Liechtenstein invaded

[djm]

are the Swiss still using those pikes they were so famous for?

So, are you calling the Swiss a bunch of pikers?

djm

[Jack]

C'mon, guys, you're all better than that.

Um..actually we're not...

This is precious and I love you for it.

[Flyingcursor]

C'mon, guys, you're all better than that.

Um..actually we're not...

This is precious and I love you for it.

Thanks Cran. I have my moments.

BTW, I haven't sent the book yet because I'm a lazy scoundral.

[Wombat]

On another note, are the Swiss still using those pikes they were so famous for? Man, I remember in 1632 I saw those dudes with 18 foot pikes and just about lost my lunch. Scarey stuff.

The ones who strut the Vatican still do. Why they defend the Vatican rather than Switzerland is a mystery to me—I guess it's all about real estate values. It's more than my life's worth to tell you what they use the pikes for now.

All of which brings me to ask the obvious question: were the Swiss Guard the guys who got lost in Leichtenstein? Now if you were an innocent farmer and chanced upon that lot dressed up in ruffs and carrying those probes you'd swear you'd landed in a Monty Python sketch. Well, a Rowan Atkinson sketch at the very least. Scarey stuff indeed.

[Flyingcursor]

are the Swiss still using those pikes they were so famous for?

So, are you calling the Swiss a bunch of pikers?

djm

Certainly not Amar! He rocks.

[MTGuru]

C'mon, guys, you're all better than that.

Um..actually we're not...

.....

On the other hand what kind of bike were you riding? What size tires? How long did the trip take and how were you equipped? There are a lot of cyclists here who'd really like to know.

Yeah, I've got to keep that story from Fel next time I see him here, or I won't hear the end of it.

The bike was some clunky piece of junk I rented at the train station in Buchs, Switzerland, right across the river. 26" balloon tires, heavy steel frame, 3 speed thumb lever on the bars, front caliper brake and rear pedal brake. Kind of like the Raleigh I had as a kid, but no handlebar streamers or baseball card in the spokes.

Liechtenstein really *is* small, roughly 5 miles by 12 miles. So for the geek factor alone it was cool to be able to pedal through 3 different countries in the space of an hour.

At one point I spent half a day walking the bike a few thousand feet up the mountains through heavily wooded trails and beautiful scenery. Then I met the main paved road and coasted back down in about 5 minutes flat at 70 mph. No helmet, nothing. A great ride, but talk about white knuckles. Ah, foolish youth.

[MTGuru]

The Mouse that Roared was reputed to have been modelled on Leichtenstein in a loose sort of way. But have you actually seen the film? If you did you must have left your sense of humour at home.

Sure, saw the film, read the book, Leonard Wibberly. A spoof of the Marshall Plan. As I said, the invasion bit is funny. And you're right about small countries and power relations. But I live in a place whose official current policy is that the sovereignty of any country is by our permission. So I get a bit testy at our national tendency to make not entirely innocent fun of smaller countries like Liechtenstein, or Australia ...

OK, no rubber room. Back to the other side of the tracks to obsess about whistles.

[amar]

I could comment on this post. But then I'd have to kill you all.
Rats, too late.

[koktach]

This reminds me of a joke made by Robbin Williams on one of his stand up show.

What do you expect from an army, that has a wine opener on it's army knife?

P.S: Comming from a small country myself, it's not just that your neighbours allow you to live there, here in Slovenia it's a matter of centuries trying to get some authonomy and in the end independace. It's usually not fun to have your language supressed, being called a tribe instead of nation and all that stuff. But that's history

[Innocent Bystander]

This reminds me of a joke made by Robbin Williams on one of his stand up show.

What do you expect from an army, that has a wine opener on it's army knife?

P.S: Comming from a small country myself, it's not just that your neighbours allow you to live there, here in Slovenia it's a matter of centuries trying to get some authonomy and in the end independace. It's usually not fun to have your language supressed, being called a tribe instead of nation and all that stuff. But that's history

I'm really surprised at this kind of attitude by a bunch of people who are supposed to play Irish Traditional Music.


(Independance for the Ards Penisula!)

[fearfaoin]

Maybe I'm outdated, but the last I heard Liechtenstein uses the Swiss Franc as currency, relies on the Swiss for military protection, shares economy with the Swiss, and all that jazz. It just seems kinda stubborn to say "We're an independent country," because, really, they're not.

The wikipedia article is somewhat helpful. It looks like before WWII,
Lichtenstein was up there with Switzerland in the financial world. I'm
sure some of the reason it still exists separately is because many rich
people use it as a tax shelter. The rest of the reason might deal with
politics.

Why are Vermont and New Hampshire still separate states? Well, why
bother changing it?

I'm sure if Quebec ever seceded from Canada (as exactly half of the
population wanted to do every time they voted on it), 50 years later
people would ask "Why is Quebec a country? Everyone there is
Canadian."

[Flyingcursor]

C'mon, guys, you're all better than that.

Um..actually we're not...

.....

On the other hand what kind of bike were you riding? What size tires? How long did the trip take and how were you equipped? There are a lot of cyclists here who'd really like to know.

Yeah, I've got to keep that story from Fel next time I see him here, or I won't hear the end of it.

The bike was some clunky piece of junk I rented at the train station in Buchs, Switzerland, right across the river. 26" balloon tires, heavy steel frame, 3 speed thumb lever on the bars, front caliper brake and rear pedal brake. Kind of like the Raleigh I had as a kid, but no handlebar streamers or baseball card in the spokes.

Liechtenstein really *is* small, roughly 5 miles by 12 miles. So for the geek factor alone it was cool to be able to pedal through 3 different countries in the space of an hour.

At one point I spent half a day walking the bike a few thousand feet up the mountains through heavily wooded trails and beautiful scenery. Then I met the main paved road and coasted back down in about 5 minutes flat at 70 mph. No helmet, nothing. A great ride, but talk about white knuckles. Ah, foolish youth.

[Flyingcursor]

C'mon, guys, you're all better than that.

Um..actually we're not...

.....

On the other hand what kind of bike were you riding? What size tires? How long did the trip take and how were you equipped? There are a lot of cyclists here who'd really like to know.

Yeah, I've got to keep that story from Fel next time I see him here, or I won't hear the end of it.

The bike was some clunky piece of junk I rented at the train station in Buchs, Switzerland, right across the river. 26" balloon tires, heavy steel frame, 3 speed thumb lever on the bars, front caliper brake and rear pedal brake. Kind of like the Raleigh I had as a kid, but no handlebar streamers or baseball card in the spokes.

Liechtenstein really *is* small, roughly 5 miles by 12 miles. So for the geek factor alone it was cool to be able to pedal through 3 different countries in the space of an hour.

At one point I spent half a day walking the bike a few thousand feet up the mountains through heavily wooded trails and beautiful scenery. Then I met the main paved road and coasted back down in about 5 minutes flat at 70 mph. No helmet, nothing. A great ride, but talk about white knuckles. Ah, foolish youth.

Frankly I'd rather have that heavy frame and balloon tires at that speed. My top speed was 35 going down hill. With a helmet! I guess I'm a coward or something.

[meemtp]

Heheh...the Swiss Guards' pikes are just part of the ceremonial gear. Under all those fancy clothing are real weapons. Also the guards who are not out on "display" usually wear fatigues. The vatican has an arsenal too. No tanks or anything, but if they need them, the Swiss Guards have automatic weapons, grenades etc. They're a highly trained, elite force with very selective entrance criteria.

I can't remember the name of it, but there's a great book that examined the Swiss military in WW2. Basically, your average Swiss was armed to the teeth, was a better marksman than Hitler's troops, willing to fight to the death, the country had massive stockpiles of sophisticated armaments and the country was pretty much one big fortification. Man for man the Swiss Air Force performed better than the Luftwaffe. During some incursions by the Germans into Swiss airspace, the Swiss air force usually shot down 5-6 German plans for every one of theirs. Most of the time they nailed several Germans without losing any of their planes. Essentially, Hitler could have attacked Switzerland (and he wanted to) but would have had to give up another front to be able to have enough troops and equipment to even make any headway and there was a question that even with the resources that the Swiss stood a good chance of winning. The Germans drew up war plans but the were all shelved as too risky. Carries some weight considering that Hitler thought it was a good idea to tick off the Russians and get trounced, but feared Switzerland. Fascinating story....