Published: 02/06/2014 11:29 - Updated: 02/06/2014 11:43 On the trail of

Written byTravel Writer, Ron Smith

THE story of the little Swiss girl Heidi is well known around the globe. It is even claimed that, after the Bible and the Koran, Heidi is the most translated book in the world.

Several films have been made about the little girl in the mountains, with Peter and the goats, including one starring Judy Garland in 1937, and even a Japanese cartoon version, which attracts lots of young Japanese lasses to visit Heidi’s house every year.

The authoress, Johanna Spyri, who died in 1901, wrote 50 books, but Heidi is the only one well known. She lived in Zurich but when visiting the area around Maienfeld (Mayenfeld in the books) felt happy and relaxed amid the peace and tranquillity of the mountains, the healthy air, beautiful meadows and views. Reading about it makes you want to go there.

Well, the stories are set in the Graubunden region, about an hour east of Zurich. The River Rhine runs through the bottom of the valley, with Maienfeld on one side and Bad Ragaz on the other, both of the towns clustered at the foot of the towering mountains. Maienfeld has a population of around 2,600 and yet it has the right to call itself a Stadt, which means town or city. Being only small, it settles for Stadtli, a small town.

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Mountain goats were key characters in the Heidi book and are popular with sightseers today. 4 Images

There is a large Heidi tourist information centre, which is attached to a wine bar and café, making it doubly interesting. From here you can follow the well marked route up to Heidi’s house at Heididorf, a hamlet that in the book is called Dorfli. It has a Johanna Spyri museum, which includes the smallest post office in , offering souvenirs and postcards which are given the special Heidi rubber stamp.

The life of Johanna Spyri is detailed in an exhibition upstairs, also incorporating an amazing collection of Heidi books in many languages. It is said that Johanna had a rather unhappy marriage, and it was only here in the peace and tranquillity of the mountains that she felt happy, and which inspired her to create Heidi. A son who was crippled and wheelchair bound, could have been the inspiration for the character of Clara. In those days a treatment for all sorts of ailments included water therapy, and Bad Ragaz has a huge luxury hotel and spa (see www.resortragaz.ch ). More of this later.

Once you have visited the Johanna Spyri museum and had a cup of tea in the post office, you can buy a ticket for the Heidi house close by. There are goats in the field next to the museum too, just as in Heidi’s day. The house is over 300 years old and has old tools and implements, small beds and a ladder up to the living and bedrooms, exactly as it would have been in the 1880s when Johanna used to visit. Most things (including much of the house itself) were made of wood, and chairs, beds, spoons and plates were crafted locally by hand. An incredible 80,000 people a year pay a visit.

From here, you can follow a walking trail up to the higher pasture where Peter took the goats each day. There are 12 panels on the way detailing more of the Heidi story, and the walk takes up to two hours. When I was there, in March, there was still a depth of snow higher up, so the route was closed. This was a good excuse to stroll back in the sunshine to Maienfeld, giving time to reflect on why this story’s popularity has endured.

It makes easy reading for youngsters and yet doesn’t talk down to them. The baddies are very bad, like Miss Rottenmeier, the Frankfurt housekeeper (the only one to call Heidi by her full name of Adelheid) while the goodies, like Peter and the old granny, are very good. Johanna was not afraid to bring religion into the story, even quoting the parable of the prodigal son in full, to bring old grandfather to his senses. The flowers, seasons and life in the beautiful Swiss mountains are brought to life vividly.

The railway line and the traffic in lower Maienfeld brings you back to earth. There is a path alongside the railway line to Bad Ragaz, a pleasant town with a splendid grand train station. From here Bahnhofstrasse leads you up into the shopping centre which curves round to enter the Bad Ragaz Resort Hotel and Spa. Behind this the cliff rises up into the mountains, with the ruins of a monastery on the top edge, which is illuminated at night.

In 1240 or 1242 two monks out hunting went to the Schlucht, a deep, narrow crack in the mountain where a river, the Tamina, has forced it way through. It is very narrow, very steep and deep. Here they were surprised to find a spring of water at body temperature, 36.5 degrees centigrade, rising up and giving off steam. The water has a strong mineral content and this was the start of the Resort and Spa. For centuries, people suffering from many ailments were brought here, and the monks lowered them down in a cradle to where the spring was. The water had created pools, and the poor sufferers would be immersed in the hot water for five days, not getting out at all, until their skin was cracked. It was thought that this would help cure or alleviate their problems. Since 1987 when a tunnel walk was pierced, there has been a walk through the gorge, but only in summer as winter frosts and snow can cause a rock (or several) to fall down and injure you.

Then in 1840 a pipeline was installed bringing the hot water to a hotel, which developed into the large spa of today. It was certainly better for invalids than being lowered on a rope. This links in with the story again. Heidi’s aunt worked at the hotel as a chambermaid and had guests from Frankfurt each year, who brought Clara for treatment (as Johanna did her son). These people persuade the aunt to go back to Frankfurt and work for them there, which is why Heidi had to be left at grandfather’s up in the mountains, and eventually go to Frankfurt as a companion to Clara, learning to read and write. Heidi comes back home, and Clara is brought from Frankfurt to Ragaz for a cure, After that she comes up to Heidi’s house and starts to walk, thanks to the good food and fresh air.

Frankfurt today is nothing like it was back then, mainly because of all the damage in the war – but it had to be explored – and the next article in this series will tell you what Frankfurt is like today for a city break holiday destination.

Today the Bad Ragaz Hotel is something special. The hotel has always had doctors, the first being Paracelsus (Theophrastus Von Hohenheim) and there is a monument to him here. Today there are 36 doctors working here. Almost any medical procedure can be carried out here; indeed, one doctor, Professor Sailers developed a unique method of treating facial disorders (resolving sleep apnoea, for example) and to date has trained 240 doctors in his methods, forming a foundation that has treated an incredible 50,000 children, mostly in India, with problems like cleft pallets.

It is also the Swiss Olympic team medical centre. But it is not just a hospital – it is a holiday resort unlike any other. There are 720 staff working here, which gives an idea of the size of the hotel, and it is estimated that around 2,000 of the 5,000 population of the town of Bad Ragaz depend on the hotel for their livelihood, from bakers, grocers, hotel workers, including maintenance and gardeners, to laundry and countless other jobs.

The hotel blends in so well with the landscape that it does not appear to be as big as it is. The rooms are splendid, and the service, food, facilities and attractions are such that you could easily spend a week without going out. There are also top musicians giving concerts, a casino, and all the facilities of a top class spa.

It is such a contrast to look across the valley and see Heidi’s house up on the mountainside, so simple and basic, and be in the hotel and spa that developed from the hot spring (the water is still coming through at 36.5 degrees Centigrade) that is also mentioned in the book.

All around this area of Switzerland there is something to see and do. The River Rhine takes a sharp turn here and forms the boundary with Lichtenstein – a small, rich, fascinating country. Just a little further down the valley is the Wallensee, a long lake that has large boats with good dining facilities, and all the water sports you can imagine. Up behind Ragaz is the range of mountains, dominated by the Pizol (see www.pizol.com )

Cable cars take you up to a panorama that will take your breath away. There are many paths, including the five lakes walk (4 to 5 hours) or you can walk up to the Pizol summit (6 to 7 hours) or take the more leisurely Heidi walk, at one hour or so, and go down to the valley via another cable car to Wangs and get the regular bus back to where you started. Of course, being Switzerland, there are restaurants up here too. In the winter it is a skier’s paradise, over 100kms of piste. There are also mountain biking trails, many hiking trails, skating, and cycling, including electric bikes for hire (more my style!) and you can find much more information at www.heidiland.com

The Bundner Herrschaft is the local wine growing area, only 350 hectares, but what high quality wines they produce. It is a rare luxury to be sipping a wine with the family name of the producer on the label, looking out across the valley to the farm where it was made. Children are well catered for, including the first climbing tower in Switzerland, the Floomzer (a high-speed roller coaster ride that takes you down 247 metres, with three loops, two tunnels, curves, jumps, and so on. The Heidiland Adventure Pass is very useful, giving you many discounts.

This is an area of Switzerland well worth discovering. From Zurich airport hourly trains take about an hour, and the website www.myswitzerland.com the Swiss travel experts provided all the information you could need. Swiss public transport, of course, is second to none and makes life easy for tourists. For more information on the region, go to www.heidiland.com , www.facebook.com/heidiland , www.twitter.com/swissheidiland , www.pinterest.com/swissheidiland , instagram:@swissheidiland