"Why did you choose to go to Vaduz?" was the question I was asked the most during my last 2 weeks at school in Fribourg (Switzerland). The truth is I have no idea, my mum thought I'd choose a big city like Munich or Vienna to learn German but experiencing a mountain town appeals to me more than being in a big city. I hope I've made the right choice.
I come from a small village, Fey, with 761 inhabitants in the Swiss countryside. My mother, brother and sister decided to come with me to Vaduz for my Erasmus. So we set off for a few hours' drive across Switzerland. I can't wait to discover the university, the city in the mountains and life in a shared flat.
A month has gone by already, and I can't see much difference between Switzerland and Liechtenstein. I do my shopping at the Coop, which is a chain that also exists in Switzerland. It's a shop where the food is written in 3 languages (French, German and Italian) so I don't even have to bother translating the packaging. The currency is also in Swiss francs, so I'm used to it. Where I'm surprised is that I can't pay with my Swiss card because I'm taxed on it, so I often have to pay cash to limit the charges. I find it very strange to have to use cash again, as we're so used to using bank cards and Twint (payment by phone) these days.
One thing I've noticed that's different is the car number plates. I can see that the people of Liechtenstein are very proud of their number plates. It's true that they're stylish, they have a black background which gives a certain class when you have a car of the same colour. What I found very funny was that grandparents sometimes give their plates to their grandchildren so that they have plates with a very low number. I'm not a big car fan, but I think it's funny that everyone wants to have a very low number.
I was also very surprised by the public transport. Vaduz is very well served by bus, so I don't need a car. After that I come from a small village so I know I can't get a bus every 10 minutes to get where I want to go, I'm used to doing things according to a timetable. I was surprised that my Swiss season ticket worked in Liechtenstein, which was a relief for me because public transport is expensive.
The city of Vaduz reminds me of Fey. People say hello to each other when they meet, even if they don't know each other. Sometimes I've even interacted with people from Vaduz because of my French accent when I speak German. So, it gives me a chance to talk to people and they tell me what they love about the city. I've even been invited to have coffee at the home of someone I met on a bus. I'm happy to be back in the 'village' values that I love so much. The biggest change for me is the landscape, which is very mountainous, and I know that's probably what I will miss when I get home.
One big change is that Liechtenstein is a principality. I was completely unaware of this, even though I live in the country next door. I found it very strange that this family still lives in the castle. Even though I find the castle very beautiful, I think I must have a hundred photos of it on my phone. When my family took me to Vaduz, we wanted to visit the castle because we'd thought it was a museum (which is often the case in Switzerland), but we felt really stupid when we realised we were standing in front of the door of a house.
The festivities are also very different, here in Liechtenstein they celebrate Carnival. It was incredible to see so many people in this village celebrating and listening to this music, which is very special. I'm in a Protestant country and it's the Catholics who celebrate Carnival earlier. There was also one evening when there was"Funknen", a festival where they burn a big pile of wood to make the winter go away. I found it very impressive.
So even though we're side by side, there are still some differences. And I can't wait to find out what else this country has in store for me. :)