Transcription
Today, we are venturing deep into Europe to uncover one of the world's richest nations. A tiny country, still ruled by royalty, with a population smaller than my NYC street. A place so small that you can literally run across it in just a couple of hours, which I do end up doing for the sake of this video. This is a country where, for $70,000, you can rent out the entire nation for a night. Yet, despite its wealth and uniqueness, it's one of the least visited countries in all of Europe, where most people don't even know where it is. Can I say Germany? Not a country, like a city. It's a place in Romania. It's a country in Europe. Is it? I don't know. Welcome to the nation of Leichtenstein.
So, running begins early in this video. Got to make the train. Running so late. [Music] Well, guys, welcome to BS, Switzerland. I don't believe I've ever heard of this place, but I must say, it is quite beautiful. I feel like there is no such thing as an ugly town here in Switzerland. But BS is supposedly the closest train station to get to the country of Leichtenstein. So now, the plan is to hopefully find a taxi. Definitely not any by me, and make our way to the country. So, I believe this is the taxi queue. And here is the one taxi. Taxi. Uh, Leichtenstein? Yeah. Okay. Would you recognize me by the way that I shiver?
[Music] So, this is where we're going to be staying for the night. Wow. That is unreal. So, this is what you get for $250 per night here in the capital of Leichtenstein. Not too bad. Not too bad at all. I mean, just look at this view. Wow. If I had to guess, that right there is the Royal Palace.
All right, so we made it here to Leichtenstein, and I must say, I do not know much about this country. But the purpose with this adventure is to come here and learn everything there is to know and everything there is to see, which should be easy since this is one of the smallest countries in the world. And we are going to run across the entire thing tomorrow. But as of right now, I don't even know what currency they use, what language they speak, or even what the people from here are called. Leichtensteinian? Leichtensteinish? The only things I do know about this country is that it is absolutely beautiful. And it is one of the richest countries in the entire world. And here's why. Since Leichtenstein has the highest GDP per capita in the entire world, where the royal family has an estimated net worth of over $10 billion. But how did they get so rich? Well, originally, it was from accumulating land and castles throughout central Europe hundreds of years ago. But then, in 1920, they founded the Leichtenstein Global Trust Bank, which is the family's private bank, where they manage hundreds of billions of dollars. Their banks also had very similar regulations and privacy laws just like Switzerland, where Leichtenstein became a very popular place for wealthy individuals to set up accounts and start businesses, which has led to Leichtenstein now having more registered businesses than it does residents, which I totally believe since this country felt like a ghost town. Where is everyone?
So, after about 15 minutes of walking, I made it here to the center of the city, where just check out the view from this parking lot. Kind of shocked there's only 40,000 people that live here when you have parking lots as beautiful as this.
[Music] So, I'm trying to find some Leichtenstein food. But even though it is a Saturday at 6:30 p.m., it appears that nearly everything is closed. I am literally in the center of the capital. Not a single store is open. What is going on?
[Music] All right. Just started raining, and thankfully, I see a restaurant that's open. Got like one option in the whole country here at this uh food festival. Is there like a holiday today? No. How come everything's closed? Um, it's Saturday. Things are closed on Saturday. Yeah. 6:30 on Saturday, everything closes. I think at 5, everything. Wow. Are you called Leichtensteinian? Leichtensteinish. Leichtensteiner. You're a Leichtensteiner. Yes. Leichtensteiner. Well, this is easy. I think they only have one thing on the menu. Can I do uh one of? Can I do the Kastel? What? Sure. Oh, thank you. Enjoy. Okay, so we have our first Leichtensteiner meal. Looks like some type of mac and cheese with an applesauce. Also, I love that they gave me this uh fork that you can uno reverse to a spoon. Wow. Mac and cheese with applesauce. Not too bad. I feel like my 2-year-old niece would love this combo. Well, first day in Leichtenstein was interesting. And now I'm going to head to bed since tomorrow we have a very big day ahead of us.
So, I just mapped out the route and going from the most northern points to the southernmost point of Leichtenstein, it will take about 16.46 miles. So, I am starting off this morning with some Belief Boost Tea, which is my tea company that I created for days like today. Since even on the packaging, we have major challenges awaiting. Optimize your energy and stamina with Boost. Begin with belief. The black tea, yerba mate, and our super tea guayusa, which is from Ecuador, as well as hibiscus, and some passion fruit helps make for the perfect energy tea. Also, check out how cool these new cups are I got made. Going to chug this and then head to the border. Today is going to be a good day.
So, I just came down to the hotel lobby to get a glass of water before I head off on this run, and they charged me $5 US for a cup of water. Forgot how expensive this country is. I need some good water, though. What do you think about? Very expensive. I just paid $5 for a cup of water. It's typically like five bucks for water. Seven. $7 for a glass of water. Yeah. What does water cure cancer?
So, there's only 100 total police officers, but usually only about 20 active. How about 40 active? 40 active police officers. So, that was a 15-minute drive and cost me $115. $115 to go about 15 minutes. That is crazy. As much as I am sad to spend that money, I guess it's good to showcase you guys how expensive this country really is.
So, we have officially made it to the northernmost part of Leichtenstein. This right behind me is Austria, and then right here is Switzerland. Don't fully understand what this sign says, but I believe it's just telling me this is officially where we begin. Every great adventure begins with that first step. Let's officially begin, guys.
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You got to shake it, shake it, shake it. Yeah, shake it 'cause you know it's good. We are now about one mile in, and it's starting to get hot. Shirts coming off. This is by far one of the most beautiful running routes I've ever done. Like, this river right here divides Switzerland to Leichtenstein. So cool to just be running on the border like this. What an experience.
[Music] So, you can rip that path all the way across the country. It is called the Rhine River Path, and it is beautiful. But I want to mix up the scenery a little bit. See more of Leichtenstein. So, currently taking the more scenic route through the neighborhoods. Wow. We're only about 20 minutes in, and this is already one of my favorite adventures to date. Shake it. Shake it. Shake it. Look at all these cute little village homes. I'm going to guess that they do not want me to go that way. This way it is. Of course, it's uphill, too.
Currently 9 and a half miles in, about at the halfway point, and doing a quick stop here at the US embassy. Old faithful McDonald's. All right, so we got a six-piece nuggets with some fries and a water. The meal came out to about $18 US. So, my logic was that McDonald's food is so salty that the salt will help get me through the rest of this run. This may be a horrible idea, but we're about to find out. A few moments later, it's only about 3 minutes later, and I can confirm the McDonald's. Horrible idea.
[Music] So, we are now about 13 miles in, definitely starting to feel a bit more of a challenge. The heat is starting to get to me. There's been a lot of hills. The McDonald's has been a ton of fun. But I think for these last few miles, I am just going to lock in, focus on pounding the pavement, and enjoy this Leichtenstein run. Let's do this.
[Music] Wa! Check this out. Feel like I just found Lord Farquaad's castle. I had a feeling Shrek lived over here. So, if you are doing this run, once you see Lord Farquaad's castle, you've almost made it to the finish line. I can see it now.
[Music] We made it to Switzerland. Oh my gosh. Oh, that dang McDonald's. So, here is Leichtenstein, and there is Switzerland's. Okay, something I didn't think about is what to do once I'm done. I'm about a couple miles away from anything open. So, I think I might have to do a nice little long walk back to civilization.
[Music] So, two weeks ago, I swam from Asia to Europe, and now today, we just ran across the entire country of Leichtenstein. So, as I was doing this run today, I had a lot of time to think. And the main question I asked myself was, why? And I'd say the main reason why I wanted to do this and all of these different adventures comes back to, well, first, I would say it's of course for myself. But one of the other main reasons is because of my grandfather. If you guys have been following the channel for a while, you would know that my biggest inspiration, my hero, was my grandfather. He was president of a textile company and in charge of international sales, where he would take my grandma on all of these different adventures around the world. And he would come back with these super cool souvenirs, as well as all of these incredible travel stories. So, even since I was a little boy, I had my brain programmed that this is how you live a fulfilled life. Living a life where you are creating experiences and memories that you are one day going to be able to tell your grandkids. Creating the ultimate grandpa lore. All this to say, if you are looking for a new adventure and want to check Leichtenstein off your bucket list, highly recommend coming here to do the walk or run across the country. My route was about 16 miles, and honestly, it was so worth it. This is such a beautiful country, and I'm glad I got to see all of it. I never like to go to a country when it is just for about 48 hours since it doesn't feel like you really got to experience it. But when it is a country like this, and you get to see all of it, I feel like we can successfully check Leichtenstein off the list. Times and places are all in who you share them with.