The Swiss Countryside and Heididorf
09 September 2017
We were running out early to pick up the rental car for a drive out east to Liechtenstein, and were really excited to get up into the mountains! We still had a bit of time this morning to take advantage of our kitchen though, with a breakfast celebrating our trip to the Markthalle im Viadukt. I scrambled the rest of the eggs with those amazing little tomatoes, made a side of yogurt and museli mixed with the johannesberries, and had a fresh croissant we got from the grocery store in the train station. I just LOVE croissants!
We were excited to see what car we had this time around. Usually we opt for the "compact" or "economy" options, and with all the different car makes here in Europe we don't get at home, it's always a bit of a surprise. In Ireland we had the Nissan Micra, Belgium was the VW Polo, and the last trip from Nuremberg was the Skoda Veti. Today we picked up another brand we've never driven before when we got the keys to a Peugeot 2008! The guy at the counter tried to sell us an upgrade, and I'm not going to lie – driving an Audi on the German Autobahn was really tempting, but we kept the costs down by keeping our Peugeot. Someday we will get the Audi though! Someday...
The drive out from Zurich was fairly easy, just a quick cut through the city then a merge on the highway. It wasn't long at all before all signs of the city were well behind us, and looking out from any of our windows would see either green fields or steep mountains. The Swiss countryside was so beautiful! It was going to be mostly highway from Zurich to Liechtenstein, planned on the Route 3 to get us there quickly and to have as much time in the tiny country as possible. We made a stopoff near a village called Reichenburg for some quick pictures of the countryside. The mountains rose majestically all around us as we caught the potent smell that cut through the crisp air, letting us know that these bright green fields were cow fields. While we were trying to be quick to our destination, we just had to make a stop at a sight like this.
The highway Route 3 twisted and turned through the mountains, and the many tunnels literally took us through the mountains. The Walensee sat off to our right and we wanted to stop to see the lake, but there were no exits with so many tunnels! Eventually we found one, right beyond a tunnel, and we quickly jumped off the highway towards the lake near the town of Walenstadt. Along the road that paralleled the water's edge we found a small pull-off, and just down from the road was a little grassy spot on the water. The scene before us was breathtaking, with mountains rising high on the other side of the bright blue water, and the small waterfront village sitting quietly in the corner of the lake. A little island stood green among the water and the rocks, and a couple of paddleboarders braved the weather as they made their way across the lake. The fog was slowly rolling in, which made for an even more impressive scene even if it brought some difficult photography conditions. Off the side of the grassy area where we stood was a staircase going right into the water. The lake was so very clear we could hardly believe it! If only it was a bit warmer, a swim in this water would have been spectacular. It is September in the Alps though, and that lake was cold!
We were early enough that we decided to pass the exit for Liechtenstein to continue on the highway towards the village of Maienfeld. Just outside this little town is Heididorf, a small preserved village that was the scene of Switzerland's most famous story. We were turned around quite a bit up on those small mountain roads, and sometimes it can be really difficult to differentiate between a walking only trail and a road as they all look the same up here. Especially when they all show as roads on the map!
It was so long ago that I had read Heidi, and to be honest I had forgotten most of the story. I do know it was about a girl who lived in the Alps with her grandfather, but really that's about it. Even without remembering much of the story we found it to be a fascinating place. I really love these preserved cultural villages, like the Bunratty park in Ireland or Cold Spring Village not too far from Philly. It's great to not just see pictures or read about the way life was, but to actually stand in the room where they would have lived and see their beds, their furniture, their stove... It's truly amazing! Beth's family lives up on a farm in PA Dutch country, and they have many antique country items around their house. For every one old object at Heididorf that we marveled at there was another that we're already very familiar with! As for me, I really wanted their big kettle that hung over the fireplace. If there is one thing from the past I've always wanted, that is most definitely it!
After looking through Heidi's house and having some memories of the story come back to us (like the separate hatch in her floor that led to the kitchen), we walked up the hill to the workshop and barn. There were traditional tools laid about, and a few displays of how they would make their living, along with a whole section dedicated to Raclette! It's truly amazing how people in the old days knew how to do a little bit of everything. In this barn would have been woodworking, animal raising, cheesemaking, produce harvesting, and who knows how much else. One really did need to be a jack of all trades to survive, very different from our modern, specialized world. We stepped out the front door and looked over the hills to the mountains beyond. I don't remember the details of the story and why she had to live here, and I'm sure their life in the mountains was a difficult one... but walking out to that view every day must have been at least somewhat worth it.
Now I think I need to read Heidi again!
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