7 July 012 – Malbun, Liechenstein

Yesterday we spent on the road after a brief stop in Diano Marina to find a post card – the previous day all suitable shops appeared closed.

We were immediately on the motorway and only escaped briefly at Como for lunch. As we entered Como the heavens opened and there was a very heavy rainstorm which included hail so heavy that I thought we may lose some paint off the car. When we arrived at the centre of Como the rain had stopped, but we found a large area flooded with sewage, so took a quick look at the lake and ducked into McDonalds as the cafes that were clear of the residue of the storm were crowded and we ddn't feel like waiting. While the lake at Como was nice, the number of houses built up the hillsides above it reduced the appeal to us.

Back on the road we climbed up through Switzerland to the San Bernardino pass into heavy cloud and occasional rain. As we got higher the “motorway” reduced to a 2 lane road with no passing and steep grades, but we were lucky and had few holdups – the traffic in the other direction wasn't so free with queues of dozens of cars.

Once again we were struck by the orderliness and beauty of the Swiss countryside. Houses are compact and neat, roadsides are trim and everything looks freshly washed. The valleys with flat floors overhung by astoundingly steep mountains rising 1500m are picture postcard territory.

Heading into Liechenstein our GPS totally lost the plot believing that we were 50m south east of our real position, Endless demands to u-turn, turn left into non-existant roads and general confusion later we found a sign to Malbun and headed up the hill with demands to turn left over a cliff. We climbed 800m up the side of the valley, though a tunnel and finally the GPS was back on the road.

Malbun is a ski resort located close to the Austrian border at 1600m altitude. A bunch of 5 hotels, a collection of chalets in a magnificent bowl shaped valley and a lot of sheep (and a few cows) with bells clanking away.

Views from the hotel

Today we lazed around at Malbun. I walked up to the top of the village and then we took the chairlift up 400m to the top of the range above the village – elevation 2,000m. The ski slopes below this chairlift are not for the faint hearted! At the top there was a timber ramp leading out into space over the stunted pine trees. The trees had new cones starting while the old ones were still opening and dropping off. Over the other side of the valley there are 2 chairlifts on what look like easier slopes.

Malbun from the top of the chairlift

After lunch we walked past the church on a path marked as suitable for pushchairs – obviously Liechenstein parents are brawnier than NZers as the gradients were challenging at times. A wedding was in progress at the church, but we didn't make out the couple. Gillian was particularly taken with the wild flowers beside the path and the number of insects and butterflies. Many of the trees grew out horizontally, obviously pushed over by the weight of snow when young. Arriving back at the hotel we found a display of falconry in progress. 5 birds were shown and flown over the next hour including a peregrine falcon, golden eagle, raven and 2 other birds of prey. The eagle was huge and we gathered had a strong grip from the expressions of the people who were game to have him on their arms.

Golden Eagle on show

We have noticed the change in the style of food between the countries. Now we are getting large heavy meals compared to the lighter dished in France and Italy. Cooked vegetables have repplaced teh light saleads.

Tomorrow we head for Salzburg.