"Princess Gina Trail" (Fürstin-Gina Weg) in Liechtenstein

Sunday September 30, 2018 -- They are calling this the "Neverending Summer", and the last day of September was, as the cliché so nicely puts it: "The icing on the cake".

The "Princess Gina Trail" (named after Countess Georgina von Wilczek, Pricess of Liechtenstein) is one we've had our eye on for a long time now, and the weather forecast was perfect for this eastern part of the country, or rather the country to the East! A bus ride took us from Sargans in Switzerland across the Rhine River and the border to Vaduz in Liechtenstein, then high up Mount Triesenberg to the little ski village of Malbun, perfectly nestled in a fabulous ring of mountains, whose ridge was the goal of our hike.

The hike along this ridge rates as one of the most spectacular I've done to date, or maybe it was just the perfectly clear weather which made you feel you could see all the way from the Atlantic to the Baltic, or in any case very far across the Austrian Alps, as we were walking mostly along the border of the two countries (Liechtenstein and Austria). And on the other side, always looking down at the village and beyond to the Alpstein Massif in Eastern Switzerland.

The excursion starts with a cable car to the ridge, but to close the loop there was a long drawn-out wide trail which I found rather monotonous, but the first part had loads of variety to make up for that.

It's a very popular trail, and so there were loads of people up here, but we were prepared for this, and it was still one of the best I've done. PLUS we got to witness the flight of a Golden Eagle up close, albeit a trained one, but still....

Oh, and about an hour after we got back home it got cold and snowed to low elevations.... Perfect Timing...

Heading up Mount Triesenberg in Liechtenstein by bus... what beautiful early morning lighting, the wide flat Rhine Valley with the river that separates the two countries, Liechtenstein on the left, Switzerland on the right and at the back.

After a short peaceful ride up with the chairlift, we can see the entire ridge we're going to walk, to the highest point Mount Augstenberg, then a bit beyond and back over the saddle on the right.

There was a group of people getting information about the Golden Eagle and its use in Falconry. We were close enough to watch it fly. Also, those nails...

An added treat: To see a Golden Eagle up close. It is called the King of the Alps

Walking along the "Princess Gina Trail". The highest point of the trail is Mount Augstenberg, on the right.

All along this ridge we looked down into the cauldron to the ski village of Malbun

Clear views forever and ever

A couple of places you had to watch your step but it wasn't difficult

On the way up to the summit the view East into Austria kept getting more and more spectacular

The last stretch was a labyrinth of rocks, rather steep but not difficult

At the summit

At the summit of Mount Augstenberg, looking North

And one more spectacular view East

Too many people on the summit, we didn't stay long

On the West side is the road that we had to walk to get back to Malbun

At this place I am standing in Austria and Urs is standing in Liechtenstein

The descent was fun. First to the Pfälzerhütte (hostel) way on the left, then to the ridge on the right where we had lunch, then down the steep road which I did not like.

Steps and handrails made this steep section no issue to navigate. There were several dogs on the trail, and they had no problem either!

This is the Pfälzerhütte Hostel, the goal for all the hikers to have lunch here on this splendid day. It smelled fabulous, but we hate the crowds so we moved on to a secluded picnic spot.

This part was a long monotonous road besides being uphill. I wasn't a fan. Over the saddle is the final long steep descent back to Malbun.

Looking backwards to the summit of Mount Augstenberg, before heading back down to Malbun.

Last steep descent to Malbun. On the other side you can see the chair lift we took up to the ridge to the start of the hike.

The Princess Gina Trail. 11 km, takes about 4 hours.

This trail was in the Alps on the border of Liechtenstein and Austria. By car it would be a trip of 1.5 hours, but with public transport it was a 3-hour trip each way from our home in Zug