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After the defeat of Napoleon who had annexed the Principality, it became a sovereign country in 1806. To save costs, the army was abolished in 1868. Liechtenstein was a natural ally of the Austrian Empire up to its dissolution in 1918. After that, Liechtenstein got closely linked to Switzerland, using the Swiss Franc as currency and entering into a customs union with Switzerland. Liechtenstein depends on the Swiss army for its defence, though there is no formal treaty to that effect.

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The Prince and his family live and reside in Vaduz Castle above the capital. The Princes moved to Vaduz in 1938 permanently, before that they resided in one of their Czech or Hungarian Castles. The capital of Vaduz has 5,000 inhabitants and has an excellent art museum showing part of the princely art collection.

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Liechtenstein is one of those famous tax havens. Due to the German government involving itself in Liechtenstein internal politics, a major diplomatic impasse has been reached last year. As a direct result, all art works owned by the Prince have been repatriated from Germany and loan agreements with museums cancelled. The major income in Liechtenstein is still from banks and trusts.

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The language spoken is Alemannic, national language is German. It is the only country in the world with only German as a national language. Liechtenstein is a member of the United Nations. Liechtenstein has accredited only seven ambassadors worldwide; otherwise the Swiss ambassadors double in for both countries. Liechtenstein athletes on an international level usually form part of the Swiss national team in the same sport. The Football (Soccer) Club of Vaduz plays in the Swiss Superleague (Premier).

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To confuse the unwary, there are several Liechtenstein connotations due to a thousand years of family history. The Castle of Liechtenstein is situated near Vienna in Austria and belongs privately to the princely family since 1806. It had been the family seat until 1300 when it was sold. There is a new Castle of Liechtenstein just near the original one built in 1820 by the princes, but this has been sold to the local community. And last but certainly not least, there is Liechtenstein Palace in Vienna, Austria, which is owned by the Prince and run as an art museum, showing the greater part of the princely collection.

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Napoleon then reaffirmed all contracts and, the family of Foix having completely perished in the troubles, assumed the part of the counts himself. Since then, the head of state of France is also Prince of Andorra. Nicolas Sarkozy is therefore at this time head of state for both countries. The present Bishop of Seu d'Urgell is still the counterpart in this curious contraption.

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Andorra got its first written constitution in 1993 thereby becoming an institutional monarchy with the two princes in merely representative roles. An exception is made for foreign politics in which both princes have the right to veto any decision by government or parliament. The country uses the Euro without being part of either the European Union or the monetary union behind the Euro.

Andorra is one of those famous tax havens so deplored by politicians who have milked their own countries dry by lining their pockets and those of their followers. Steinbrueck as Minister of Finances in Germany should maybe have a talk with rich and mighty Prince Sarkozy about Andorra, instead of publicly attacking Switzerland, Austria and Luxembourg, where people pay taxes. Andorra doesn't know the word, I think, though a value added tax has come into force some years back at a nominal level.

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The Catholic Church is state religion in Andorra, and Catalan is the national language, though there are large Spanish and French minorities. The main income of the country stems from its banks and from tourism. It is renowned for its skiing with French and Spanish alike. Andorra has no army but relies on Spain and France to protect it instead. It is accounted the largest of the dwarf states in Europe.

Major travel destinations of Charlottetown

Since Charlottetown is situated in the eastern Canada, it gets visitors from other provinces and central Canada. Many people from North United States also come to see this place. It is famous for tours as it has a central location in the province and many other services.

The major attraction of the city is it's street scape. The major Victorian era houses, buildings and the centrally planned downtown core of the streets make the city look very beautiful for a tourist. The waterfront project developed in recent times is another attraction of the city.

There are many tourist attractions in this city but the major attractions of the city which are famous among the tourists are

The provincial legislature

The provincial legislature is one of the major attractions of the city and it is situated at Province House. It hosts the Charlottetown Conference and serves as the Founder Hall. It is a railway maintenance building which was developed recently and it hosts an innovative and interactive history trip and takes the tourist through a trip of Canadian history showing it's development throughout the years and it's development as a nation.

The Confederation Center of Arts

The Confederation Center of Arts is a popular place for art lovers. It is very famous for it's showcase of theater plays. The live theater includes plays and also the Charlottetown Festival during summer months. The center is also famous for it's national art gallery which was acclaimed internationally. Anne of Green Gables - The Musical is the longest running musical here and it is the most popular musical of Canada.

It is a great travel destination for tourists from around the world. Since it is situated at the central part of Canada, every other places of Canada are very easy to travel from this place. A new cruise ship terminal is under construction in this city and once it's completion, it will make the city a more attractive destination for the tourists.

Approximately fifty kilometers to the East of said cairn is the city of Prince George.

In the early 1800's, Simon Fraser, a partner in the North West Company, thinking he was on the Columbia River, followed the river, which now bears his name. In 1807, on the West bank of said river, just South of where it is joined by the Nechako River, he erected a trading post. Mr. Fraser, in honour of King George III, named the post, Fort George.

Now known as Prince George, this city is, literally, the heart of B.C. Located amongst millions of hectares of spruce trees it is known as the Spruce Capital of the World because of its economic base in the logging, and pulping, of spruce.

Small, in comparison to most cities, its population ranges from eighty thousand to one hundred twenty thousand, depending on the economy. It is the commercial hub for the Northern half of the province and people move out, when times are lean, as fast as they moved in, when work was plentiful.

Currently, the economy is on the rise as the new container port in Prince Rupert begins development. As level land is scarce between the steep mountains of the West Coast, containers, once they are unloaded from the ships, will move, from Prince Rupert, by train, to be sorted in Prince George.

The, current, ten hour, drive from Vancouver to Prince George will probably become a, twelve hour, commute with the increase in truck traffic.

Prince George is noted as a summer and winter playground: twenty minutes from downtown will see you; swimming in the summer, hunting in the fall, skiing in the winter, or fishing, any time of the year.

This summer while visiting friends in PG, we were discussing work. My friend had just started driving taxi and one of her first fares had time to kill before catching a flight, the next day. “What is there to do, what is there to see?”, they asked her. She was stumped. She has lived in PG for over thirty years. I had lived there for ten years and I was just as stumped, even though I had, also, driven taxi for a while.

What do Prince Georgians do? Like everyone else they work, they eat, they sleep. For those who live downtown they breath an atmosphere that is not all that pleasant. When visitors ask, they reply, “Ah, that! That is the smell of money!” The perfume from the pulp mills, a byproduct of the chlorine, acid, bleaching process tends to drift down the valley into the bowl.

Prince George is located in the bottom of a bowl. It is often referred to as a giant beach looking for an ocean. The entire area is sand. Consequently the Fraser river turns a dark colour and when it gets to Vancouver the environmentalists blame the logging industry for polluting the river. In truth it is only discolouration, courtesy of Mother Nature.

Gold can be found in the sand, in too small a quantity to be profitable to pan. The loose sand also makes it difficult to build, particularly near the edge of the bowl. The construction of the new university was an engineers' nightmare. Rumours continue to claim that, soon, students won't have to commute to the top of the hill, as the university is gong to slide down to the bottom of the bowl.

`Ones man's garbage is another man's gold', as the saying goes. While the sand may cause problems for some, it provides pleasure for others. The Sand Banks, along the North Nechako River provide skiers one last kick at the cat, come spring. When they have worn out their skis on the two local ski hills, Mt. Tabor, and Purden Mountain, they tune them up for the `Sand Blast'. A yearly event when mayhem overcomes common sense and the skiers fly down the steep sand banks and try to stop before they stumble across the road, into the river.

NIGHTLIFE:

Several neighbourhood pubs, some with live music, several nightclubs, a few with live bands. Live theatre, cinematic theatres, hockey, PG is the home of the Prince George Spruce Kings, the host team for the 2007 RBC Royal Bank Cup, a casino or two, bingo, and my all time favourite, roller skating. Although that will soon come to pass. The fad has worn off over the years and the building is now doomed.

Along with the neighbouring Golf and Curling club, the land has been sold to a developer. Over the next few years the PG Golf and Curling Club will move to a new location along the Nechako River. In its place will be a new hotel and residential subdivision. And lets not forget the newest addition to the PG nightlife, a drive in theatre, which is also home to; a mini golf, and a go cart track.

• Prince George Spruce Kings
• Prince George Golf and Curling
• Prince George Park Drive-In Theatre

DAYTIME:

4X4ing, art galleries, bicycling, bowling, curling, fishing, golfing, at least 5 golf courses, hang gliding, hunting, museums, parks, shopping, ski-dooing, skiing, swimming, tennis, touring the pulp mills, wildlife viewing. Wow! Prince George has all the attractions of a major city, without the commuter hassle, plus all the benefits of a small town.

Oh, did I mention the higher average wage, compared to the city, and the lower average cost of rent, or home purchase.

Excuse me, this narrative will now pause while the narrator packs his bags and moves out of the din of traffic in the big city to the peace and quiet of the Cariboo Valley.

• Prince George Pulp Tours
• Prince George Recreational
• Tabor Mt. Skiing
• Wildlife Viewing

SHOPPING:

Prince George is home to one major shopping plaza and two major malls, in the bowl. Other shopping centers can be found on the North, and the West rims of the bowl. Several super, destination, stores; Canadian Tire, Home Depot, London Drugs, Real Canadian Superstore, Staples, Wal-Mart, etc. can be found; downtown, at the foot of Peden Hill, and near the entrance to College Heights.

College heights, a residential district in the South West corner of the city has, over the past few years, expanded further to the West as the city enjoys an increase in property values as construction expands.

Prince George Shopping

EDUCATION:

Prince George hosts four colleges and a University. CNC, the College of New Caledonia, has branch colleges in many of the towns in Northern B. C. UNBC, the university of Northern B. C., is a satellite of UBC, the University of British Columbia, in Vancouver.

• Prince George Education
• CNC
• UNBC

MEALTIME:

Restaurants of most ethnicities, abound, as do smצrgוsbords (Buffets to Americans). Culinary delights for all tastes, and budgets.

Though I can no longer do justice to a smצrgוsbord, smצrgוsbords in Prince George used to close their doors when they saw me coming, I still enjoy the variety of choice that is offered. One of my favourites is The Caribou Steak and Seafood Restaurant. Always a great selection of; roast beef, ham, mashed potatoes, pirogies, etc. a great salad bar, desert bar, pleasant atmosphere, and great service. I invariably meet friends there whenever I visit Prince George.

One of my favourites was the Hart Wheel Inn truck stop on the Hart Highway. In the late 80's there were four, really good, Chinese, smorgs, daily. Each of them had a nice selection at noon, a larger selection in the evening, and, on weekends, would add a roast of beef, or ham, or a turkey; and some Canadian style potatoes, and salad.

I haven't been up to the Hart in a while as my friend, Chung, the owner, has opened new and larger premises, The Great Wall Restaurant, near the Fraser River bridge on Hwy 97. This has a much larger selection in its daily smorg.

Another favourite culinary experience was on Sunday mornings. I would phone all my friends, who were generally nursing hangovers, and coax them out of bed to one of the four big breakfast smorgs. I believe the only one left is at Ester's inn. But it is still worth going. Table after table of culinary delights.

A new establishment has opened, next to the Cariboo, `The Waddling Duck'. Their menu offers; air dried bison steak, venison sirloin, nori wrapped ahi tuna, as well as other culinary delights.

One of my all time favourites is Franco's Steak and Spaghetti, 251 George St. Home of the Panzeroti. A panzeroti is, basically, a pizza, folded over, with the edges joined, but they don't use pizza dough, or bread dough, as some restaurants do.

One of my mother's favourite sayings, if something tasted good, was, `That tasted like more'. The first time I had a panzeroti the waitress asked me how it was. I replied, “That tasted like more”. She took me seriously, looked at me startled, and said, “If you can eat another one of those, I'll pay for it”. She paid for it.

• Esther's Inn 1151 Commercial Drive; 1-800-663-6844. Water slide, pool, restaurant.
• Franco's Steak and Spaghetti, 251 George St
• Prince George Restaurants

GETTING AROUND:

Prince George is too spread out to walk to most locations. However it does offer a city bus system.

• Prince George Transit System 24 Hr. Bus Info (250) 563-0011

PARKS:

There are several parks throughout the city. Fort George Park, on the banks of the Fraser River, is the largest, at 65 acres, and is home to the Fraser Fort George Regional Museum, `The Exploration Place', Prince George's Science Center and Museum.

A replica of the old fort has been constructed in the Park. Also, in the park, one can ride on a miniature train, or walk along the bank of the Fraser River.

The Prince George Railway and Forestry Museum is located adjacent to Cottonwood Island Park. There is an 1914 Grand Trunk station and a large array of rolling stock, such as; a 1913 100 ton steam crane, a 1903 Russell Snowplow, and a 1913 first-class Nechako Car. In the forestry part of the museum is a large selection of 1800's machinery.

Cottonwood Island Park offers a pleasant stroll along the bank of the N. Nechako River. The park is open all year and offers; a boat, and canoe, launch, picnic shelter, toilets, and an eleven Km. paved, trail, suitable for; walking, biking, in-line skating, or running, that goes under the bridges and connects to Fort George Park.

Another place to walk or picnic, is Connaught Hill Park. While I was in Prince this summer I discovered, or is that re-discovered, Connaught Hill Park. I have been to the park, more than once, over the years, but have never really noticed it. Just a quick drive through.

When I lived in Prince I was into dogs. I have always been good with cats and dogs and having relayed a story of approaching a strange dog a young lady dared me to try and approach her's.

I followed her to Connaught Hill Park where she; parked her VW bug, instructed her German Shepard to Guard it, then walked away. A while later I approached the car, spoke to the dog, through the closed windows, walked around the car, still talking, then entered the drivers's door. When she returned to the car I was lying across the front seats, the dog licking my face.

This year I took the time to smell the roses. Connaught hill is a wonderful place for; a stroll, a picnic, some picnic tables have their own parking area, or to smell roses, or other flowers, and offers a splendid view of the city.

• Connaught Hill Park
• Cottonwood Island Park
• Fort George Park
• The Prince George Railway and Forestry Museum
• Prince George Parks

ACCOMMODATION:

There are several hotels in the city, four of which represent major chains; Coast, Days Inn, Holiday Inn, and Ramada. The city, and area, also abounds with motels; Economy, Travelodge, Camelot, Carmel, and many others. As well there are numerous BandB's.

CLIMATE:

Prince George has always been noted for short, hot, dry summers and long, cold winters. Over the last few years, due to the increase in surface area of lakes that have been enlarged for hydro electricity production, and global warming, the climate has moderated. Though they still get the odd day of forty below in the winter they no longer get the week after week of fifty below, with the odd day that would reach a high of thirty-five below. Nor do they get the continuous, deep, snowfalls, that they once did.

For some this is a good thing; the elderly don't have huge snowfalls to contend with, the city saves a lot of money on snow removal, and people from the South are more inclined to move in.

However, the down side is less winter employment and a basic industry of the province that is in danger of disappearing.

Because the area around Prince is fairly soft, logging was much easier in the winter when the ground was frozen solid. IE: trucks and equipment could move, off road, without getting stuck. Seasonal employment is a common thing in Canada and nowhere more so than in the Cariboo.

Winter time would see the population of towns, such as Prince, double. Logging companies from other towns, that had work in the summer when the ground was dry, but too steep to log in winter would come to the North during the winter.

As the North is notorious for its cold winters so it was notorious for fly-by-night companies. Quick-buck artists would come to town in the fall and leave, just a quickly, in the spring, owing their suppliers money. They would stay in motels, make arrangements for fuel, tires, employees, etc., and leave town, owing everyone.

Such companies are great for seasonal employees such as myself and they are educators for youngsters who have no experience.

One such company came to Prince, one winter and I drove a logging truck for them. At the end of the season I went to work one morning to find, nothing. No one. Gone. I enquired at the motel where they had been staying. The manager said they had left during the night. All except the logging truck that I had been driving. He was keeping it until they paid their bill.

Sometime later the truck disappeared from his parking lot. I doubt that he ever got paid. I know I never saw my last cheque.

Years later I had a similar experience with a chop stick factory. A man came form overseas, started up a factory to supply the orient with chopsticks made from Alder wood. I started up a logging company to supply him with clear, white alder.

The day after he received a multi million dollar grant from Ottawa he returned to his homeland. None of the workers in the factory received their last paycheque and none of the logging companies were paid for the logs lying in the yard.

I stated earlier that a basic industry of the province is in danger of disappearing. Cypress; elm, fir, pine, and spruce, beetles kill trees. The beetles bore through the bark and mine the phloem - the layer between the bark and the trunk of a tree. They burrow even deeper into the tree to lay their eggs. They live in the summer and hibernate in the winter. Actually what they do is die in the winter. If it is cold enough. To survive they hide under the bark of a tree. It takes many days for cold to penetrate the bark of a tree and many more days for the cold to kill the beetles. Thirty to forty below, for a period of six weeks, will kill the beetles, and their eggs.

It has been many years since the temperatures have stayed that cold for that long a period. Consequently the beetle population is out of control. The forest that the tree huggers of the `90s managed to save from the forest industry have now been lost to nature. Along with many millions of hectares more. The latest maps from the B. C. Forestry show that over half of B. C.'s forests are infested and will be dead within the next few years.

GETTING THERE:

Passenger train service from East to West, Prince Rupert to Jasper, is offered by Via Rail. Greyhound service is offered in all direction as is airline service. The airport in Prince George hosts; Horizon, Jazz, and West Jet, as well as several smaller airlines and helicopter services. There are several flights a day, to and from, major centers in Western Canada, as well as non stop flights to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

The Carnival is bringing back the old times, a strange and fascinating atmosphere of odd elegant aristocrats that are dancing or singing and drinking from a cup, a rich expensive red wine - the kings luxurious atmosphere is all around and as a tourist, the first impression - if you didn't come prepared for this event - is that you are out of place, and it seems that you just stepped into a time capsule and went back in time - times of king and queens and young princes with red dresses and flowers in their blond hair - times of legends are all around you.

The main place for the event is "San Marco Piazza" the most vast area in Venice, where every year the Carnival is starting. The idea started from around 1162, when Venice being a small republic but a strong republic was victorious against Ulrico, Patriarch of Aquileia.

The event contains music, ballet, theater, circus and all the arts that are dear to people's hearts, but some events where lost in time as it was the "Bull Race" - that was probably a very dangerous event in the short streets, bridges and canals of Venice.

The Carnival is having a special " Venice Day" that is the most important part of Carnival. On this day the best performances will delight the participants and will culminate with the famous "Maries F?te" an event that is followed by a grand concert from the best 18th century music traditions, and will end traditionally with the Band of Venice to close a truly Venetian day.

The Mask is a symbol of the Carnival - symbol of the liberty spirit of Venice from old century's. Without an known Identity, everyone could seduce anyone, so social classes were abolished during the carnival, making the art of seduction more exciting, allowing infidelity and the mixing of the social classes. This Carnival was forbidden from 1930 by Mussolini and started again in 1979, today being a industry that is growing because if the Carnival.

The entire city of Venice, islands, peninsula, and mainland will be disguised and animated by masked faces, popular music, and dance and a unique experience that is revealing a world long vanished that is brought back in a celebration of color, music and fully colored festivities. Come and join the Carnival! It's time for you to party!