Day 02 Afteroon in Vaduz

After our tree-fort adventure on rails, we arrived in Zurich just before 9:00 AM and hustled to catch the next train toward Sargans, Switzerland. From there, a 35-minute local bus carried us deeper into the mountains toward Vaduz, Liechtenstein. A kind woman on the bus tipped us off about the best stop for the shortest walk to our hotel — a blessing for two tired travelers dragging luggage across uphill cobblestones.

We reached the Hotel Vaduzerhof after circling to the wrong side of the building to find the entrance. The hotel is fully self-service — check-in by touchscreen. Thankfully, even with a 3:00 PM check-in time, our room was ready at 1:00 PM. We dropped everything, took a breath, and stepped back out into this small, charming capital.

A quick factoid about Liechtenstein & Vaduz

Liechtenstein is one of the smallest countries in the world — a doubly-landlocked principality tucked between Switzerland and Austria, known for its alpine landscapes, strong economy, and the medieval Vaduz Castle overlooking the town. Vaduz itself is tiny; you can walk end-to-end in under an hour, yet it remains the nation’s political and cultural center. It’s a place where mountain quiet meets storybook charm.

After wandering the streets, we discovered Adler Vaduz, a local restaurant first opened in 1908. We enjoyed a remarkable dinner of traditional cuisine. Walter, the owner, stopped by to share the history — his grandfather first opened the establishment, once a hotel with rooms upstairs. Over the years, those rooms became office space he now rents out, while he continues running the café/restaurant with pride. The charm is exactly what you’d expect in a fairy tale, and the food? Easily equal to a five-star, over-priced Manhattan restaurant — but delivered here with warmth, not swagger.

As we said good-bye to our waitress, the sun was sliding behind the mountains. We walked past our hotel toward the small ice rink in the middle of town. Remember — Vaduz is the capital of Liechtenstein, yet still so small and gentle you could miss it if you blinked. A little booth by the rink was selling warm drinks. The sign said €4 for hot chocolate. For reasons unknown, it cost me €20 — I didn’t question it. We sat with our drinks and watched kids, families, and young couples circling the ice. A few of them hit the ice more than once. Gravity works the same in Liechtenstein.

The hot chocolate arrived in gorgeous decorative ceramic mugs — bright red with Christmas designs. I noticed people walking away with the mugs, but we had no room in our luggage. Q-tip swabs are fighting for space at this point. So I returned our empty mugs to the sweet older woman running the booth — and she handed me €12 back.

Ah! Mystery solved.
€10 if you want to keep the mug.
€4 if you return it.
A charming and very effective business model.

And this same gentle grandmotherly woman?
She’s also running a full DJ sound system and light show for the rink. Lasers, colorful lights, music echoing through the plaza — it was delightful.

But the day had been long. We had traveled from Vienna to Zurich through the night, made our transfers into this Christmas-card village, and our energy was gone. I took Donna’s hand as we walked over the cobblestones. All we had to do was look up the mountainside — the castle glowed above us in full evening majesty.

The magic of the room key opened our door. Hot showers washed the journey away. And the pillows — absolutely heavenly. The kind you absolutely want to steal but won’t.

Good night, Vaduz.
See you in the morning.

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