July 27, 2010 • 0

Fairy Tale Bled

On Sunday morning we gathered our things and left the hostel. The weather was perfect! No more rain, still cool and breezy, with a pure, blue sky. We put our bags in a locker at the train station for the day and then caught a bus to Bled.

Bled is only 57km away, but it took us about an hour and a half to get there by bus. The scenery was gorgeous as we drove up into the Julian Alps. When we got there we were blown away by the beauty. We couldn’t have asked for better weather. It was perfect.

The train & bus station in Ljubljana

Waiting for our bus

On our way to Bled!

There was a small festival going on with craft stands, food tents, and a polka band. We strolled along the perimeter of the Lake – which is about 5km – for most of the afternoon. We stopped to have our picnic of bread, cheese, salami, wine in a secluded spot along the bank. Zach even got in and swam for a little while. The water was amazingly clear with different hues of blue, swans and ducks with ducklings swimming all around. The mountains circled the lake and enclosed us in paradise. We stumbled upon Cafe Belvedere which was the terrace of former Yugoslavian president, Josip Tito. His home, Vila Bled, was nearby and is now a hotel. We sat on the terrace overlooking the lake and the island and ate Bled’s famous cream cake (kremšnita) with coffee and water. Perfect. A moment I have frozen in my memory. Afterwards we walked the remainder of the lake and then sat down by the bank and took a nap before we left.

Here we are!

Booths for arts & crafts & food

A polka band

Bled Castle

Zach and Bled Island in the middle of the lake

Our picnic spot

Going for a swim!

Bled Island & Bled Castle with the Julian Alps

One of the swan boats you can take to the island

Cafe Belvedere

Our view from the terrace

The famous Bled cream cake – Kremšnita

Once back in Ljubljana we grabbed bureks, a local street food, and sat by the triple bridge. Then we strolled along the river and back down our favorite street. We stumbled upon a small, outdoor concert and killed a couple of hours there. Then we returned to the station, got our bags out, and sat in a cafe until our train arrived for Venice, late, at 3:00am.