Talalpsee

After being inconsiderately woken up at 5am this morning, I made my way over to the Hauptbahnhof with *plenty* of time to spare! After what I can only describe as the most Swiss breakfast I've ever had, namely a ham and cheese pretzel 🥨 and a bar of Swiss chocolate 🍫 (in my defence, it's a Sunday so there are very limited breakfast options available), I boarded a train to Sargans.

Sargans itself isn't particularly notable, however it is the closest train station to the tiny micro-country Liechtenstein, tucked away on the border between Switzerland and Austria on the Eastern bank of the Rhine - my destination for today.

The scenery on the way over was stunning - Switzerland is truly a country of crystal clear lakes and spectacular snow-capped mountains.

On the train I reflected on the very continental custom of closing almost every shop and non-religious notable building on a Sunday come hell or high water. ✝️ As a tourist it's infuriating - I'm only here for a limited number of days so it's frustrating to have to work around these closures to stand a chance at seeing everything I want to see. However, as I gazed out the window at families hiking up mountains together 🥾 and friends windsurfing on the rippling waters of Lake Walensee, I started to understand the mentality of that tradition a little more deeply.Read more