Heidi revisited

The plaits, the yodelling through the hilltops — who didn’t love children’s book Heidi? Fans will soon be able to enjoy all things Heidi at a new theme park in Switzerland dedicated entirely to Johanna Spyri’s 19th-century favourite. Called Heidi Alperlebnis, the park will feature a re-created alpine village situated in the mountain resort of Flumserberg in the canton of St Gallen, and will cost an estimated 100 million francs (NZ$142 million). Visitors will be able to participate in village life, milk goats, craft wooden stools, and visit a simulated city of Frankfurt. Heidi, one of the best-selling children’s books ever written, centres on a young orphan who stays with her grandfather in the Alps.