The Swing Trail

Hiking is one of the most popular activities to do in the Alps during the non-winter months. The weather is typically perfect for it and the views are frequently breathtaking. Here in Liechtenstein we have no shortage of hiking trails with over 400 kilometers of maintained trails in a country that's only 160 square kilometers.

With that many trails to go along with the hiking opportunities across the borders in Switzerland and Austria we're never more than 30 minutes away from a stunning stroll through nature. But with my parents in town this week we've decided to stay in Liechtenstein and take them to one of the most popular trails in Malbun - The Swing Trail.

After taking a chair lift from from Malbun to the Saries mountain station the trail begins is graceful decent back into the Malbun valley with swings every few 1,000 meters that overlook the village below. Since we are hiking in the fall the weather in the area has already begun to turn and our morning hike began in the mist. At this point, Amanda (and Charlotte & Olivia) wanted me to make a Frozen II reference. I decline.

 

A few meters down the trail we encountered a very large bird and at first thought it was there hunting it's next meal.

As soon as it took off though we noticed that it had a tether trailing behind it so someone from the local Falconry club must be practicing for the day.

I tracked it with my camera for as long as I could but it eventually disappeared into the mist.

Only to re-appear with it's handler a few hundred meters further down the path.

After passing by the bird the mist began to clear and we got our first good view of the village below and mountains on the other side of the valley

A few paces further down we came to our first swing set of the hike!

As we continued down we crossed over mountain streams, watched the mist travel up the mountain and took a family photo on our way to the next swing.

At this point we had exhausted our snacks and were approaching lunch time. And we could tell this by the pace at which our youngest daughter decided to take the rest of the way down the path.

While the rest of the family tried to catch up, Olivia got another swing in and then it was off to the restaurant for lunch.

In total it took around 2 hours for us to descend the five and a half kilometers back to the base of the chairlift and even though it was entirely downhill we certainly felt as if we'd earned the Schnipo (Schnitzel mit Pommes) that awaited us!

Hilti Day!

Every few years our company, Hilti, opens the doors on a Saturday and invites all employees and their family members to celebrate all the contributions everyone makes. I have to say we were extremely impressed with the events of the day. We started with a tour of my office that sits inside one of our distribution centers. The girls got to learn about proper shipping techniques, send packages around the building on our automated conveyors, ride a forklift, and see where Daddy sits at work every day inside "the big office".

No, you may not speak with my supervisor. I am the supervisor.

Next we bussed over to the main campus in Schaan where the party really started. Henry Hilti was roaming the area handing out candy to the kids and there were face painting booths, a magic show, a train ride, a retro Hilti van and free food everywhere!

Girls watching a magic bubble show

After lunch we toured some of the other building on campus. Each of the departments did an amazing job of creating activities for the kids. The girls favorites were the climbing wall, fishing for anchors and dressing up as Fire(wo)men (because we have a manufacturing plant, Liechtenstein law also requires we have a fire station on campus).

We ended our Hilti Day experience with a ride on the Hilti "Balloon"

The foot holes to get into the basket are the perfect size for a 2-year-old to see out

It was a fantastic day and a great tangible reminder of how fortunate we are to work with a company that values their employees and their families!

Lenzerheide Globi Trail

Many of the mountain hikes have little family friendly theme trails. We loved this little one we did this week. Globi, a mythical bird with human-length legs or human with a bird-like face, hosts this educational theme trail that has 13 posts along the way and a ton of beautiful mountain views!

The whole loop was just over 6km (3.7 miles). My FitBit read 12,700 steps at the end of the day … we don’t always walk the most direct path… But man was it worth it.

We started by taking the chair lift up.

Then off on the trail we went!

About every quarter mile or so, there was a station to read, or play, or just rest. The “marble” run and the swings at the top of the mountain were our favorites.

We also loved just running out in the open.

Until the two year old legs gave out

But then we found some friends

And at the end we found a café with a playground…and ice cream.

I have to pinch myself every now and then that this is just a typical Saturday activity now.