Luscious Lake Bled

Nestled away in the north of Slovenia, in the foothills of the Julian Alps is the lusciously green Lake Bled. With its fairy tale beauty the lake has been attracting visitors for hundreds of years. Surrounded by lush green forest and overlooked by its imposing castle the lake appears like a postcard from every angle. Sometimes shrouded in mist, the small island at the centre houses a monastery from which a bell can often be heard ringing. Small paddle boats (no power boats are allowed on the lake) ferry tourists out to the island to tour the monastery and ring the bell, just as they have for the past two hundred years. This would be our last stop before the Dolomites, and some preparatory exercise was in order. Obligingly, the lake provided a perfect environment for walking and bike riding, with plenty to look at along the way.

Continuing the hostel theme we occupied a 5 bed dorm and within minutes of arrival Ray, as always, had discovered and connected to the nearest Wifi internet connection. With 3 small laptops between the 5 of us, we often resembled a group of travelling computer geeks, never letting ourselves get too far from that eternal source of all knowledge, the internet. But leaving the computers behind we explored the small town and booked some outdoor activities, for which Slovenia is becoming so famous.

Day 1 involved a morning canyoning, more aptly described as sliding down a fast flowing river and jumping over waterfalls. The occasional abseil added to the amusement and gave everyone a great introduction to basic rope work that would be invaluable for the Dolomites. Adam, preferring more sedate activities chose to sit out of this adventure, but promised to float down a river in a tyre tube, beer in hand, instead. We were joined on the canyoning by some older Brits, whose only female member produced the funniest moment of the day. After jumping off the first waterfall (proceeded by much hesitation) she surfaced and remarked, “I wanted to go kayaking!”. The whole group was a lot of fun and quite a few of us overcame our fears of jumping of high ledges into water.

The next day, in keeping with the active theme, we headed off on bikes to Vintgar gouge. Even more beautiful than Lake Bled, the gouge is the type of place you could take a couple of hundred photos without any trouble at all. Steep high walls covered in thick verdant vegetation flank a rushing stream that crashes over rocks in scenes reminiscent of all those rainforest prints peddled in Queensland. Adam, in a developing trend, missed out again, preferring to wander around the lake in Bled. He did however organise another activity for us all, tobogganing down a dry ski slope on a custom designed track. Much fun was had hurtling down the steep slope on little yellow toboggans, attached to a single rail that wound its way down the mountain.

To finish our stay in Slovenia, we splashed out on dinner in the Castle overlooking Lake Bled. With stunning views out over the lake and its solitary island, the restaurant is THE place to eat in Bled. The food was delicious and company fantastic, and with a little bit of a ‘last supper’ feel we discussed the upcoming adventure of the Italian Dolomites.