Day 64

Swiss Alps today! We drove into Switzerland and went to the Heididorf cabin at the top of the mountain! At the bottom of the mountain there is the cabin where Peter, Heidi’s friend lived. It was a very cozy cabin with many little rooms. The kitchen of the little cabin was full of what they think would have been there when Peter was living there.

I hope everyone of you reading this has already read the book Heidi. If not, you should grab the closest child and read it to them, you will love it!

The trail up was beautiful, lined with red, orange, and yellow leaves. It was paved almost all the way up and wide enough for cars a good deal of the way. A couple cars did pass us. Along the way were various points of interest in the Heidi story along with some fresh mountain springs to take a drink from. When we got to the half way point, we took a break, before setting out again. The Alps with snow on the top and at the bottom, green, were beautiful. At the half way mark we came to this amazing lookout over the town below and far across the vast sweep of the valley. From that far up we could see the fields in patchwork layout. Somewhere on the mountain our family got separated from each other. Dad, Mom, and I chose a short cut, while Jack, Bria and Landon went the way of the road. Our shortcut was a small trail cutting straight up the rugged mountain, much like Heidi and Peter would have scampered along. Unknown to us, ours really was not a shortcut so that when we came to the road again farther up, the others were not there yet but we didn’t know if they were ahead or behind. Dad ran further ahead to find them, but did not. Next he went down the mountain while Mom and I continued to hike up. Mom and I found Jack, Bria, and Landon far up the mountain. There was no way to let Dad know that we had found them, because Mom had no phone connection. Dad did eventually come up the mountain after much physical exertion finding no one down the mountain, but then our family was reunited again. We made it to the top! We got a drink at the top. While all around us were drinking beer, the Nyveldts chose water, enjoyed the view, and headed back down. We were behind on time, so we had to hurry to get down. It was much easier to run down than trudge up.

Path down the mountain

Halfway point

Fields and town from 1/2 way up the mountain

The cabin at the top of the mountain where they said Heidi’s grandfather lived, was made into a little rest area. The only thing they were selling to drink was beer. We were disappointed that we could not look into the cabin, but it was not to be.

Grandfathers cabin

At the bottom again we went to the museum and souvenirs shop. The museum was a lot of fun. There was a big piece of wood that was painted to look like a Grandfather, Peter, and Heidi. Dad stuck his head in Grandfather, Bria in Heidi and I got Peter. :)

When we finally got back to the car we had more water and snacks. The ride home had great scenery. With majestic Alps, and trees everywhere.

Ps: This is Tuesday’s (November 15th) post.