Heidiland

15^th November 2020

How can we have peace? Not by talking about peace, but by walking along the road of peace. Sri Chenmoy

Today’s hike was a bitter-sweet one that I have put off for a while, but made myself finally do it. I loved the Heidi stories growing up, and for sure read them because my mom had them in the house. I didn’t realize how much my mom loved the stories until we were planning her last trip to Europe. I suggested Switzerland and without hesitation she said that she wanted to go to Heidiland. I agreed, but had no idea what she was talking about. Little did I know that there is actually an area referred to as Heidiland.

My mom and I spent four nights there doing some sightseeing. Unfortunately, it had snowed and we were unable to explore the area fully, but we enjoyed Heididorf and the lower areas. Since this trip, she has been diagnosed with dementia and it is clear that we won’t be able to travel together internationally anymore. The hike today was cathartic because she was so happy to be there and it was wonderful to share it with her, but I simply wasn’t sure what emotions returning to Heididorf without her would stir up. I have visited other places where we were together on that trip, but always pushed the memories aside.

I realized when I was outside Heidi’s house and read the quote above that I wasn’t meant to push the memories away or cover them with new ones. I was meant to come to peace with what was and what will be. There is an information board about Heidi’s House (where she lived with her Grandpa in the winters and when she had to attend school) being a Peace Blossom because it evokes a longing for homeland and harmony. It is a reminder that there is more uniting us than pulling us apart. There was another sentence on the board that told me why I had decided to do this hike on this day. ‘May the Heididorf be a place of inner reflection where our dreams of oneness and our search for peace become a fruitful reality.’ It changed my perspective for the day and along the way I enjoyed stopping in various places to simply listen to nature, drink in the view and savour the moment.

It was amazing to be able to look around and smile remembering my mom’s simple joy at being in a place that she had never dreamed she would be. I will cherish those memories forever.

Having said that, the hike was a long, demanding one and I had not planned for the weather to be so warm in the middle of November. The walk from the Maienfeld train station (504 metres) up to Heididorf was pretty and the climb wasn’t too difficult. I chose to wander around a bit, but I really did not want to visit the houses. I wanted to see Heidialp (where Heidi lived with her uncle during the summers). The trail is the Heidi Adventure Trail¹ and it is a well groomed trail that zigzags up the mountain. Along the way there are markers of locations in the books with the quotes so that you can remember them. The next time I visit, I will pay more attention to them because they were really interesting, but the clock was ticking and I knew I would run out of daylight if I dawdled.

The trail sort of zigzagged up the mountain with some painfully steep parts broken up by travelling along the mountain for a while. It was a fairly steady uphill climb though. Thankfully, up to a certain height, I was able to refill my water bottle regularly. It is possible that once or twice, I stopped more to catch my breath than to add much water, but whatever.

As I followed the trail up the mountain, I did question if the effort would be worth it. Yes, it would be amazing to see the cottage that Heidi lived in in the summer, but what if it wasn’t? Recognizing the thoughts as a way to allow myself to quit before I reached my destination, I pushed on, muttering under my breath and cursing myself. It became much less about reading the information provided along the trail and much more about seeing which number the board was so that I knew how many to go until I reached Heidialp. I am not sure this helped. What did help, was all of the families that I was passing or following along the way. It is WAY to lame to quit when there are small children frolicking around you.

I eventually reached a lookout tower, the type that Heidi and Peter watched the goats from when they were in the meadow. I decided that it would be a good idea to climb it and see the view. I was about halfway up the rickety wooden stairs when I remembered that I am afraid of heights and of falling. Too late, the stairs were too narrow to turn around on safely, so I had to risk life and limb to get to the top to turn around. The view was amazing, but the wobbly boards and wind made my heart race uncomfortably. I did not stay long, telling myself I needed to reach the top soon.

From the lookout tower, there were only two Information Boards left to find. I was starting to feel rather accomplished. Sadly, I still had a ways to go, thankfully, the view was enough of a distraction to take my mind off the burning pain in my legs. As I passed the penultimate information board and Klara’s wheelchair, I found renewed energy. It really didn’t last long though. It was definitely time to find a place to eat. I kept hoping the hut would be around the next corner, but that was not the case.

The place where Klara’s wheel chair is destroyed.

As I trudged on, I reminded myself that continuing was worth the effort because I would be able to sit down and eat outside of Heidialp. Although this hike was not the longest one I have ever been on, it was most certainly one of the steepest and it was kicking my butt. When I finally reached the meadows that I had been searching for, I was filled with gratitude. It really was all I had hoped it would be. The cottage, the view, the mountains, the colours – everywhere you looked was beautiful. I was also grateful to know that I would be sitting down to enjoy it all with my lunch.

I stayed at the top as long as I could justify, but it was already 2 o’clock and I knew that it would take about an hour and a half to get back down the mountain so I couldn’t stay there for too long. Plus it was rather windy that high up and although I was over heated from the hike, the wind quickly cooled me off.

Getting to Heidialp was poignant. Yes, I wish I could have shared that moment with my mom, but I also knew that she was with me every step of the way. The hike brought me some peace and was simply an amazing day. As I headed down the mountain listening to the distant sounds of children’s laughter, I knew I would be back, but for now Landquart and ice cream were calling my name.