Today dawned cloudy and rainy - not many mountain views until I got to Balzers. It snowed last night on the high mountains, too. But, as usual, the weather was warm and sunny in the lowlands. I must make mention, however, of the tightness of bus connections here. It's great in principle, having a minute or two between connections. In practice, what with variable bus arrival times, it's fraught with stress for connecting passengers.
Anyway, I arrived in Balzers, and knew exactly where to go after yesterday - which was handy. I hopped off the bus at Rietstrasse, which is where I got the bus yesterday, and passed under the church arch, taking a left to investigate the castle. The bells were striking midday as I approached - I felt like a pilgrim. Pictures on FB.
This is where my trouble started. I had read that the castle approach was steep - and, indeed, seen the pictures of the castle on a steep hill. I had it in mind to probably take the vehicle approach - there must be one, which would likely be the least steep. I came across the information map for castle approaches. Sure enough, the recommended one was the track through the woods that started right there. I had a peek up it - yep, way too steep.
So I traipsed all around the hill, looking for the vehicle approach. Saw a couple more steep pedestrian approaches before I came across the one I wanted. It, too, was a bit steep - but not too bad, and I really wanted to do this. So up I went. This brought me to Haus Gutenberg. After that, the path began in earnest. There was another slope. Ok, managed that. There was a bend in the road, and another slope. Ehh.. ok, manageable. Worse than before, but I really did want to do this. I came to the top of that slope. Now nearly at the top of the hill, I could see that the next stretch was the last before the castle.
I couldn't do it. The bend at the top of the slope I was on was really sharp. It was nearly at the top of the hill. There was nothing between me and the drop. I'd already come up three slopes, two of which worried me - particularly the last one. I stood there for ages, trying to will myself upwards. There were what might have been electric torches on the side of the road - I was holding onto one for reassurance, and had great trouble letting go.
Finally I had to acknowledge that this just wasn't going to happen. Hey, I did great you know - nearly made it to the top! I decided, very reluctantly, to turn back. Of course, that's when other people decided to come up. There was a family. Wonderful - I was going to have to inch my way down, and I hate people watching me do that. The kids were ahead of the adults, so they all took a couple of minutes to pass, during which I had to find things to be doing - have a drink of water, take a photo.. which is why there's a photo on FB from the top of the hill! Anything to look as though I wasn't on the verge of a panic attack. Finally, they passed..
..to be followed by a group of Japanese people! O great, the greatest nation in the world for taking photographs! Sure enough, they must have spent a solid five minutes just on that stretch, photographing grapes. While I began to get dizzy from the effort of standing on this slope and trying to look nonchalant. Hey, I was even afraid to turn to see whether they'd gone yet, it made me so dizzy!
They did eventually leave, and I gratefully made my careful way down. So, an anticlimactic end to my sightseeing - but you know, I spent nearly an hour trying to get up that blasted hill. I really did do my best. Coming back and waiting for the bus in Triesenberg, I was intrigued to see, for the second day in a row, the #22 bus from Gaflei. This bus is request only - yesterday it carried a group of hikers, today a family that had been hiking. Really remote - I'd love to go sometime. Ain't walking it though!
Verdict on Liechtenstein - gorgeous. Spectacular scenery, lovely people. In future, I'll definitely look for some accessible hikes in Switzerland - this has really whetted my appetite. I stayed in the best place, I think - this is the most scenic part of Liechtenstein, and Malbun, being a ski resort, is better equipped for tourists, wrt accommodation and meals, than, say, Steg. The country is compact, so it's easy to get everywhere you want, and the buses are marvellous.
Well, I do hear Iceland has a red volcano alert in operation, but hopefully I'll get back to London tomorrow. For Tuesday, I see there's a good-sounding play in the Red Lion pub in Clerkenwell. Called The Picture of John Gray, apparently it's about Oscar Wilde's lover, who may have provided the inspiration for his story, The Picture of Dorian Gray.
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