We heard about Heidiland even before relocating to Switzerland, and had spent a few hours there with Joel before heading to a dam where Zach played the alphorn. However, we discovered there are a few nice hiking paths in the area and thought it would be a nice walk to take with Zach and Katelyn before leaving the country.
It was a beautiful day, with sunny weather, cows and goats grazing and plenty of smiles. The trail had wood goats stationed every few hundred meters where Katelyn could punch a letter into our map to reveal a secret word by the end of the trail. We didn’t realize this was the instruction until we had walked past a few goats – both real and wooden.
Kim and Katelyn tried out the walking game to relive, barefoot, the varied terrain the fabled Heidi would walk during a typical day. Mud, woodchips, grass, water – they were all represented on the lady’s feet once they were done. They were also reflected on their faces as they grinned and giggled through the course while Aaron and Zach relaxed and watched.
We finished the hike with a nice meal at a restaurant near the trail head, with salads, schnitzel and other tasty foods. Then, we drove down into Bad Ragaz, a town we visited previously with Joel to enjoy the thermal baths. We strolled the streets and finished the day with some ice cream treats.
Video
Photos
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- A bath tub sculpture as we entered Bad Ragaz on our way to the tourism office for maps of the trails
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- Zach and Katelyn at the entrance to the Heidipfad trail
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- Overlooking the valley below the Heidipfad trail. The trail was exposed during most of our walk, so we enjoyed the views with each step.
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- A litle waterfall along the trail
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- A bridge on the trail, which says something about crossing the water to enter the grazing fields, where Heidi leapt for joy (sorry, the writing is a bit unclear).
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- Peter and Heidi (Zach and Katelyn)
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- The shelves where Kim and Katelyn put their shoes and socks, with a phrase saying that Heidi moved with great speed, even with her socks off!
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- Kim and Katelyn playing the walking game
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- Katelyn spinning the dial to determine their path
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- Katelyn grimacing with joy :-)
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- Katelyn gives the mud a thumbs-up
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- Katelyn and Kim smiling at the thought of another twist in the path
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- Trying out the knarly tree path
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- Zach collecting flowers in the intense sun as the ladies played the path game
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- Signs of a good time
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- Enjoying the cool, soothing water at the end of the path
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- Katelyn chilling her feet
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- A sign in the path game which mentions how Heidi stayed close by a goat that showed her the path through the meadow
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- Wild flowers along the Heidipfad
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- Shiny blue beetles along the trail
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- More beatiful wild flowers
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- These flowers reminded Aaron of badminton shuttlecocks
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- Katelyn swinging at a park along the trail
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- Zach helping Katelyn onto a zipline in the park
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- Time for some relaxation by a stream
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- Katelyn was ready for a rest, too, after the path game
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- Not a bad place to sit and relax!
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- Kim and Katelyn stamping another letter into the trail map
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- Aaron, Zach, Katelyn and Kim at the top of the trail
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- A paraglider sailing over the hills
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- Zach resting and contemplating
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- Katelyn learning about milking of the goats
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- Toward the end of the trail, Katelyn and Zach had the opportunity to see how their jumps measured up against the distance a goat can leap
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- Zach trying out the goat-leaping game
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- Zach had a delicious selection of meats, fish and fruits
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- Katelyn had some tasty schnitzel
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- Kim had a fresh chicken salad
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- An art exhibit in downtown Bad Ragaz
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- Colorful hand sculpture near the restaurant where we had ice cream
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- A river running through Bad Ragaz
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- Brother and Sister
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- Aaron's cherry yogurt
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- Zach's mocha ice cream
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- Katelyn's ice cream
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- Kim spreading some sweet hot fudge
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- Sculptures of men around Bad Ragaz
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- Sculptures of men around Bad Ragaz
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- Sculptures of men around Bad Ragaz
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- A flower garden clock in downtown
