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August 8-9, 2004

Orderly, Very Orderly

By Camping Bus through Switzerland and Liechtenstein

Manfred P.

Keywords: Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Lichtenstein, tourist, travel trip report, travel log, travelogue.

It started terribly. We planned to enter Switzerland from France and wanted to cross it from west to east. At the border we stopped. There were two lanes but the right lane was unused. In front of us was one car. As we stopped behind the car that was being processed we got out our passports. The control of the car in front of us took longer then expected. Behind us two more cars lined up. We waited. In the rearview mirror I saw as the last car in this 4-car line reversed and then drove into the unused lane and simply crossed the border without being stopped. Then the second car behind me did the same. Since the driver in front of me still was being questioned, I too backed up and drove into the unused, open lane and wanted to cross. But by now the border patrol reacted. He jumped over rapidly and flagged us down. I stopped. He told me to pull to the side. In French of course which I do not understand. My life partner translated. I pulled to the side. He ordered me to pull further forward and to the side. After translation I did. He ordered me in rough tone to turn off the engine. My life partner translated. I turned off the engine. In my head I was thinking: "Oh, oh, now he is going to order us to take out all of our luggage. It is going to be fun to get the 30-day baby supply of diapers, food, toys, etc. out of the van that I so carefully and strategically squeezed in to make it fit. Once I take it out it is never going to fit in again." The border patrol guy with his machine gun and green military uniform took our passports. He started to ask question. Since I didn't understand a word, I had this blank expression on my face. My life partner translated and responded. The typical questions were asked: "Where are we from? What are we doing here? Where are we traveling to?" Then some questions about the roads we are taking and if we plan to take the freeway. All freeways in Switzerland are toll roads and one has to buy a permit up front. So, I knew where these questions are coming from. Anyway, after showing and demonstrating us his power he let us drive off - without having to take out or open any suitcase or baby bag. Welcome to Switzerland.

Around Geneva

The first city we entered was Geneva. It was sizzling hot and unpleasant in the van. While it is not my habit, I crossed two intersections late, just when the light switched to red. My life partner was quick to remind me that the Swiss do not take such infractions lightly. As we crossed the Rhone River an enjoyable wind picked up in this open space on the bridge and the cooling effect was welcome.

We nearly got lost leaving the city. The freeways are all well indicated but the surface roads are somewhat harder to find. But we managed. From Geneva we drove along the northern shore of Lake Geneva. Every single parking space along the lake was taken. It was obvious that the lake was a happening place in this afternoon heat. Small sailboats abounded, gently gliding over the silver reflecting lake. Kids screamed jumping into the lake from piers. The lake is some 60km (40 miles) long. Far away from the city of Geneva there is space for everyone. Somewhere around the town of Nyon we stopped and even found parking. In the background was saw a castle built on a small island or peninsula right on the coastline. In front of us ducks and swans waited in the water hoping that someone would feed them. The breeze made the summer heat tolerable.

The Route

We had selected a driving route following the major lakes of Switzerland. The major thinking behind that was that we wanted a route that avoids mountain passes and the steady climbing up to them and dropping down on the other side. Following the lakes we hoped to find roads that are more or less flat, or with little altitude changes. This plan worked out really well. We crossed all of Switzerland from west to east, without ever driving on freeways, without using a single pass or major tunnel through the Alps, without too much uphill and downhill and on surface roads of reasonable size to make good progress while yet seeing something of the countryside.

The selected route was: Geneva, Lausanne, Fribourg, Bern, Langnau im Emmental, Lucerne, Zug, Rapperswil, Wattwil, Gams and then into Liechtenstein. We nicknamed it the "lake route" as it passed and follows these lakes: Lake Geneva, Lake Gruyere, Lake Vierwaldstaetter, Lake Zug, and Lake Zurich.

Spending the Night

We have a small camping bus that is nothing more than a minivan where the row of seats in the back can be lowered to form a bed. Since it is the same length and width as any mid-to-full-sized car it is typically easy to park it anywhere. Normally in the evening we drive to a small village, park it on a street next to other cars and then spend the night in the back of the van. That works nearly everywhere - except for Switzerland. We drive to the first village and I was very optimistic that within 15 minutes I can find a suitable space for the minivan for the night. We drove through the streets and every parking space had a sign: for residents only, for employees only, for clients only, etc. Every square meter was regulated. Okay, let's try in a second village. We drive on and try our luck in a second village. There the same thing happened. All parking spaces had numbers painted on them or signs were mounted that the space is reserved for someone or no parking signs were posted. So, in the second village we were out of luck too. Off to the third village. The same happened there and I was tired of searching. On a country road close to a farm house I found a space next to the road that was not fenced off, about the size of two or three cars. It was between the road and a sheep meadow. I parked there. Not even 20 minutes passed until the owner came and spoke to us. He was reasonable. He looked worried but after talking a little bit he allowed us to stay that single night. This is Switzerland. Everything is very orderly; from the meadows where the grass is cut perfectly to parking. Even the parking space in small insignificant villages is all regulated and orderly.

North east of Bern is the valley of Emmen, the famous Emmental, famous for its cheese the "Emmentaler, the typical Swiss cheese with the big holes. Here I was also surprised. I expected to find a lot of signs for buying local cheese. But not so. We did not see a single sign for the sale of cheese. There is a cheese factory in the area though that can be visited.

On our route we saw a lot of green rolling hills with views of the countryside. The Alps formed the distant backdrop. I especially remember the views from a hill we climbed by minivan between Zug and Rapperswil. From up there we had beautiful views of the various lakes below: To the west the Lake Zug, to the north and east the Lake Zurich, and in between a couple of smaller lakes. This was one of the highlights of Switzerland.

Liechtenstein

Everyone knows that Switzerland is tiny, but in comparison to Liechtenstein Switzerland is a giant. Liechtenstein only has 160 square km, while Switzerland has 41,000. Hence Switzerland is 250 times taller than then dwarf Liechtenstein. The Austrian Liechtenstein family acquired the land in 1699. Hence the name of the country. It is a tiny country with only 32,000 inhabitants but 73,700 holding or so-called letter box companies that provide 30% of the state revenues. It is tax friendly country. The maximum tax bracket is 18%. In other countries that is the minimum bracket. Finance is without doubt the biggest economic factor of this country. Vaduz is the capital. But being so small for a tourist it is no major destination. While close to the Alps I found the country rather flat. We entered from Switzerland and 30 minutes later we were in Austria.

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