Liechtenstein is one of the smallest countries in Europe, so small that if you didn’t know, you almost wouldn’t notice you were in it.

Squished between Switzerland and Austria, it has the Rhein on one side and the Alps on the other as natural borders with it’s neighbours, and is a mere 61 square miles of tax-free haven – only about 24 km long.

We drove down from Germany taking most of the day, weaving through Switzerland to avoid Austrian motorway toll charges. This took us around by the beautiful Lake Constance, although we didn’t actually stop as we had no Swiss Francs and therefore could not even pay for parking, let alone any drinks or ice-cream.

I don’t think the girls were overly impressed with the YHI Hostel – the only one in Liechtenstein – wondering why we hadn’t booked into some swanky hotel. I was surprised when booking that overall the cost of accommodation in the Principality is quite high – even the hostel is high by hostel standards, but perfectly adequate, comfortable, and clean.

After booking in, we walked the half hour or so from Schaan into Vaduz – the capital city – to find some dinner and have a wonder around. The town (city?) is the Capital of Liechtenstein, and was pretty quiet, although I suppose being a Sunday evening wouldn’t have helped.

Nige and I sampled the local brew and most of the restaurants seemed to be serving either schnitzel or pizza (or both!).

The scenery was stunning – as you would probably expect by its location, however the only real reason to come here is the novelty factor of being in Liechtenstein itself, as it has no real tourist attractions other than hiking in the mountains; which works for me and Nige but the girls weren’t too keen and it’s their holiday too.

There is no border control and so no real passport stamp, but the tourist information office is clearly geared up for people collecting stamps, and so will stamp your passport with a pseudo stamp for a couple of Swiss Francs (which of course we duly did).

The following morning, we had several hours to spare before we needed to drive the couple of hours across Austria and into Bavaria. We spent the time climbing the hill to Vaduz castle where the Prince of Liechtenstein is permanently in residence, and taking a meander through the mountains to make the most of our fleeting time.

The views from the castle were stunning – facing Switzerland with the Rhein between the castle and Swiss alps. All very beautiful.

The best thing about our 24hours in this teeny tiny place? This view of the sun setting behind the Swiss alps. Simply beautiful.

Tomorrow – Bavaria becons!