Lake Bled, Slovenia - Easter 2014

Just a 5 hour drive from Erlangen, we decided to spend Easter in Lake Bled, in Slovenia.  And with more than half of its total area covered in forest, Slovenia really is one of the greenest countries in the world.

With our car packed and mountain bikes on the back we headed out late in the day. Our first stop was a lovely pension in the foothills of the Alps called Hotel Alpenhof, which is about half way to Lake Bled.  The hotel is located on the top of a hill in a very very small village (willage as pronounced by the Germans).  We arrived at around 2130 hrs and were met by the owner/chef, unloaded our bags and proceeded to the closest biergarten for a nice cold bier. The next day we had an amazing breakfast (included in the room rate - as are most hotels/pensions in Europe).

My omelette!!!

 

Tim's gorgeous freshly made eggs, with sprinkles of flower petals!!

After about 3 hrs, and a castle or two later.....

One of the castles we past in Austria.

....we were in Lake Bled.

Ahhh, Lake Bled

We rented a lovely cottage called Bela Luna in Bohinjska Bela, a little village just 5 km from Lake Bled.

Bela Luna - our little cottage that we rented for 5 days!!

Our view from the front of the cottage!

Our view from the back of the cottage.

Lake Bled

Bled Castle
Dates back to the 11th Century

Church of the Assumption, on Bled Island

One of the ways to get to Bled Island is to go by a piloted gondola (see above) - pretty cheesy
we saw many boat loads of Chinese tourists heading to the island.
Or you can hire a row boat.

Bled Island
The only true 'island' in Slovenia and
has been home to a Christian church since the 9th century.

One of the best ways to see Lake Bled is to walk around it.  There is a lovely 6 km path all the way around it.

As you walk around it that are so many beautiful views and Lake Bled is also the home to the Slovenia Rowing team.

The one day we were there, the officials were checking for doping!

It is so beautiful you can't stop taking pictures.
But I won't bore you with any more of the same.

There is alot to see and do in the area, mostly having to do with the outdoors.  Soooo....... one day we went mountain biking.  And we mean MOUNTAIN biking.  "0" to 640 m in 2 km.  Well, not really, but it felt like that.

We have to go where?

There's our little willage - Bohinjska Bela - way down there.
And we are only half way.

There is Lake Bled, way down there on the left.

At the top!

Gorgeous scenery.

Bessie the cow!
Gorgeous, isn't she?
oops, it's a he!

Our destination was the town of Radovljica.  But little did we know, as we didn't have a topographical map, that we had to go all the way back down the other side of the mountain (although we did have a cycling map and now that I read it, it did say that route was difficult).  If we had know, we could have taken the nice flat road that follows the river.

Okay - ready?

Get set!

Yikes - GO!!!!

Tim's bike, but where is Tim?

Radovljica - a charming town full of historic buildings.

Lunch at Gostilna Lectar

One of the things to see around Lake Bled is Vintgar Gorge.  It is an amazing gorge with a 1600m wooden walkway, built in 1893, that follows the gorge along the Radovna River.  But....being early in the 'tourist' year, it was closed for repairs, which was very disappointing.  I guess we will just have to go back.

So we headed to Savica Waterfall, in Bohinj, about 40 minutes SW of Lake Bled.  'They' say this waterfall is one the reasons that people go to this area.

It is a 20 minute walk up more than 500 steps, over rapids and streams.

 

 

The waterfalls is the source of Slovenia's longest, mightiest river.
It drops 60 m into a gorge below.

But....being from Ontario (read Niagara Falls) and more recently Vancouver Island, this was not an impressive sight.  It was spring, and we thought we it would be roaring - but not so much.  But the view, was lovely.....

Here are some of the other sights that we saw......

Kropa

...a tiny delightful little village tucked away in a narrow valley about 13 km from Radovljica.
It has been a workhorse for centuries, mining iron ore, hammering out nails and decorative wrought
iron that is still seen in many parts of the country.

We had a great time in Lake Bled, but five days isn't enough.  We didn't even get to the capital - Ljubljana.  Maybe we will go back in the winter.  It would be magical.

Until next time.........