to determine what to pay attention to: the parade participants…or the spectators.
After the parade surprise, we decided to take a driving tour around the Principality. Thirty minutes later we had hit 9 of the 12 cities and only accidentally left the country once!
Sunday morning was definitely the highlight of our trip to Liechtenstein, as I had a surprise birthday gift planned for Joe. We waited anxiously in the car (I still had not revealed the day’s activity yet), and played with the dashboard settings to try and determine which sounded warmer: -2oF or -18oC. Neither sounded particularly inviting to spend the morning in, but then the surprise arrived…dog sledding in the Liechtenstein mountains!
First, we met each of the Huskies and then got a crash course in dog-sledding (in German, of course). Next, each of the dogs was harnessed and Joe walked him/her over to join the team. I was charged with the task of holding onto the lead-dog, who, despite being tethered to 3 other Huskies, a sled, and a pick-up truck, was still jumping higher than my waist. Everybody was ready to run!!
Our instructors rode in one sled with four dogs, and left the foreigners to learn the hard way on the other sled, also with four dogs. Joe was the first one to put his newly-acquired dog sledding skills to the test…no practice runs here! As soon as the pack was unclipped from the pick-up truck (a genius safety-precaution, looking back) they were off! Within 100 yards, Joe hit a snow bank and the entire sled tipped over. The Huskies were still running though, and Joe (holding onto the safety strap as instructed) was dragged right into a second snow bank before our hosts could stop the team and right the sled. When he returned and I asked if he was ok, the response was: “Please tell me you got that on film!”
Sadly, I didn’t. However, if you look closely at the right side of his body, you can see remnants of the fall.
Now it was my turn. Joe gave me some additional pointers, in English, and then we took off. The pack obviously had burned off their first-run jitters by this time, because the biggest challenge I had was keeping my vision clear as the freezing wind tried to rob me of all my tears. We each took two trips through the woods with the Huskies before they were thoroughly exhausted.
The website where I found this opportunity said that lunch was included and would be enjoyed in the “Liechtenstein countryside”. I envisioned taking the Huskies into the woods, lighting a fire, and cooking up some brats on a spit. What really happened was not nearly as romantic, but definitely more enlightening.
We unharnessed the 8 dogs, gave them some treats, and then headed to the home of our hosts for a home-made Swiss lunch of Käseschnitte (bread layered with ham, cheese, bacon, and pineapple and then baked in the oven). I guess this part was my surprise for the day, but I have definitely learned how to do one thing from our 6 short months in Europe…go with the flow.
For more than two hours, we enjoyed our lunch and discussed numerous topics in their humble living/dining area. Eventually, the question of what we do for a living came up. Mine is fairly easy to explain, except when the question of how I can be a “teacher” on my computer with a company in the United States is asked. Joe usually keeps his simple by stating that he has a scholarship from his “company” to learn German and earn a degree. Naturally, the question of “which company” is always posed and the discussions that follow can be sticky.
Our hosts were not at all hesitant to share their perspectives on President Bush, President Obama or September 11th. They believe that the attacks of September 11th were a conspiracy by the American government, based on information they had received regarding the implosion of the Towers. Clearly there were some holes in their knowledge base because they knew nothing about the 4th airplane, its intentions, and its fate. They heard about it, for the first time, from us…in sluggish German.
The most amazing part of the day though, was watching Joe. True to form, he acknowledged the opinions of our hosts, stated that his were different, and then smoothly closed the conversation on a point which made everyone happy and even better friends than before the topic had begun. I have watched his phenomena before, but have never seen it done ganz auf Deutsch (completely in German) until today. Nach elf Jahren bin ich immer noch über meinen Mann erstaunt.
After lunch and dessert, as we walked back to the car, Joe and I mulled over our Liechtenstein experience. The average American would probably never be able to pick out Liechtenstein on a map, let alone tell you anything about the country. However, if the couple we met today were to represent the 35,000 individuals that call Liechtenstein home, they could tell you about American current events, politics, economy, and have an opinion about it all. Surprising, for sure.
In the words of our dog sledding hosts, “Mit kalten Schnauzen auf leisen Pfoten, macht der Husky dir Beine.“
With cold noses on silent paws, the Husky makes you legs.
