Let’s get this out of the way.
If you’re looking for the top 10 Instagram-able places…this is not where you’ll find it.
If you’re looking for the best places to visit, I’ll post some of my most favorite links below for you to check out.
I’m no photographer…so my photos are like what anyone with a smart phone clicks. Some are good. Some…uhhh…not so much.
So…if the above are what you’re looking for in my Travelogue section – honestly, you won’t find them here.
What I have are stories – most of them are directly connected to the places I visit and the people I meet. Some aren’t. Most stories are about good and happy experiences. A very few…not so much. I’ll be honest about all my experiences – with humor and no malice.
These are stories that have affected and changed me. I hope you like them as much as I’ve enjoyed experiencing them. Enjoy!!
Liechtenstein – Finding India in a Tiny European Country
By The Messy Optimist
Finding India in a tiny country like Leichtenstein? What is The Messy Optimist babbling about, you’re wondering? I would too, if I were you. But there is a method to my madness here. Bear with me as I explain.
To begin with – I’ll be honest. I had to really search for this tiny speck of a country on a European map. And for awhile I mixed it up with Luxembourg.
But when a bunch of us decided to do the breakfast in one country, lunch in another and dinner in a third country – Liechtenstein was an integral part of that plan.
The grand breakfast, lunch and dinner plans
Our grand plan started with breakfast in Zurich, Switzerland. We then decided to drive towards Vaduz in Liechtenstein for lunch. Our plan was a quick look around and then end the day with dinner at Innsbruck, Austria. The latter was where we’d planned to stay put for the next many days.
And the day started great. Breakfast was duly done in Zurich and when we finally made our way towards Leichtenstein – a tiny country whose size is a mere 62 square miles and has a population of about 38000 people – my expectations for a vegetarian meal were slim to none.
In case you’re wondering – just how much of a pig/glutton am I that all I thought of just after finishing breakfast is lunch – I PLEAD GUILTY. Other than traveling – food is my next great love and obsession.
So, back to the lunch in Liechtenstein saga. So, I figured – long live American fast food restaurants! While the McDonalds and KFCs were of no use to me, I’d hoped that there would be a Subway there and I could order a footlong veggie delite (without the veggie patty).
PS: Never ever order veggie burgers with the patty in fast food joints like Subway or Burger King. While the menu does offer the vegetarian option – the burgers are typically buried deep inside their freezers for six months or more. I’ve always wanted to know who – if anyone, other than myself – ever orders orders a vegetarian sandwich from these joints? Even after thawing it for 30 minutes – the patty is always crunchy (the bad crunchy – YUCK!) with the ice flakes still holding on for their dear lives.
So yeah…no veggie patty but a veggie delite with all the veggies – yes – that was my hope at Vaduz for lunch. And since I’ve had the footlong veggie delite with no veggie patty hundreds of times in the US (and it’s pretty awesome, actually) – I was so set.
Or so I thought.
Dun Dun DUN!!!
Well, this is a drumroll of the different kind – the good and unexpected kind.
Finding India in Switzerland
Before I move on with the story, a quick backup though – what follows next is a fairly common occurrence in Switzerland. There are so many Indian films that are filmed in Switzerland that the Swiss have actually named some of their mountains / lakes after Bollywood directors and actors.
One of Bollywood’s most famous directors Yash Chopra single-handedly increased tourists from India to Switzerland. So much that the Swiss government, as a thank-you to him, commissioned and set up a statue of Chopra at Interlaken, his most favorite go-to spot to shoot. Given the number of Indians who travel to Switzerland every year, coming across Indian restaurants – especially, authentic Punjabi restaurants – in Switzerland is no big deal.
But imagine my astonishment when our guide told me that he had a surprise for me WRT our lunch that day. No Subway necessary, he said. Ok. So I expected vegetarian pasta. Or maybe Margherita pizza?
Well, no.
In a country that seemingly had just one main one main road and maybe 50 side roads in all – when our vehicle pulled up to a restaurant with a fairly giddy guide I was more than a little curious.
And then I saw the name.
Dun dun DUNNNNN!
Schlosse Mahal.
Finding a mini-India in Leichtenstein
Yes. In a country the size of a peanut and fewer people than just one long street in my hometown of Pune – there was AN INDIAN RESTAURANT.
Yes. There was me – finding India in Liechtenstein! It was also one that served a lunch buffet with a smorgasbord of vegetarian options. I spoke Hindi with the owner, ate samosas and kulchas and alu palak for lunch and finished it with rasmalai and masala chai.
YUM!
YUMMIER!
YUMMIEST!
That’s us.
That’s India. That’s Indians.
In India, in Hindi slang, there is a word called Jugaad. Meaning – ‘making it happen.’
Folks – that’s us. That’s India and Indians. We just make things happen. So even if a country is smaller than the average peanut – Indians will get there and make it work.
All I have to say to that is…
Jai Ho!
And wait till I get to Antarctica and see if I can find chole bature and masala chai there!
And I am not even kidding.
The following pcitures I took from the website of the restaurant since I lost the pictures of the food I took that day.
Want to hang out and do more things in Liechtenstein? Check out the following:
