{"id":5371,"date":"2021-03-30T14:45:38","date_gmt":"2021-03-30T13:45:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/toonsarah-travels.blog\/staging\/?p=5371"},"modified":"2021-03-30T14:45:46","modified_gmt":"2021-03-30T13:45:46","slug":"collecting-countries-three-in-one-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/toonsarah-travels.blog\/staging\/collecting-countries-three-in-one-day\/","title":{"rendered":"Collecting countries: three in one day"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Living on an island it has always been a source of some fascination to me that the people of other European countries can cross international borders as easily as they do, unhindered by a barrier of water. <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even decades ago, before the European Union was conceived, it was simply a matter of driving to the border, showing a passport and you were through. No need to buy a ticket for ship or plane! <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a child visiting relatives in Germany I marvelled at how easily we could go shopping or sightseeing in the Netherlands. And visiting friends in eastern Austria in the days before the fall of the Iron Curtain, I was amazed that it was nonetheless a relatively simple matter to pop into Hungary for lunch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today of course it is even easier and borders are largely invisible. So what about visiting three<\/strong> countries in one day? Not a problem; as I found out while attending a small Virtual Tourist<\/a> meet in Zurich a couple of years ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Setting out <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

We started in Switzerland, country number one. We travelled by train from Zurich to Sargans and from there continued our journey by bus. This took us through Vaduz in Liechtenstein (to where we would return later) and on to Feldkirch in Austria. The scenery on both journeys was fantastic, especially the views of Lake Zurich and the Walensee from the train. The latter was a particularly beautiful shade of deep turquoise as it is fed by several glacial rivers and streams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Lake
Walensee from the train<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

From the bus too we had some lovely views, passing through several tranquil villages in rich farmland, with hills and mountains all around and the occasional castle perched on a ridge. The most impressive of these was Burg Gutenberg which we passed just after crossing the Rhine which here forms the border between Switzerland and Liechtenstein.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Castle
Burg Gutenberg, Liechtenstein <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Feldkirch, Austria<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

On arrival in Feldkirch we had a light lunch in a caf\u00e9., one of several in the Marktplatz where a market was indeed taking place. This had unfortunately more or less packed up by the time I finished eating and went to take photos of the activity; but there was plenty more to photograph. In particular there was a lovely old church by the market, Sankt Johann. Its fresco depicts St John the Baptist preaching a sermon; while the unusual figure of a knight known as the Bl\u00e4si has rung the bell to tell the townspeople the time since 1510. The church was unfortunately closed, so I only have photos of the exterior.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Market<\/figure><\/div>
\"Clock<\/figure><\/div>
\"Ornate<\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The town retains much of its medieval character here in its centre; but just behind the church we came across a very different style of building which divided opinion. Some found it too incongruous for this historic setting; but others (me included) rather liked its striking architecture and clean lines. This is the Montforthaus<\/a>, a culture and congress centre which was opened in 2015.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In contrast the castle, Schattenburg, has been perched on a hill above the town for almost 800 years.<\/p>\n\n\n