Affinity to Smaller Places

I LOVE island nations. 
​I just have a thing for them.
Small countries such as Liechtenstein are like an island country without being an island..
In fact, it is so inland that it is one of the only 2 countries in the world (or something like that) that is completely surrounded by other countries which themselves are inland countries - not touching any body of an ocean.

When researching and gathering knowledge before going on the trip,
I was learning the history of Liechtenstein,
and absolutely loved how it came about as a country.
It fascinated me and made me fantasize about having a country of my own. 
It was also quite entertaining to learn its founding as a nation-state.
One of my favourite things about Liechtenstein's history was that when its people went to war, it came back with more friends,  more people than the number of population that left. 
And if my memory serves me right, no one died either...
I love a friendly nation,
And when inside Liechtenstein, Vaduz to be precise,
​I felt that this was a very welcoming place.

My first meal in the country was in an upstairs restaurant in the centre of the city.
The restaurant was almost directly beneath the castle (if you draw a straightline).
The cook was Asian,
And the person who I saw & I figured he might have been the owner,
he was Indonesian Chinese looking, or Thai.
The chef came out of the kitchen and stood at the doorway and peeked at me as I ate.
As not only was I the only Asian there that day, 
I was also the only damn customer while I was there.
It's always annoying when people stare, 
it's even more comfortable when you travel solo and people are staring at none else but you.
You know you stand out like a sore thumb, and
their fascination or interest is nowhere near comfortable for a solo female traveler.
I wish people exercised more respect.
The supposed boss looked as dodgy as a boss could be, just sans the dangerous vibe.
He couldn't look more like a Thai mob escapee.
Or a former drug trafficker or prostitute pimp.
He made me remember one of the Chinese people at the place I once worked at as a part-timer during uni, 
​he had his fingers chopped off by the Indonesian workers because he wasn't paying the workers enough at his factory.
He looked dodge as a person. 
And this supposed owner of the restaurant I was eating at looked dodge.
I figured he probably escaped Thailand to settle down quietly here in the middle of the middle of Europe.

The food was tasty but extremely salty.
I had to drink all the liquid I was served to try to wash off the saltiness.
But I was satisfied from it, and grateful for some food in my stomach.

The day was hot. So hot I could hardly stay outside.
When I first arrived, I was so dehydrated I was almost going under hyperventilation while waiting for a delayed bus that following the Sunday-time-table.
Thankfully it was evening when I came back out,
after I walked around the centre of Vaduz for some time,
the sun was lower, all things were lit in a warm golden hue,
I explored a lovely neighborhood that was basking in that evening light.
It was peaceful everywhere.

Amidst the trees, the castle was ever so visible, a constant reminder that of the Royalty's presence over its people.

The castle looked beautiful from afar, 
and it really seemed a lovely sight, 
as the castle overlooks the city,
as if the Prince was really looking over and down at his subjects.
A romantic notion in itself,
and its physical position certainly conveys such an effect:
That the prince is looking at his subjects,
​at all his citizens who live on the ground level below.
He is both the watcher and the protector,
overlooking all that happens in the city beneath the castle.

On ground level, things are truly serene and idyllic.
Albeit suburban, there were goats and cows standing in fields along the edge of the city.
I saw the goats chilling and later forming a long train, 
as their human owner had returned and they were practically following him in greeting.
It was a sweet sight.

View from my hotel 'Kommod' which is situated all the way on the northern end of the country.

It's a very special place.
​I give you That.

​More later.

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