Searching for the real Heidi

On our way from Lake Garda to our last stop in Liechtenstein we passed through Switzerland, and just before crossing the border to Liechtenstein, we noticed a sign along the highway pointing to "Heididorf" (Heidi village !).

I was VERY curious if this actually had anything to do with that beloved literary creation of Johanna Spyri so we drove back there the following day. And guess what? Heididorf (better known as Maienfeld) is THE village featured and named in the Heidi books and was where Heidi, Peter and Clara lived!! Apparently Johanna Spyri spent several summers in and around Maienfeld in the years between 1845 and 1852 and was inspired by the beauty of the surrounding area.

Wandering through the charming little village you are transported back in time, and I can imagine that it still looks the same as it did when Heidi "lived" there :-) You can visit the original Heidi house, but the highlight for most people is the "experience path". This path leads from Heidi's village up to the very alpine meadow where she spent her summers with her grandfather, Peter and the goats!

There are 12 stops along the way; each stop relates back to an event in the book and includes an excerpt of text on a board - stops include the Little Bear & Little Swan natural spring where they always stopped for a refreshing drink on the way up the mountain; the spot where Alm-Uncle collected his firewood; a view to the Eagle's Nest; Peter's place; the tree house; and the last stop is Heidi's alpine meadow itself. With no food or water with us, and wearing flip flops as footwear, we only made it to Peter's place before deciding it was probably better to turn back instead of risking bad weather higher up! Still got to see Heidi's house though :-)

Oh and it's true, the cows in Switzerland really DO wear bells! As we wandered up the hill towards the alpine meadow the romantic tinkling of cowbells drifted through the air :-)

Alli xxx