Why a Booktrail?
Location(s): Switzerland, Maienfeld Departure Time: 1880s – Heidi is a young orphan girl sent away to live with her old grandfather on the side of a remote Swiss mountain.
Heidi
What you need to know before your trail
Heidi is an orphan and the only family member who can take her in happens to be her grumpy, old grandfather who lives alone with only sheep and goats for company, on a mountain in the Swiss ALps. He’s et in his ways but hasn’t bargained on the breath of Fresh air which will breeze through his home,life and heart.
She makes friends with Peter, a young goatherd, and his mother and blind grandmother. Then she is sent to become a companion to a girl – Clara – who has to have a wheelchair. She wants Clara to see the beauty of the Swiss Alps
The Heidi booktrail awaits
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Heidi the booktrail is a real trail of all the memories you have of the classic childrens story. The fresh mountain air, the Swiss Alps and the sounds of the cowbells
“The pure mountain air was so cool and refreshing that ever breath she drew was a pleasure”
From the old and pleasantly situated village of Maienfeld, a footpath winds through green and shady meadows to the foot of the mountains….
Heidi goes up here to live with her grumpy grandfather Alm Uncle. It’s there she meets Peter and his goats, as he takes them up the mountains so they can graze on the cool, crisp Swiss grass.
“Peter with his light-footed animals, would go running and leaping down the mountain again till he reached Dorfli”
Life in this small Alpine village is beautifully evoked – this is a playground for Heidi and Peter who become good friends when he is not hard at work. You can hear the goats bleating away, the jangle of the bells around their necks and the cool crisp air on your face …welcome to Heidi’s home and her world where good deeds are rewarded.
This is a community where kindness is a currency and Heidi helps Peter to read and Clara to see a life beyond her disability. The mountains revive her and lift her spirits and even Peter, in one of the most iconic scenes of the book sees the error of his ways.
Take time out for a small piece of Swiss style living. A joy for children and adults alike.
Streetview Maps
Heidi country
The Heidi Trail
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