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| The one cute street in Zurich |
Part of the fun of living in Europe is playing the game “how many countries can I go to?” My parents have both been to Europe, my Dad way more than my Mom, so I’m always looking for new things they haven’t done or places they haven’t seen yet. My Dad had been to Switzerland but my Mom had not (I’ve been but it was only in the mountains to ski) so I figured we should check out Zurich, Switzerland. To be honest this is not a place I really recommend. It was a cool place to see and to say “been there, done that” but it’s just another big city and a REALLY expensive city. In the past 3 years Zurich has been listed in the top 5 most expensive cities in Europe. Estimates say that buying a hamburger meal would cost $12.50. So unless you’re dying to see Zurich then I would suggest not visiting. We managed not to spend too much money while we were there. We found small places to eat such a Donor Kababs, sausages and pizza. We didn’t even spend a whole 24 hours in the country but I feel like we saw enough. The best part of the city was going to the number 2 rated chocolateshop in the world! My Dad and I were in chocolate heaven!! They also had to die for macaroons! Yes it was expensive chocolate but it was worth it!  |
| My Dad and I in front of the Chocolate shop |
When you drive into Switzerland you have to have a vignette, this is typical for a lot of countries in Europe. We stopped at the border to buy one and found out that you can ONLY buy a one year vignette. All the other countries we’ve been to you can buy a 7 or 10 day pass for around 10 euro. Well apparently you can’t do that in Switzerland, this pass cost 35 euro. It says it’s good for a year but read carefully, it’s NOT a year from when you purchase it, it’s a calendar year. We bought our vignette in September but it will expire Jan 31st2014. The only plus side to this vignette is that it’s also good in Liechtenstein which was our next stop!
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| Zurich, Switzerland |
Liechtenstein is one of the smallest countries in the world so it was definitely a place we wanted to go (another “check it off the list” kind of places). I’m sure there are a lot of people who have never heard of Liechtenstein let alone can point it out on a map. It’s snuggled right in between Switzerland and Austria. Liechtenstein is a beautiful country, if you’re just driving through don’t blink, you might miss it!! We stopped in the capitol city of Vaduz. There is a pretty large and cool looking castle but you cannot go inside, it is occupied by the ruling price of Liechtenstein. We drove around the small city, took in the views, bought a Christmas ornament (ya know, to prove we’d been there) and continued on our journey. They do accept the euro but their prices are not any better than Switzerland. It almost felt like we didn’t even leave Switzerland, there is a border crossing from Austria into Liechtenstein but if you’re coming from Switzerland you do not have to stop as you should already have the vignette. Vaduz was a pretty city with beautiful views of the Alps. It’s also pretty awesome that we can say we’ve been to one of the worlds’ smallest countries!
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| The beautiful Alps in Liechtenstein |
