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Well, that was the hottest day's hike I can ever remember doing. The weather forecast said it would be 35C in the Swiss Alpine valleys, and I believe it. We only hiked from about 10:15 to 15:30 (with over an hour's break at lunch), and still arrived both footsore and drained. You knew I was going to say it sooner or later, so here it is: fortunately the weather is due to take a turn for the worse tomorrow, with increasing likelihood of showers then rain and cooler. Hurrah!
Vaduz is a funny little place: very Mediterranean in feel (although the sweltering temperatures may have been responsible for a significant part of this impression), and in appearance like a miniature capital city. By this I mean that the sort of representative buildings that one finds in other national capitals such as the House of Parliament or the Central Bank building or the National Gallery were also here... just smaller. I liked it.
I also liked the food at dinner in (or rather in the garden restaurant of) our hotel last night: superb quality, excellent presentation and service, good portion size (are you noting all of this, Lidia? :-) -- one of the best meals, IMHO, we have had on the trip so far. Not as inventive as Maximilian's in Oberstdorf, but ultimately perhaps more satisfying.
For the hike I opted for a slightly lower route than originally planned, through Azmoos rather than Oberschans, because I couldn't face much climbing in the heat and much descent with my Morton's acting up. We went therefore through a delightful series of little villages and hamlets, sometimes on paths, sometimes on small roads, with fields and orchards and idyllic little houses and gardens all around. Very pleasant indeed.
The views, of course, remained spectacular: we were high enough above the Rhine valley floor to be able to see all of the mountains and side valleys, and it is a very impressive setting. We also passed a couple of imposing ruined castles, and one particularly fine young redwood tree, all of which were duly photographed.
The initial few minutes in Sargans were less delightful, as we passed through an area of light industry and some non-descript houses, but we soon arrived in the Altstadt where our hotel was and were quickly rewarded with a much more pleasant setting.
Tonight I think we will eat outside on the terrace of Schloss Sargans, set on a spur of rock above the Old Town and with a beautiful view over the valley. But for now I'm going to put my feet up, listen to some music, and rehydrate body and mind.
