Every so often there’s a day I just wish could continue forever because it’s so delightful. Saturday was such a day. My German-speaking geo-brothers Andreas and Urs planned and executed a fantastic sightseeing and caching day and did their best to spoil me (let’s not understate the situation, they did their best to spoil me the entire time I was in Germany and Switzerland as well as France, Austria and Liechtenstein….and yes, Stockholm Syndrome did come up in conversation).
Andreas and I woke up early and drove to the first cache, in Germany, to meet Urs. After I found that cache with two spectators, we walked across the bridge to France where Urs and I found a cache in France (placed by Andreas). Interestingly, the two police standing on the bridge completely ignored us both times we crossed, but seemed quite interested in another person who was just a bit behind us as we returned to Germany.
We then meandered our way east, crossing the Rhine River multiple times between Germany and Switzerland. Andreas knew of a beautiful town with a lovely viewpoint so we parked in Laufenburg, Germany, took some pictures and a short walk (of note, the fence we climbed over was just a wee bit too tall for me to have both feet touch the ground at the same time) then crossed the river to the idyllic town of Laufenburg, Switzerland.
Rhinefall is Europe’s “biggest” (ie, highest volume) waterfall. Very nice and very powerful, though wider than it is tall. It’s actually in the part of Switzerland where the Rhine is not the international border. We took off our shoes for a virtual cache that requires getting your feet wet in the Rhine, though it should be noted that the only part of me that got wet was my feet. How convenient to be wearing pants that unzip on the thigh so I didn’t even get my pants wet. We walked around a bit and found a few caches (surprise!) that turned out to be easier to find than the car.
Although our plan had been to have lunch in Liechtenstein, we realized that would mean an unacceptably late lunch so we popped into a Swiss grocery store for provisions to eat on the road; we settled for an afternoon beverage in Liechtenstein. I enjoyed my salami and roll and got to taste some other meats that Andreas and Urs selected. Soon enough we were at a fire station in Austria where we quickly found a cache in our fourth country of the day.
Our drive continued along the Rhine and Lake Constance. We then reached a zone of fertile farmland, crossed the Rhine one more time, and found ourselves in Liechtenstein. It’s the only country besides Switzerland that uses Swiss francs as its currency and, like Switzerland, has an active banking industry.
We took a steep road full of switchbacks up the mountain to find Liechtenstein’s oldest cache and a few others. The views from up there were incredible — we could see some of the Swiss Alps, some pretty villages in Liechtenstein and Switzerland, farmland, and the beautiful river. We were high enough (somewhere in the neighborhood of 1500 meters / a bit less than 5000 feet) that there was snow near the path we took. I found some clean snow for a couple of tasty treats that compared quite favorably to the Norwegian glacial ice I remember from 2011. So fresh and clean, and so delicious while on a mountain hike. We were fortunate to have clear skies, albeit with some clouds, so many of the snow-covered Alps were visible.
After a quick stop for refreshments, we descended into Vaduz, the capitol of Liechtenstein for a short walk through the city center. It was very modern, with most of the buildings no more than a century old. Alas, we were unable to find a souvenir store so I left without a Liechtenstein magnet.
We drove to the far south part the country (10 or so minutes) and had our last border crossing of the day, into the Swiss town of Maienfeld which is known for its wines, specifically Pinot Gris (the same variety Oregon is known for). After a quick stop in the tiny old town, Urs asked if we liked Legos and we went to a creatively constructed gadget cache made of legos.
We took the Swiss Autobahn west. After discussing options, we decided to have dinner in Lucerne. We arrived at dusk, and had a brief view of Lake Lucerne. We then headed to Old Town where we crossed (and photographed) the beautiful covered wooden bridge. After a short walk, and another river crossing, Urs brought us to what turned out to be a delicious pizza and pasta restaurant. After a short walk we returned to the car for the hourlong drive to Urs’ home.
After bringing our luggage upstairs and setting up sleeping spaces for Andreas and me upstairs, we briefly discussed when to have breakfast and called it a day. A fabulous day. A satisfying day. A day with two of my brothers that could only have been better if other members of the “family” (including of my household) could have joined with us to experience it together.
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