Phenomenal stay at the AIRBNB.The BNB at Valens was phenomenal and we rose early and ate a large swiss breakfast. The host had provided us with lots of fruits, yogurt, cheese, bread, etc. We needed to catch the first bus out of the hilly and mountainous place in order to reach the foot of the town, Bad Ragaz, and the journey to Bregenz was anticipated to be a long ride.

Although this is the last stage bounded by high mountains, the going is mainly level. After a short stretch away from the Rhine, the riverbank is followed for 28 km to reach the Austrian border St. Margretten. Crossing into Austria and skirting the Rhein delta, where the river enters Bodensee (Lake Constance), the stage ends at the lakeside resort of Bregenz, Austria.

Slight Detour

We headed to Mels which is a slight detour from our original plan in order to see Seerenbach Falls and the Rin Spring. To get to the foot of the fall, we needed to catch a bus but because of time constrain, we abandoned the idea of getting to the Seerenbach falls. From Mels, we headed to Sargans then to Vild, and then crossed Gagoz to join the river again. I think we lost about 1.5 hours in the diversion to Mels.

We cycled along the Rhine River, then we crossed over to the Liechtenstein side, Vaduz can be seen on right, with Royal Palace rising above. We had an opportunity to taste the fruity grapes at Liechtenstein and I bet it was one of the sweetest grapes that we had ever tasted. Liechtenstein is a small rich town and we had a nice lunch with local wine and beer ( a restaurant just below the castle).

The Little Rich Country - Liechtenstein

Fürstentum Liechtenstein is one of Europe’s smallest countries but is also the world’s second richest in terms of GDP per capita. The country came into being in 1719 when Anton Florian of Liechtenstein (in Lower Austria) purchased Lordships of Schellenberg and Vaduz and combined them into one principality. The new ‘prince’ and his successors did not visit their country for 120 years. Indeed, the royal family continued living in Vienna until 1938, when the Anschluss (political union) between Germany and Austria threatened the position of the prince’s Jewish wife. Following the Second World War, Liechtenstein was in a poor financial position. However, a policy of low corporate taxation and banking confidentiality has attracted many companies and rich individuals, drawing huge investment into the principality. Liechtenstein today is in a customs union with Switzerland and uses Swiss francs. There are no immigration facilities at the border, but if you want your passport stamped the tourist office is happy to oblige.

We were tight for time and as soon as we finished our lunch, we cycled towards Schaan joined the river again near Buchs and from Buchs station, we followed Bahnhofstrasse and continued into Werdenberg, with its castle on a small hill overlooking the lake and surrounded by old houses. Although now swallowed up by Buchs, Werdenberg is regarded as the smallest town in Switzerland. Then for the next 3 km, we cycled through a small town called Grabs then into Gams, and then continued to Frumsen. Then we passed through villages and continued on Holengass, rising over the small ridge before dropping down towards Sennwald.

Just before the village, we turned sharply right onto the main St Gallen–Chur road and immediately then to Sagengass. From Senwald, we cycled another 28 Km to reach St. Margrethen passing through the towns of Oberriet - Altstätten – Widnau. It has been a long journey and we were getting a little tired.

Just before reaching St Magrethen, we crossed the Swiss–Austrian border to head to Bregenz following the river past Höchst. Then continued, passing under the main road between Fussach and Bregenz. At this point, the route joins Bodensee Radweg (BR).

St. Margrethen lies at the entrance to the Rhine Valley between St. Gallen and Bregenz, on the Swiss-Austrian border. Its border location, the recreational area along the Alter Rhein, and the mineral health spa offer leisure attractions galore. We did not divert into St Margrethen as we would be doing it tomorrow and instead headed towards Hard in Austria. As we crossed the Swiss border into Austria, we noticed cleanliness standards were changing although still considered clean. We had an authentic Austrian meal for dinner at a local restaurant next to our apartment. Since it was a long day, we decided to call it a day early. Most of the cycle route was along a flat terrain along the Rhine River and the weather was excellent – sunny and cool and this allowed us to shoot aerial photography using our Drone.