Heidi's Alp One family's search for storybook Europe

Christina Hardyment

Published by The Atlantic monthly press , softcover

One spring morning in 1985, Christina Hardyment and her four daughters, age five to eleven, set out from their Oxford home in a bright yellow camper on the adventure of a lifetime. They were going in search of magic: tracing the roots of stories that have captured the imagination of generations of children worldwide.

HEIDI'S ALP is the story of their journey, a journey that was to teach them as much about themselves and their resourcefulness as it did about the world of myth and fantasy. Their route took them across 4,000 miles and through six countries, from breathtaking gorge to fairy-tale castle, from silver mine to haunted wood. They explored Hans Brinker's Holland, pursued Hans Christian Andersen through Denmark and Germany, and pondered Hamelin's Pied Piper.

Lost in East Germany searching for witches, they wandered into the forbidden zone around a top-secret military base. Climbing Heidi's Alp they found their own Alm Uncle. They tracked Pinocchio in Tuscany, followed William Teil to Lake Lucerne, and relaxed with Babar in Burgundy. HEIDI'S ALP is an original and highly entertaining adventure: the story of a pipe dream come true.