Thoughts for Maienfeld and Heididorf in October

  • Removed user
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    1 June 2018 at 4:53:20 #816361

    Hi again! I’ve been working on my itinerary to be 6 days in Switzerland with my husband. Besides, I’ve been reading a lot in this forum to find plenty of help to prepare my itinerary. However, I haven’t read anything about the place we want to visit first, Maienfeld, because we want to visit Heididorf. What can you tell me about that place? Is it surrounded by mountains as the ones seen in the movies about Heidi? We are traveling in mid October, and we’ve got the Eurail Select Pass for 4 countries. Is it possible to use it to reach Maienfeld from Paris by a train covered by Eurail? Is it worth being there for 2 days?

    Since our plan is to visit Heididorf for 2 days, from October 20th to 22nd, Then, on the 22nd, we would take a train to go to Chur and do the Bernina trip on the panoramic train to Davos and Tirano( we noticed that is covered by Eurail). Do you think it’s possible to do that trip from Maienfeld-Chur-Bernina Express to Tirano and to come back to Chur the same day?

    Well, I still do need a bit more of your wisdom about the itinerary but I’ll be reading the forum to keep on learning what to do. We are from Argentina and this is going to be the trip of our lives!

    thanks for your help!

    Nata and Gus

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    Removed user
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    1 June 2018 at 19:18:04 #886970

    Hi Nata and Gus,

    I haven’t been to Heididorf but their website here should give you some good details: http://www.heididorf.c h/en/english.html.

    As for the Eurail Select Pass, you can get there on the Eurail Select Pass yes. Maienfeld is just a few kilometers from Bad Ragaz. You can see the routes covered by the Eurail Select Pass here: https://www.myswissalp s.com/eurailselectpass /validity

    Yes, you could go to Tirano and back to Chur in a day. Use the timetable (https://www.myswissalp s.com/timetable) to plan out the trip. It would be easiest to take the Bernina Express one-way and then regional trains back. https://www.myswissalp s.com/berninaexpress/g ettingthere

    Removed user
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    2 June 2018 at 1:36:55 #886971

    Hi Nata and Gus,

    >> 6 days in Switzerland with my husband … I haven’t read anything about the place we want to visit first, Maienfeld, because we want to visit Heididorf. What can you tell me about that place?

    I haven’t been there myself, but basically it’s a small theme park, specifically constructed to cater to the interests of fans of the Heidi books and films. However, none of the Heidi films that I have seen was filmed in that area (see below).

    You can go as far as Maienfeld station on the train. From there you can get a bus that goes to the Heididorf carpark, then you have about a 10-minute walk from there.

    The bus only runs on weekends and public holidays between May and October, and the last day of service this year is 21 October 2018. Otherwise you can walk from Maienfeld station, which I understand takes about 20 minutes.

    To get to the Heidihütte (Heidi hut) is apparently an additional 90-minute walk along a gravel path up the mountain. By late October, it will be very chilly, and a snowfall couldn’t be ruled out (though it would probably melt within a day or two).

    >> Is it surrounded by mountains as the ones seen in the movies about Heidi?

    As I mentioned above, I am not aware of any Heidi films that were actually filmed in the Maienfeld area. Any scenery you have seen in a Heidi film will be from somewhere else.

    The Heidi films I have seen are:

    • The latest film (2015), with Anuk Steffen as Heidi, Quirin Agrippi as Peter and Bruno Ganz as the grandfather: mostly filmed in the village of Latsch above Bergün. Latsch is accessible by an extremely limited bus service from Bergün railway station Mon-Sat. Reservations are compulsory on some services.
    • The American TV miniseries (1993), with Noley Thornton as Heidi, Benjamin Brazier as Peter and Jason Robards as the grandfather: filmed in Austria.
    • The Swiss-made 26-part TV series (1978), with Katia Polletin as Heidi, Stefan Arpagaus as Peter, and Rene Deltgen as the grandfather: filmed in Grevasalvas, on a mountainside between Sils Maria and Maloja, which is only accessible by hiking (summer only).

    If you want a “Heidi” experience, I would think the Heidi’s Flower Trail above St Moritz would be the best experience. The original Heidi Hut used in the 1978 Swiss TV series was relocated here. However, summer would be a much better time to do this walk. Late October will be very chilly, the flowers will be gone, and you couldn’t rule out a snowfall. This walk can be reached by funicular from St Moritz to Chantarella between June and October. The last funicular service before the between-season maintenance closure is on 21 October.

    One of our members, Maggie, did this walk in summer two years ago. Hopefully she will see this and can tell you what it is like.

    http://www.engadin.stmoritz.c h/sommer/en/activities /engadin-lifestyle/tradition-customs/legends/heidi/

    >> Is it worth being there for 2 days … from October 20th to 22nd

    Maienfeld? I would say no. I think you will be disappointed if you are looking for the scenery you have seen in films in Maienfeld. I think somewhere around St Moritz or Scuol would be a better base for scenery on that side of Switzerland, though all the mountain transport shuts down after 21 October, and some hotels, restaurants and shops will also close until the ski season starts in December.

    Good train routes for “Heidi”-type scenery would be between Landquart and Klosters and between Scuol and St Moritz. By late October, farm animals will be in their low-altitude winter quarters, so you might not see many of them.

    If you are going to be in the Jungfrau region, you will get some stunning Swiss alpine scenery there: specifically in Wengen, Mürren, Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen. Much of the mountain transport also shuts down there after 21 October 2018.

    Alpenrose

    rockoyster
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    2 June 2018 at 2:02:18 #886972

    10 🤓

    Arno
    Moderator
    15471 posts
    2 June 2018 at 5:22:49 #886973

    Wow, very informative Alpenrose! We now have the definitive guide to Heidi locations right here. Thanks!

    Removed user
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    2 June 2018 at 11:18:04 #886974

    Alpenrose, one thousand times thank you. On one hand, I have to say that I felt a bit sad when I read that Heidi’s place is not the place surrounded by the Alps that I’ve seen in the movies since I was 7 ( + 40 now)…and of course I saw the last movie of 2015, that inspired me again on the dream of going to Switzerland to visit Heididorf.

    On the other hand, I’m glad to read that I can visit places like the ones you suggested me near Jungfrau, but that it would be better to have in mind the transport available till October 21st.

    We’ll take a train from Paris to some part of Switzerland on October 19th with the Eurail Select Pass that covers Switzerland. So I ‘ll work on my itinerary to see how to do it to be there on time.

    thanks all of you people.

    Removed user
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    3 June 2018 at 1:40:40 #886975

    >> On the other hand, I’m glad to read that I can visit places like the ones you suggested me near Jungfrau, but that it would be better to have in mind the transport available till October 21st.

    You will definitely not be disappointed by the alpine scenery in the Jungfrau Region!

    Are you committed to using a Eurail Pass? A Swiss Travel Pass provides much better discounts on mountain transport.

    In order to help you to best organise your time, here are the operational dates of mountain transport in the Jungfrau Region.

    • Train to Jungfraujoch – operates all year
    • Gondola Grindelwald to First (operates until 28 Oct 2018, then closes for maintenance 29 Oct to 23 Nov 2018)
    • Gondola Grindelwald Grund to Männlichen (closed for maintenance 22 Oct 2018 until mid-Dec 2018)
    • Scenic PostBus mountain route Grindelwald to Meiringen via tha Grosse Scheidegg (does not operate between 22 Oct 2018 and mid-May 2019). See link to trip report below.
    • Cable car Wengen to Männlichen (closed for maintenance 22 Oct until mid-Dec 2018)
    • Cable car Lauterbrunnen to Grütschalp (closed for maintenance 22 Oct to 9 Nov 2018)
    • Bus Lauterbrunnen to Stechelberg (operates all year)
    • Cable car Stechelberg – Gimmelwald – Mürren – Birg – Schilthorn (operates until 11 Nov 2018, then closes for maintenance 12 Nov to 7 Dec 2018)
    • Funicular Mürren to Allmendhubel (closed for maintenance 15 Oct to 14 Dec 2018)
    • Train Wilderswil to Schynige Platte (operates until 28 Oct 2018, then closes until late May 2019)
    • Trümmelbach Falls will be open.

    If you have time to incorporate the scenic PostBus route over the Grosse Scheidegg, I’m sure you would really enjoy the scenery. It’s mostly covered by a Swiss Travel Pass, but not by a Eurail Pass. If you are interested, you can read my trip report (with photos) here:

    http://www.myswissalps.com/fo rum/topic/trip-report-over-the-grosse-scheidegg-by-bus

    Alpenrose

    Removed user
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    3 June 2018 at 2:10:38 #886976

    >> We now have the definitive guide to Heidi locations right here. Thanks!

    Thanks Arno. Hopefully it will come in useful for someone else later on as well.

    Alpenrose

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