Ljubljana-Lake Bled-Ljubljana.
The Alpine Loveliness of Slovenia's Mountain Town of Bled.
Both
Chriselle and I were very happy about our excursion to Bled, one of the most
iconic parts of Slovenia and the one most projected by its tourist authorities.
Without meaning to waste any time, we awoke, showered quickly, had a repeat of
the breakfast we had yesterday in the youth hostel—a very substantial, very
delicious one—and then we were off, heading towards the Bus station as we had
been informed that the bus takes visitors closer to the lake than does the
train. We booked our bus tickets and set off for the 90 minute ride to the town
of Bled.
It was hard to know when we had arrived at
Bled as we did not see the Lake from the bus stop. The driver had to tell us that
we were at the last stop. Once we alighted, we went to Mamut, the Tourist
agency for Slovenia and were most courteously helped by the attendant there. At
his suggestion, we booked tickets immediately for a van ride that would take us
to a place he recommended very warmly—the Vintgar Gorge—which was a 15 minute
ride away.
The Vintgar Gorge was not on the cards for
us at all, but by the end of the morning, both of us were absolutely delighted
that we had taken the tip and booked the van ticket to get there. It turned out
to be a natural gorge that followed the bends of the Radovna River with its
white water rapids and waterfalls and towering mountain peaks beautifully clad
in thick forests. Once we got off the van in which there were five other people
with us, we gave ourselves up fully to the delights that only Nature can offer.
We followed a well-constructed path that often hung over the rapids of the
river as we smelled the fresh Alpine air and enjoyed the conifers that covered
the slopes. Crowds were rather thick for this time of year, but everyone was in
superb spirits. It was not a challenging walk at all, but it was long—a total
of 45 minutes to get to the end where the highest waterfall was located and
then an easy 45 minute walk back. There were lot of places where we stopped to
take photos, but we still did it in good time. As trekking is one of my great
joys, this was easily another highlight of our trip and I was so glad we had
the chance to undertake the challenge.
As
soon as we returned by van to Bled, we walked towards the Lake as we had not
yet seen it. It turned out to be a really lovely sight—surrounded by hills,
encircled by a walking path --and bang in the middle of it, there was an island
with a church easily visible on it. Since Chriselle and I were hungry, we
pulled out the sandwiches we had carried from our breakfast buffet and ate them
in the shade of a beautiful gazebo in a flower-filled park that reminded us
very much of the Mirabel Gardens in Salzburg. After a while, we decided to
stretch our legs again and go for a walk around the lake.
It
was while we were heading to the lake, that a young woman asked us if we would be
willing to join her party for a boat ride to the island—they needed 8 people
and had only four. We’d bring the party up to six. We agreed as we had intended
to get to the island anyway. A few minutes later, we found 3 more people willing
to row with us and with our oarsman Martin taking controls, off we went with
Kitty, her companion, two British women and a family from northern Slovenia.
We reached the island in about half
an hour after a lovely boat ride that was thrilling in every respect. The
scenery was spectacular as we took in the castle, the church spires and the
hotels that stud the lake’s banks. Once on the island, we climbed steep steps
that took us to the entrance of the Church (which is deconsecrated). However, it
has become a tourist attraction as it is said to contain a Wishing Bell. You
pay 6 euros to enter the church and once inside, you head towards the altar.
The Baroque interior decoration of the altar is just stupendous—it is entirely
gilded. Two beautiful paintings flank the main altar. Hanging in the center is
a thick rope from which you need to literally hang in order to get the bell to
ring. You make a wish and ring the bell three times in hopes of getting your
wish. Needless to say, both Chriselle and I had a go—but I forgot to make my
wish as I was too busy getting pictures taken!
After we left the church, we decided
to climb hundreds of steps (or so it seemed) to get to the Bell Tower—and at
the end of it, we were disappointed as we were not rewarded with the stunning views
we expected. The windows were all grilled over and there was little we could actually
see from the top—so it was a wasted effort. However, to soothe ourselves, we found
the time to eat the delicious local cake called Potica that is made on the island—it is a Swiss roll sort of cake
made with figs and hazelnuts. Together with a cup of coffee, it was a delicious
treat and it just hit the spot.
Back in the boat, Martin rowed us to
the jetty where we decided to hop into a toy train that took us on a 45 minute
ride around the entire periphery of the lake. This was probably one of the best
decisions we made as we saw the entire town of Bled from different corners of
it. Had we stayed in the Lake area, we’d only have seen that little bit. The
toy train filled with people at various stops and as it chugged slowly along,
it exposed us to chalets, lakeside retreats, hotels, tea shops, etc. that dot
the entire area. We also had the chance to get closer to the island and to see
the church perched upon it from varied perspectives. As it was a beautiful day,
we thoroughly enjoyed the Alpine loveliness of the area and could easily see
why this lovely town is so popular among visitors. It reminded me very often of
Salzburg in Austria which is one of my favorite places in the world.
The
Church of St. Martin is rather prominent in the town as its spire is easily visible
from varied points. We decided to pay a visit inside and were required to climb
a vast number of stairs again to get to the entrance. Inside, we were quite
pleased to find that Mass in English was in progress. We found a group of
people congregated in the front and it immediately occurred to me that it was a
private Mass being said only for them. However, we decided to stay on and receive
Communion and after Mass, had a chance to talk to some of the members of the
group. They informed us that they were from Florida and were traveling to
varied centers of pilgrimage in Europe. They were very pleased indeed to meet
and chat with us and thanked us for joining them for Mass! This church too was
visually gorgeous—filled with exquisite carvings and paintings on the ceiling
and along the walls.
By this time, we had covered the
town quite thoroughly but were still loathe to leave it as it was so beautiful.
We decided to take Lonely Planet’s
tip and head to a coffee shop they had recommended for really delicious Lake
Bled traditional cream cake called Kremnista.
We found the place at the end of another long walk and climb that took us into
a part of the town behind the church that we would not otherwise have explored.
Seated in a little booth in a very
quiet part of the coffee shop gave Chriselle and me another pause in our
wanderings and a chance to talk and discuss the amazing sights we were seeing and
the lovely experiences to which we were being subjected. About an hour later,
after we felt refreshed and sustained by our cake and coffee, we left the restaurant
and began the walk towards the bus stop.
We had about a 20 minute wait before
our bus arrived to take us back to Ljubljana. We’d had a very eventful day and
were tired but in a very nice way. Since we were so full with our substantial
and rather late “tea’, we picked up sausage rolls from the bus station in the
capital city and munching those, we made our way back to our hostel—deciding that
they would suffice well for dinner. It was not long before we arrived at our
hostel and began to organize ourselves for our fairly early departure, the next
morning, by coach to Croatia.
Slovenia
had been a lovely introduction to Eastern Europe and we felt satisfied and happy
by our sojourn. We looked forward very much to even more adventures in Croatia.
Until tomorrow, cheerio…
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