Heidi is alive and well

 

Heidi is alive and well and living in Switzerland.

I fell in love with the Heidi story when I was five and listened as my grandmother read me the book by Johanna Spry that was written in 1881.  I imagined what Heidi's home looked like and never thought I would be able to see it in reality. My imagination almost matched reality. That it didn't quite match is that the beauty of the region exceeds the imagination. Photos only hint at it.

For some reason, I thought her bowl of fresh goat's milk would be delicious even though drinking Bosco-free cow's milk made me want to gag. And going barefoot in my imagination never hurt my feet. A straw mattress would be more comfortable than the one I slept on.

I wanted to frolic with Peter and the goats and be a friend to Clara both before and after she recovered. Frankfort, when I visited it, was no where as dreary as it was for Heidi.

Thus when returning to Geneva, where I now live, after a golf match and we saw a sign for Heidiland there was no choice acceptable but to go. Heidiland refers both to the region and a park. Unlike many Disney-phony parks, this was the reality of my childhood imaginings right down to the goats. No rides, not terribly commercial although there was a store.

So often when we are in small villages in the Alps we can imagine that Heidi, Peter and the goats are coming down the mountain. The goat bells aren't necessarily imaginary.