July 11, 15
In an earlier edition I wrote about the notion of travelling
and what constitutes having ‘been’ to and experienced in a country. My belief
is that you have to experience a major part of a country’s heritage or culture,
or spend time in a local environment for a period of time longer than your
lunch, in order to tick it off your list. These philosophies were challenged by
two places – countries – we visited during the Italian Surprise adventure.
On the way down to Perugia we stopped in Liechtenstein. It
so easily could be another region of Switzerland. However, I’m sure saying that
would be as offensive to them as suggesting to me that Wales is just an
extension of England.
We drove almost head-to-toe through Liechtenstein. It didn’t
take long. 26km at its longest, this principality. The capital, Vaduz, cannot
be classed as anything other than a village. So why does it exist? Why do
people come here?
Well, it is home to a royal family, currently headed by
Prince Hans-Adam II. It is famous for…them. They live in a castle overlooking
the valley in which Vaduz resides. And stamps. A stamp museum, as well as the
paintings of stamps on the pedestrianised main street, highlights this.
And…umm…that it is one of only two doubly-landlocked
countries in the world! All the countries surrounding Liechtenstein are also
landlocked. Bonus point if you can name the other country…
It’s Uzbekistan, if you want to impress your friends. A
pamphlet from the tourist office could have helped me out here, if I hadn’t
have lost it. It listed five – FIVE – reasons to visit Liechtenstein. One was
to do with winter, the others…probably about stamps. I can imagine philatelists
queuing in their droves to get their kicks here. I would say the main one is
actually looking at the stunning Alpine mountains looming so closely over the
principality. Mountains that probably belong to Austria and Switzerland.
In spite of the mockery, I liked Liechtenstein. It seemed
very clean, very relaxed, very…Swiss. And in the same vein, the other
micro-state we went to is very…Italian.
The Republic of San Marino. Third smallest country in the
whole wide world. So atrocious at football that I’m sure many
semi-professionals have considered getting citizenship so they can play in the
World Cup (qualifiers, and lose 8-0 every time). A place that seems absolutely
no different to Italy aside from the flag and the number plate. But again,
don’t tell them that.
In spite of being engulfed by Italy, San Marino is actually
quite difficult to reach, simply because it’s so high. The country of roughly 32,000 citizens is located up the
steepest of hills. Atop the mound lies a castle, some souvenir shops often
selling trinkets which say ITALIA on them, and a rather special view of the
landscape surrounding it. Not much else.
We spent roughly two hours exploring each of these
countries, by car and by foot. I said before that I didn’t think I had really
experienced Mexico as I had only been there for…two hours. The problem is that
these places are so small; it is probably as long as you actually need
to see and do everything that they have to offer. There isn’t much uniqueness
about them, and the harsh reality is that if they weren’t recognised as
countries I don’t think many people would visit them.
Yet the fact remains that Liechtenstein and San Marino are
their own, self-governing entities, and are perfectly entitled to be treated
with just as much respect as any other state. Though I wouldn’t say you should
travel from far and wide to flock to them (difficult anyway, as neither has an
airport), they’re certainly worth exploring if you are in the vicinity. You
could also see if you really are good enough for that San Marino football team…
Love you all
Matt
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