Liechtenstein

Not far from where I'm staying in Switzerland is a little country called Liechtenstein, and when I say little, I mean tiny. Its listed as the sixth smallest independent nation in the world, and the smallest country bordered two other countries. Its so small, when my partner pointed it out to me the other day this is how the conversation went...

Her: "And over there is Liechtenstein."

Me: "Oh, you mean on the other side of those ranges?"
Her: "No, just there."
Me: "Oh you mean it IS those ranges?"

Her: "No, right there."

Me: "Oh, you mean just that hill side?"

Her: "Yes, but now we've gone passed it, thats Austria again now."

Liechtenstein is only 24 Km long, and maintains no military forces, so I jokingly suggested to my partner that the Swiss should invade and claim is as their own. To which she rightly replied "why bother?" They have no natural resources and already act as a conveniently close tax haven that also uses the Swiss Franc. Other fun Liechtenstein facts, they are the world largest producer of false teeth and they have twice as many registered companies as citizens.

There's not all that much to see and do in Liechtenstein, but in my quest to have a beer in every country (6 down 227 to go), we just had to stop in for a look. The country-side and architecture were pretty similar to Switzerland, but with perhaps slightly more castles per square km. The people were friendly and there was plenty of art and sculptures on display in the capital city Vaduz. But the highlight of the trip however was undertaking that most sacred ritual that all tourists to Liechtenstein are encouraged to partake in, I had my Passport stamped at the information kiosk :)