After leaving Friedrichshafen in Germany, once leaving the lake, I got on a train and went directly to Grusch, a small town on the east side of Switzerland.  I chose this town as it was close-ish to the tiny nation of Liechtenstein and all other places I looked into staying were not open during the winter.

Switzerland is probably the most famous non-EU European country.  I’ve been to this lovely country before but the other side going from Basel to Interlaken to Geneva.  Flights are cheap because cities like Basel, Zurich and Geneva are kind of dead centre in the middle of Europe, thus being a great hub for transferring to somewhere else.

Everything else is definitely not though.  The Franc, seen often as “CHF” the local currency is almost identical to a US$ but everything seems to be 2 – 3 times what would cost in the UK.

This hostel cost me CHF62.60 for two nights, £24 a night.  That’s absolutely unheard of for Switzerland.   But actually, the Sporti Grusch is a restaurant for skiers and snowboarders, with three rooms in the basement.

This is my room.   The bunk is built into the wall.    I didn’t have to share with anyone. There is a shared bathroom which you have to go outside to use.    This is a great place for a scouts or youth group I think.   I’m used to simple places to sleep so this is quite adequate for me.   There is no lounge to sit and read.    So during evenings I sat in the restaurant with usual Swiss prices and drink tea.   Beer is about £9/pint, food is also very high so I visited a local shop.

This was parked next to my hostel.   It seems Swiss landowners can’t rely on local municipality services to clear snow and have the means to clear it themselves.  This 1990s Toyota truck has been adapted for this purpose.

GERMANY 1. Dachau concentration camp – 2. BMW museum – 3. BMW World futuristic showroom – 4. Neuschwanstein Castle – 5. 1972 Munich Olympics village – 6. Tourism and going out in Munich – 7. Deutsches Museum – 8. Business in the UK, Germany and Israel – 9. Friedrichshafen, a pleasant German town on a lake

SWITZERLAND 1. Trying to do ‘cheap’ Switzerland – 2. The town of Grusch – 3. Clever Swiss made things – 4. Train from Grusch to Zurich – 5. Zurich, the more liberal Switzerland – 6. Swiss dinosaurs

LIECHTENSTEIN 1. Plans – 2. Getting into this tiny nation – 3. Motorbikes, cars and kebab shops in Vaduz, Liechtenstein – 4. Small country topography – 5. Road up to the castle – 6. The Prince’s castle and vineyard – 7. bars, shops, Olympics – 8. Tiny country, big output – 9. Vaduz church – 10. Government buildings and museums