Unfolding Liechtenstein
January 24, 2009 by chersc1529
It was a thirteen hours flight from Suvarnabhumi Airport (Bangkok,Thailand) to Flughafen Airport (Zurich, Switzerland) but I stayed wide awake on board the Thai Airways. Evidently, I was exceptionally thrilled to step my feet in Europe for the first time!
Upon reaching the immigration checkpoints, I was asked to present my letter of invitation but unfortunately I submitted the said letter to the Swiss Embassy when I processed my visa. Luckily, I found my name card (the only one I brought) in my wallet that bears my company headquarters address in Schaan, Liechtenstein – my destination! After checking it carefully, the officer smiled at me and handed back my stamped passport.
I got my luggage pretty fast and to my great relief, I saw a man waving my company name’s placard waiting for me outside. He genially welcomed me and briefly introduced himself as our company chauffeur. After helping me to carry my things in the van, the chauffeur asked me to hop in and told me to be prepared for more or less than an hour ride from Zurich to Liechtenstein and off we went. I was greeted by the infamous Swiss Alps.
It was very remarkable as if I just saw a painting coming alive! I wouldn’t want to miss even just a morsel of the magical experience that I had to gaze right and left because the scenery was so stunning and breathtakingly beautiful on both sides of the road. Being there is like living a fairytale. I can’t help but admire the local cows which graze alongside the main road.
I was so engrossed looking at the picturesque view that I was surprised we already reached Liechtenstein.
(FYI: Liechteinstein, described as the jewel at the pulse of Europe, is the only one of two principalities left where the prince still lives in his castle up at the top of the hill. 
Its 34,600 inhabitants claim that you have to take a bit of time to get to know the 160 sq km gem as its small size has nothing to do with numbers. If you happen to visit the place, plan for a short trip (20 minutes) to Austria.)
Upon reaching the IV Centre for Dental Education, the training already started so I only had time to freshen up, quickly change my clothes and joined the group straight away just in time for the first topic.
Oh well, It was a long story — My Singaporean boss made a mistake in booking my air ticket and that was the reason I travelled alone. I’m supposed to travel with my Thai and Vietnamese colleagues. My Swiss boss was very worried but thanks God I made it in one piece.
As anticipated, the training was monotonous and my mind was preoccupied by the sceneries outside that I have yet to explore.
(continuation 1)
Finally, the first day was over. I didn’t bother about the jetlag and the exhausting seminar. I was energized by the grandeur of villages at the base of gorgeous towering mountains.
Nonetheless, the locals call it a day a bit too early (they leave the office between 4 to 4:30 pm and the whole place is deafeningly quiet by 6 pm) for a person like me who has adapted working long hours in Singapore (regular working hours ends at 6 to 7 pm and could extend up to 9 pm on busy days) so I had no choice but to call it my day too. So there I was, being welcomed by Hotel Linde - a small family-oriented guess house running since 1898. I had a sumptuous dinner at Linden-Pic Restaurant
and a good night’s sleep in its cosy room with sound-insulated windows. Early next morning, I woke up fresh and rejuvenated.
After having a big breakfast of fresh milk (probably the freshest milk i’ve ever had), toasted bread with fresh cheeses, (name it, they have it and oh, how i love ‘em all!) and fresh fruits
my colleagues and I walked back to the training centre. We passed by grazing cows
and beautiful archetypal Swiss houses.
(continuation 2)
We took our time walking and didn’t consider the fog a nuisance (correct me if I’m wrong but when you live in Asia, you tend to appreciate the cold weather) and we continued taking snapshots until IV headquarters.
The second day of training was very interesting as we got the chance to mix chemicals and make our own composite (a white filling material) and tested it in a tooth model afterwards. (As expected, we were not allowed to take photos inside the laboratory.) We all did well so the day went on smoothly and ended early.
My colleagues and I got the chance to see more of the tourist attractions. Fortuitously, our hotel was located at the centre of Schaan
(photo courtesy of the Hotel’s website)
which is just a few steps away from the bus station
and Dux Chapel (The Chapel of St. Mary of Consolation)
built in the 18th century.
My colleague, Wanpen, and I took a bus ride to Vaduz (capital of Liechtenstein)
and enjoyed the sights on our way
most especially the vineyard (owned by the Prince of Liechtenstein)
situated near Vaduz Castle
where the Princely Family lives since 1938.
We alighted at the main plaza
photo courtesy of Schloss)
and headed to buy some souvenirs.
to be continued…
guys, this is a post travel blog OVERdue and i can’t promise when i can finish it
betchai, need your expertise in posting photos. how do i post mine same size as yours? btw, thanks for the well-wishes! my migraine disappeared that’s why i’m back in the blogosphere
Ohh..la..la.. what a treat from your company ! You got a real good shot of the castle - yeah post some more pictures ! Next time tell your boss to send you to seminar here in the US hahahaha
yes chay, it was indeed a treat!
i took that photo from a moving car. not bad, huh!
oh, how i love to visit you guys in US but i don’t have the means for now. hehehe! and btw, i’ve sacrificed leaving my previous company and a good-paying job (the best i’ve ever had) to take 3 months break para asikasuhin papers ni kyla sa Pinas for our PR. i am supposed to be welcomed back after 3 months but too bad umabot ng almost 4 months ang indefinite leave ko kasi tumagal ang processing ng papers namin.
in fact, when i left i was already scheduled for a trip back to Schaan and another trip to Bali. anyway, it was worth all the sacrifices 
sometimes, we can’t just have the best of both worlds ika nga.
wow…i wish i could travel too….haven’t been out of the country since birth hahahahaha….wish your company will send you to more places so i could view your photos and imagine myself there hehehehehe…take care always sis…mwah!!!!:)
hi zen! feelin’ better? hope so
oh, sorry to hear that! you can plan for an overseas trip once a year or so to unwind and take a break from work. you can come and visit me here
wow, great post Che! love your travel report. and your first picture of you, that is a big wow, you look so happy. how nice it is to be driven ha? while they drive, you taken in the beautiful scenery, that is what i like the most, haha!
and like Chay, you have a great shot there of the castle. though i am always partial to wide field of grass with cows grazing, like in picture number 3.
About sizing your picture, I actually upload my pictures at photobucket since I can not upload pictures here at friendster blog anymore since I already met my quota. At photobucket, you can resize your images, Ruthi (fellow friendster) taught me how to do it. you can go to edit images, and then click resize to 460 by 307. however, not all cameras have the same standard of width and length, you can also resize it at paint or photoshop, just fill in the width 460 and they automatically adjust the correct length, and only upload it at your blog after resizing. hope this helps.
will look forward to the continuation of your report, and yes, for more photos
thanks for sharing your trip with us.
thanks for the tips betchai! i will try to apply it for the continuation
and btw, if you have the luxury to do so you can visit the place with Khai. it is said that 95% of Liechtenstein people love hiking as their small land is a hiking and biking paradise. Khai would surely love it too
Wow Switzerland! How I would love to see the alps too. What an experience Che and you are blessed to have such a good company to sponsor your trip, how cool! I agree with Chay, I hope next time, the company will send you here in our corner of the universe!
How cool that Liechtenstein actually has a prince in a castle, very interesting! Thanks for the info Che!
I am also at my quota -friendster blog photos. great tip about photobucket Beth, I’ll try that one too.
will probably try photobucket too, Tes. and yes, like i told beth if you have the luxury to do so you can visit Switzerland too. it’s an amazing place! still have Vaduz (capital of Liechtenstein) and Zurich photos next in line
Betchai, i tried resizing using paint but i think the old Olympus digicam i used back then was already out-dated so it doesn’t work
Hi Che,
Sorry, if you are using the free version of Paint that comes with Windows, it does not come with automatic resizing I guess, it’s not about your camera.
What you can do is to resize is check the properties of your picture: let us say the size is 3888 x 2592 ( w x l ) , you want to resize it to width 460. since Paint works by reducing size by %, you can solve for the % you need to resize by diving 440 by 3888, then multiply the ratio by 100.
Example: ( 460/3888 ) x 100 % = 11.83 = 12%
In paint, you click the resize/skew, and resize both the horizontal and vertical to 12% of its size. It’s a lot of work, so, I think the photobucket resizing will work easier. And when you upload pictures to your blog, click full size since the width of 460 is already the size that will fit in the window.
yes Che, hopefully, your company will send you here also someday, we can have a salitype gathering
so it won’t be in the near future yet. Haaay, too many places to see too little time 
Glad you were there since from you we can experience it too, thanks a lot for sharing your travel with us, makes us feel like we are there. And I like your picture of the house with the mountain as backdrop.
The Swiss Alps is in my list to go hiking someday Che, but I am arranging the places (or our travels) according to my most wanted
oh! what a lovely place.it is one place i would love to visit someday.for now, let me bask at the glory of your experience…feel the air as you felt it,sniff the scent as you smelt it and envision the place as you have seen it….
I guess Liechtenstein unfolded you, too!