Vaduz
Capital of Liechtenstein, below the princely castle on the Rhine valley side.
At a glance
| Source | Author | Role | In one line |
|---|---|---|---|
| Neither Here Nor There | Bill Bryson | setting | An undistinguished little capital under a Wizard-of-Oz castle. |
Neither Here Nor There — Bill Bryson (1991)
Source: Readwise highlight
Vaduz is not terribly picturesque, but its setting is memorable.
- Role: setting
- In the book: Chapter 18. The town sits at the foot of a 6,700-foot mountain, overlooked by the “gloomy and fortresslike royal Schloss, looking uncannily like the Wicked Witch’s castle in The Wizard of Oz”. Despite its long history the town “looks as if it were built twenty years ago in a hurry”. He stays at the Hotel Engel, whose one virtue is a balcony over the church and square.
- Why it matters: Vaduz is the whole of his satirical portrait of Liechtenstein, the smallest stop of the trip, before he walks across the Rhine into Switzerland to catch a train for Austria.