“Heidi for Swiss people is a holy story” he explained. “That could be why we have 12 signs along the HeidiWeg: like the stations of the Cross.  It is a story of freedom and kindness and faith. That’s why the whole world  eventually comes up here— visitors from all five continents.  Yet, Heidi  is also a national story for it expresses the essence of traditional Swiss mountain life.”

Luis Karner enjoys playing Heidi’s grandfather because he enjoys people and finds it a peaceful job. “We don’t do this Disney-style” he boasts. “We don’t push the fictional element so much. This is our antidote to Pokemon and Potter (Harry, that is). We’re more relaxed and real.”

When I arrived, he had just said goodbye to a group of young Japanese hikers. They had made him a gift: an origami swan mobile that he’d already hung in his hut, and they left him a stack of  origami paper to while away the long evenings. 

There was rich grazing land immediately above the hut, but then came a mass of tangled undergrowth, leading to bare and rugged peaks.

“It is warm” he announced suddenly,  “I’ll bring you a very nice cold drink.” While he was busy at the little oil-cloth covered table inside his dim hut, I sat at the picnic table outside the door. I had a wide-angle view that was nothing less than magnificent. The June day was brilliant, blue and cloudless and I could see to the Falknis, the highest mountain here at 8,406 feet and had a sweeping view hundreds of miles across the Rhine Valley. 

He emerged with a glass pitcher and poured me a tall drink of the most delicious beverage I  have ever tasted. If fine French perfume had a flavor, this would be it. The drink was cold  fresh and delightfully fragrant. “Elderflower water,” Mr. Alpöhi smiled.  In spring, he picks the snow-white flowers in the emerald meadows and makes from them this cool drink for his visitors which he says they all love. 

It was in these moments sitting with “Uncle Alp” listening to the soft song of cowbells,  gazing at the clean lines of the snow-capped Alps and drinking  fragrant flower water that it all came together.  I felt connected to that moment and to the moments nearly a half century earlier when I lay in bed and dreamed of having these moments and the two times were one.

In the next three days I discovered more of Heidiland, a region intensely inspired by Johanna Spyri’s book.  Best of all, I  gained insight into how this land inspired her. Suffering from  depression, Johanna Spyri believed that two things could cure it: 

1. Gazing on the sublime beauty of the Alps.
2. Taking the warm mountain mineral waters.

Johanna Spyri traveled each year from her home in Zurich to Maienfeld for the views, and to Bad Ragaz for the waters.  Today,  Bad Ragaz is a pretty and  peaceful spa town. From Bad Ragaz you can take the bus that runs every thirty minutes up to Bad Pfafers at the Tamina Gorge. With a  sound like ocean roar, hot mineral water rushes out of an Alpine gorge into a deep, fern-filled ravine. Standing on the wooden catwalk that hugs the narrow gorge,  I saw an awesome sight. Nature both at its most violent and beneficial. The force of the water is so great that it creates a kind of sauna in the ravine, mysterious and sublime. In the fifteenth century a monastery once straddled the ravine. The monks rightly figured the churning hot waters could cure many illnesses and they would lower hapless blindfolded souls by straw basket from the cliff hundreds of feet above, dipping them in the curative water. This vertiginous practice continued until the early eighteenth century when a grand bath house complete with chapel and hospital was built on the site, later enticing worldwide luminaries such as Thomas Edison, Franklin Roosevelt, Oscar Wilde and of course, Johanna Spyri.  Today the renovated complex boasts a museum, restaurant, snack bar and souvenir shop yet its remarkable location astride the gorge still evokes a Baroque romance. 

Throughout the Rhine Valley, I saw that the delights of Heidiland were many,  far beyond nostalgia for the book itself.  As in Johanna Spyri’s day, Bad Ragaz remains a center for the most advanced European spa treatments that  are  unknown in the United States but sound ever so tantalizing such as “grape leaf body wraps” and “wine soaks.” Certainly the curative Alpine mineral water is a delight at the Tamina Spa, the impossibly clean and elegant public baths in the town’s center.

The surprisingly inexpensive spa ($5.00 admission) boasts several indoor and outdoor pools and treatments. I particularly enjoyed the outdoor pool with its view of Alpine peaks, its massaging water jets for the back, and its central waterfall that is perfect for kneading the kinks out of  suitcase-carrying shoulders. 

In Bad Ragaz as in the other small towns and villages of  Graubunden, visiting Heidiland is comfortable and easy. Hiking and biking trails are everywhere, many designed for families. The lakes offer fishing, swimming, sailing, pedal boating and windsurfing. Best of all the transport is made easy. You can pick up a ready made “Heidi Box Lunch”, take the “Heidi Shuttle” to the main Heidi sites or you can take the “Heidi Express” that runs through to the Bernese Oberland for what is said to be the most spectacular high Alpine views in Switzerland. Accommodations in Heidiland can suit any budget. They range from the Grand Hotel Quellenhof Spa and Golf Resort in Bad Ragaz, Switzerland’s only 5-star hotel in a small town, to numerous comfortable and pretty 3-star inns,  to cheery youth hostels, some boasting family rooms.  Families especially might want to take advantage of  Graubunden’s new Sleep in the Straw program which offers nearly 250 bed and breakfast farm stays in which you and your children can not only observe and even partake in traditional Swiss farming life but you can bed down as Heidi did, on a fluffy hill of fresh, sweet straw. 

Graubunden is also a wine producing region, home of  the famous “blue burgundy.”  And, it is rich in gastronomic treats.  Brook side cafes and mountain inns offer a variety of regional delights including grilled lake carp, meadow flower salad,  local cheeses and of course locally-made Swiss chocolate delicacies. 

With jewel-like baroque churches,  historic villages, mirror-clear recreational lakes and a magnificent network of hiking trails, Graubunden is an ideal family or honeymoon destination. The perfect antidote to our disquieting world. 

I left Heidiland having completed a quest since childhood yet knowing I would return. I will come back to Graubunden for its soul-inspiring scenery, natural mineral spas, and fresh food make Heidiland as seductive a region as it eternally appears in the beloved children’s classic. 

If You Go

A visit to Heidiland works well for all budgets.  If you want ultimate pampering, then the grand Hotel Quellenhof, Switzerland’s only 5-star hotel that is not in a big city, would be ideal. 
Tel. +41 (0)81 303 30 30
Fax +41 (0)81 303 30 33
reservation@resortragaz.ch
www.resortragaz.ch

Switzerland, to my mind, has the best hotels in the world, so a moderately priced hotel, such as the one I stayed in, The Cristal, is always a delight and a bargain. The Cristal is not only cleaner than clean, but boasts walking distance from the train station, tranquility, fabulous Alpine views from the dining room and excellent food. 

Cristal Hotel
Bahnhofstrasse 36
7310 Bad Ragaz
Tel:081-302-77-77.

If you’re budget is very tight, consider Heidi’s Backpacker  Hostel, also walking distance from the train station. It’s  clean, comfortable and has both single and family rooms, garden and a BBQ area.

Heidi’s Backpacker
Bahnhofstrasse 29
7310 Bad Ragaz

For more detailed information on accommodation including “sleeping in the straw,” as well as comprehensive information on activities, transportation and restaurants, visit  the website for Heidiland: www.heidi-swiss.ch.