Tiny But Mighty

According to my original, vague travel plan (idea, because I have long since stopped making long-term travel plans, and just accepted they can only really be ideas), I should be somewhere around Lecco, Italy, right now with two of my amazing Italian friends I made in Sevilla last year. But unfortunately, my friend's mom had surgery and is recovering in the hospital, so it's clearly not a great time for visitors and playing tour guide. The unexpected news that I would have three days to myself I wasn't "planning" on having meant creating a new "plan".

In Northern Italy I was suffering big time from the insane heat and humidity, so I kinda wanted to escape the place I'd hoped to spend a large portion of my last travel days. I love Italy with such a wonderful passion, but I couldn't bare the thought of staying there and feeling myself all sticky and gross for too long. So, I looked at the map, and almost instantly saw the name of a country I'd been curious about before... Liechtenstein!

Have you heard of this place before? Did you know it exists? Do you know where it is?

If your answer to any (or all) of there questions is, "No," don't feel too bad. I didn't know anything about it until maybe a year or two ago, and pretty much chose to come here, because I couldn't grasp the fact it's a country. (Many, many deep apologies to the people of Liechtenstein, I know this is quite a sore spot. Blame it on my American upbringing if it makes you feel any better.;)

Liechtenstien is one of the few doubly-landlocked countries in the world, entirely surrounded by Austria on one side, and Switzerland on the other. (Doubly-landlocked means that not only is it landlocked, but the countries that lock it in their land are also landlocked themselves.) It's national population is less than 38,000, meaning the city I grew up in has nearly six or seven times the population of the entire country, and my university alone more than double it. It's possible to drive across the whole country in half an hour, and in the capital city, the castle that you see on top of the hill/mountain is where the king and his family still live. My Couchsurfing host told me that when they turn 18 (the voting age), they are allowed to go up to the castle and meet the prince, chat with him, and have coffee/tea.

It's a fusion of old meets new, and both modern and ancient can be seen and felt in the buildings, cities (towns), and all that surrounds. And, it's absolutely beautiful. A place where you can enjoy the pleasure and wonder of living amid the high-rising, forest-covered mountains, while still being a 15 minute drive from the capital city. Liechtenstein has shown me another thing to add to the criteria of My Perfect Place to Live: living in the mountains amid the trees, but not being too far from civilization. Though considering the high prices of things here and lack of salt water, it isn´t the country I'll someday all home either. Even if living in a country that's never been involved in war speaks deeply to my soul, the "hunt" continues!

So if you're curious about this country and interested in coming, I'd say don't hesitate to do so! And if you want to Couchsurf while you're here, I know just the perfect person to meet! ;) Today I will join her in town and watch her dance to some traditional folk music at an event the radio station is putting on. A perfect chance to absorb some of the local, traditional culture!

Absolutely delicious chocolate and vanilla "cinammon" rolls. I have a sense for quality and cost. Without even knowing it, I just happened to go into the best bakery in Vaduz, the capital city, to buy something to eat. Of course it is also the most expensive, and these babes took away half of my small Liechtenstien "budget", but they have certainly been worth it! I was going to only buy one, but it wasn't possible to just get one, so I figured, to heck with it, I'm on holiday, let's take them all! Hahah.. Go to Amann if you come here, and eat I'd say..anything!

It's crazy for me to think that this time next week I'll already be chilling in California, but as I mentioned in my last post, I´m now quite anxious to get there and be with family already. Tomorrow I'll go back to Italy and spend a couple nights in Torino, then I will go to Bergamo and spend a night there before I fly to Madrid on Wednesday. Not much is left to be written in the chapters that compile the "book" (life) I've been writing on the last 2 1/2 years, but I know the adventures are definitely not ready to end. Better, I'm just beginning a new adventure, and it will only continue to lead to more.

The last six and a half weeks of travel have taken me through so many different cultures and places I didn't expect to go, especially on an emotional/mental level, but I am so grateful for all I've seen and felt during this time. I don't feel as bright, shining and secure as I have after past periods of travel, but I think it's quite normal, considering what this trip means -- the end of my time living and working in Spain. But, I have suffered, truly and actually suffered, enough emotion in the last weeks to last a while, so I'm not going to get into it all right now. No, for now, I will just say that the adventure is not over, and I don't know what's to come, but believe it will be an amazing way to finish out my time abroad, knowing it's never really over. :)

I hope that life is feeling like the wonderful ride it is, and you're practicing acceptance with me. It's really all we can do to make it through life happily -- accept and embrace all that comes our way, and trust is has some lesson and blessing somewhere within it. It may not always be easy or what we want to do, but it will always have the best results.

I love you so much family, I'm praying for you constantly, and wishing you the brightest of days!

Blessings, Love, Light & Wonder to all,

Allie-Sun :)