[GG] Adventures in Slovenia

Lake Bled

Slovenia is one of those places I have never really thought of. I have probably seen pictures of it (it's very picturesque) and thought it was Austria. When we decided to come here, it was a geographical decision as it conveniently lies between Austria, where we definitely wanted to go, and Croatia which has been on my mind ever since I saw Dubrovnik 5 or 6 years ago. So with a little planning we decided on two locations: Lake Bled and Ljubljana.

You have to really want to get to Lake Bled to make it happen with public transportation from Innsbruck. By train you travel back to Salzburg, then to Villach, and cross the border into Slovenia. It's about a 5-6 hour trip when you add it all up. The countryside flying by the train window is beautiful: green valleys, small villages, big mountains, and always a meandering river. Once in Slovenia your stop is Lesce-Bled. Exit the train, walk over to the bus stop across the street and take the bus into the community of Lake Bled. It's only about 3 miles and 10 or 15 minutes by bus. No fuss. No frills. Unfortunately, our excited exit from the train turned to disappointment as Cee realized she had left her scarf on the train. There is not much time to collect your thoughts, your bags & your travel mates once the train stops, before it takes off again. Once Cee realized her scarf was gone, the train was too.

In Bled we exited the bus and this time happily found our hotel less than 3 blocks away. True to form we put down our stuff and went exploring. First a walk around the lake (3.5 miles) hoping to find a kayak rental somewhere. Row boats were the best we could do, planning for the next day. The evening was warm and the walk was a perfect stimulus for our appetites. Chili's seemed to be our only resource for dinner after 9PM, but it turned out to be delightful. I ordered the trout fillet (trout is a specialty in Slovenia) and was impressed by the size of the trout and delighted with the flavor – cooked perfectly.

Lake Bled is like Disneyland or a fairy tale, complete with a medieval castle on a hill overlooking the lake, picturesque island with a church, and a backdrop of alpine mountains. Its natural beauty has made Bled Slovenia's leading mountain resort, popular with world leaders, celebrities, and us. Marshal Tito's home is now Hotel Vila Bled, a beautiful mansion just above the lake. This lake is also renowned for world class rowing championships held here. They even lengthened the lake in order to accommodate the long boats.

Next day we rented a row boat and Cee rowed us out to the island in the middle of the lake. We climbed the hill to briefly explore the church, relaxed a bit and then Bee took over the oars and brought us back to shore. Me? I was treated like a queen and could just sit back and relax while they did all the work.

Vintgar Gorge, just north of Bled, seemed like a beautiful way to spend the better part of the next day. I had an inkling I was in trouble when the girl at the bike rental shop described the route. “Follow this road up, turn right here and then you go up this road where you will see signs. Follow the signs up along here”, she said drawing her finger along the map. I heard a lot of “ups” in her directions. We adjusted our helmets and bikes, grabbed water and a few snacks, and off we went....up...then a little more up....then a long little more up...then a few short ups after a block or so on level ground...then another up, a down, level, then one little longer down ending in a short up. Sounds easy enough and I guess it was for the 20-somethings. The 60-something (me) was wheezing, red in the face, sweating reminiscent of my sauna experience, slowly climbing the hills, getting off and walking, resting when I needed to. Courtnie & Bailey were great, patiently waiting at the top of the hills or circling back to make sure I was all right. The effort was worth it. Vintgar Gorge is beautiful with the fast moving Radovna River cutting through the mountains and a convenient boardwalk and bridges following along. The water was clear and we could see fish but no fisherman. Waterfalls, ferns, narrow gorge, on and on we walked on the boardwalks for several miles and a couple of hours overall. At the end, we turned around and retraced our steps back to the bikes. This was a beautiful area.

More ups & downs and a new route back to Bled through a small village on a hill just above it. An open field beckoned Bee to recreate her “Sound of Music” twirls. A shady tree beckoned Cee and I. Our joy was short lived, however, as a woman farmer drove up on her tractor cursing us in Slovenian and making it very obvious she wanted us off her land, immediately. We apologized, tried to explain, and ultimately just got back on our bikes and rode back to the roadway. She's probably had her fill of tourists.

That evening we discovered a malted grapefruit drink, bottled by Union, that was very refreshing. A little rest, a few refreshing beverages, and a hearty dinner and we were ready to tackle the 10^th century Bled Castle on the hill overlooking the lake. We arrived just in time to witness a re-enactment of a typical day in the life of the king and his court, including the kidnapping and rescue of his daughter, battle scene, and a dance. The costumes were great & Bee showed her prowess in wielding a sword.