Step by step I came closer to my hometown in Germany and Austria & Liechtenstein were the next two countries of my trip. I have been to Austria already on this journey back then in 2020 (Post 11). I have only visited Vienna and was more than interested to visit other "Länder" of Austria and see some of the amazing nature they have. I managed to see Kärnten (Carinthia), Salzburg and Vorarlberg.
After successfully hitchhiking to Villach from Slovenia, I said goodbye to my travel companion for the last 10 days and continued solo traveling. I did not manage to stay alone for long since I met Aziz from Qatar, who is living and working in the beautiful city of Villach. I spent amazing two days with him, went to a lake out of the city and enjoyed the beautiful Altstadt surrounded by the Alps. Aziz used to live in Malaysia as well and that gave us an immediate connection, thank you for having me at your place again Habibi!
Salzburg was the next stop and honestly, I liked the city so much that it became the most beautiful German-speaking city for me! The entire setting of the Salzach River, the old town, the stunning surroundings and the Hohensalzburg fortress up the hill is amazing! The streets of the old town were absolutely packed with tourists (especially from Asia!) but it was quite easy to escape the crowds. Together with Christian, where I couch-surfed at, I did a cycling trip around the surrounding region of the city. The hiking and cycling possibilities around Salzburg are endless and absolutely rewarding. Their network of routes is world class and I could have spent the entire summer there exploring all of them.
After some days in the cities, I definitely wanted to spend time in nature and took a stunning train ride to Vorarlberg, the westernmost state of Austria. The region is well known for its mountainous landscape and was perfect for me to hike and camp. It is sometimes referred to in German as the "Ländle", which translates as "tiny province". For 3 days I randomly walked around from village to village with no clear destination in front of me. I camped next to a football training ground, in a forest and at farmer's grasslands. Waking up in the morning and seeing the Alpine landscapes was wonderful! Spending some time in solitude with nature was also something I truly enjoyed and did not have for months or even years.
From Feldkirch (a small historical and picturesque town) I continued my way into Liechtenstein. After Vatican and Monaco, it was the smallest country I have ever been to with only 160 km² in size. I literally walked half of the country in less than one day from Triesen via Vaduz, Schaan & Gamprin to Buchs in Switzerland. The principality of Liechtenstein enjoys a very high standard of living and is home to some incredibly beautiful mountain scenery. I have seen plenty of expensive sports cars that gave me flashbacks from Dubai earlier this year. International banking is a huge business field there and there are banks literally every few meters. Liechtenstein is the world's leading producer of false teeth, which was quite random for me.
Vaduz, the capital, was a quite boring place. For me, it was a disappointing collection of unattractive modern buildings. The castle was under construction, unfortunately. The mountain views outside of Vaduz are stunning and the vineyards of the Prince are interesting to see though.
3 Highlights:
- Salzburg! Wonderful city with so many outdoor activities around
- Camping in the mountains of Vorarlberg
- meeting Aziz in Villach and having Chai Karak
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| Visited places in Austria and Liechtenstein |
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| Reaching Villach |
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| Old TOwn of Villach |
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| Walking to a lake in Villach |
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| I realized that many old people in Austria are dressed very elegantly! One handsome example here |
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| Train ride from Villach to Salzburg |
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| Salzburg Cathedral |
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| Leaving Salzburg and entering nature |
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| Cycling with Christian |
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| Crossing the Salzach on the way back to the city |
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| Sunset from a nice view point in the Old Town of Salzburg |
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| Mirabellgarten |
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| Mozart's birthplace, a huge hype among Asian group tourists. Some Chinese tourists even buy air from Hallstatt in a bottle.. |
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| Salzburg from top |
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| One of the most comfortable Couchsurfing spots I ever slept at |
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| Feldkirch in Vorarlberg |
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| Camping next to a football pitch in a village in Vorarlberg |
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| Off to Liechtenstein! |
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| Fire department anniversary in Vaduz |
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| St. Laurentius Church in Schaan |
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| Vineyard of the Prince of Liechtenstein |
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| Council of Liechtenstein |
