An Inspirational Walk Through Liechtenstein

At this time of year, for Teri and me (Kara), our dining tables have disappeared under copious amounts of threads and ribbon as we put together kits for the Academy of Appliqué. 

While Teri is diligently working on kits, I had to get my end of things finished a week earlier, as my husband and I would be heading to Bavaria for a work conference this week. Needless to say, putting a blog post together for either of us was going to be a challenge. With that said though, I thought why not bring our readers along, through pictures, on our trip to the Alps—specifically Liechtenstein!

Our daughter flew in to join us on the front end of the trip. She lives in Bangladesh, so it was a long flight and a very drastic change in climate for her. One of the things we wanted to do while she was with us was to visit Liechtenstein. Kaitlin had participated in Model UN in high school, and the country she represented was Liechtenstein. It had always been a dream of hers to visit, so off we went. 

We chose to go to the capital, Vaduz, to take a hike, view the castle, and see the state museum. All three things on our agenda did not disappoint, and hopefully you will enjoy our trip as well!

A view through one of the castle gates

The Prince of Liechtenstein and his family still live in the castle, so we could just view it from a distance.

A storybook view!

A beautiful stone carving along the trail!

It was 50 degrees on our hike, and these snowdrops were a glimpse of the coming of spring.

After our hike, we went to the Liechtenstein National Museum. Unfortunately, we arrived there with just an hour to go through the museum, but we made the most of it. It was definitely worthy of a trip back. I love being inspired by other cultures!

A beautiful national hat

Another hat with some fantastic embroidery!

A decorative handbag.

Crocheted lace collars

This wonderful example of filet crochet has many Liechtenstein symbols and crests.

Close-up

A stunning tapestry depicting the life of Christ

Close-up

A collection of religious jewelry

Not quite a quilt, but this certainly qualifies as appliqué!

A close-up of the coat of arms

I fell in love with these wooden hearts used to decorate the cows
as they come down from the mountains.

The "IHS" is in thanksgiving to He who has preserved the cows and kept them during this time.
They are called Apabfahrtsherz.

A block used for fabric printing

Last but not least, a beautifully preserved Kingfisher. I think this may be the next bird we stitch!

We hope you were inspired by our quick trip to the little country of Liechtenstein. While it may be small, it is big on beauty and inspiration!