Heidi on the Walensee

Yesterday afternoon we took a train to Walenstadt (about an hour from Zurich), in search of some Swiss culture. We walked through the small town to the lake and hopped on a boat for a dinner cruise. The Walensee has some beautiful, dramatic scenery going on – on one side the mountain is so steep that it appears to plunge right into the lake, while on the other shore you can watch trains weave in and out of tunnels. The views would have been breathtaking, had it not been cloudy and drizzly for most of the ride. We still got a few beautiful glimpses here are there.

After the boat ride, it was on to the evening’s main event: Heidi – das Musical, Teil 2. The large outdoor stage is right next to the lake, set up so the audience can enjoy the spectacular view as part of the backdrop (and also so we had something to look at when the story line started dragging). The musical itself, which was performed in a mix of High German and Swiss German, was OK. It told the story of Heidi in parallel with a story about the life of Johanna Spyri, Heidi’s creator.

I was most amused by the co-marketing going on around the musical. We received free Heidi brand ice cream on a stick just for attending, and there were samples of Heidi brand yogurt available at intermission. And on our way out, we were each handed a bottle of Heidi brand water which – I kid you not – promised to give us “Heidi Power.” Anyone know what that might entail?