Lake Bled, a 45-minute drive from Ljubljana, has some of the most incredible, serene, and quaint scenery I’ve ever seen, and was a great way to cap off a wonderful two-week vacation with my parents.
Upon arrival, we walked the 3.5-mile circumference of the lake, stopping every few feet for pictures as the scenery changed. Bled Castle, a quaint church, the Julian Alps, and a small island in the center of the lake dominated the scenery, not to mention the beautiful turquoise water of the lake and traditional pletna boats ferrying passengers back and forth from the central island.
During our walk around the perimeter, we stopped in Vila Bled, a hotel which was Tito’s former summer residence during the heyday of Yugoslavia. The hotel receptionists were nice enough to let us poke around the main area of the hotel and see the impressive Socialist Realist wall murals which depicted the propaganda of the time, alongside Tito’s desk, phone, and chair.
After making our way around the lake, we hopped on one of the pletna boats to the central island (“Otok”). There were about 16 passengers on the flat-bottom boat, rowed in a fashion that can best be comped to Venetian gondolas. Once on the island, we had 30 minutes to explore, so we entered the church, rang the bell, and walked around the exterior until the boat was loaded back up with passengers.
Finally, we had dinner at a restaurant near the lake and went to Hotel Park for dessert — home of the original, famous cream cake called kremna rezina, the town’s specialty. We had had a very similar cake in Rovinj, but that was no match for this delicious treat. (It reminded me of pastel de nata from Pastéis de Belém in Lisbon, although that egg tart still remains the best dessert the world has ever created.)
We got back to the apartment around 9pm (this time after a straightforward drive along major highways — no switchbacks, thank goodness) and packed up for our next destinations. My parents are headed to Amsterdam for their two-day finale, while I’m off to Munich to meet up with Kevin for Oktoberfest. It was nice traveling with my parents, and I really enjoyed spending time with them before settling down in the UK.
Onwards and forwards, to Germany!
Axolotl Travels 