Getting from Ljubljana seemed fairly straight forward, simply catch a bus from the bus station we'd read online.
In reality though it was quite a stressful and slightly more complex
affair. The first bus we tried to board we were refused entry without a
ticket which we later discovered you could buy on the bus. We queued up
to buy tickets and then struggled with finding out which gate the bus
would go from. Somebody came to the rescue though and told us it was
gate 28.
We'd grabbed some snacks for the journey at the ticket office kiosk. I was convinced this was some kind of sausage roll.
It was an apple strudel, quite nice but I was really craving something savoury.
This Danish pastry was rather nice too but did little for my savoury craving.
A
few miles from Bled and the traffic slowed down to a crawl, it's
clearly a popular place. The hour journey turned into a much longer one
but eventually we arrived.
Lake
Bled is stunning! They say the most beautiful view of the lake can be
seen from Bled Castle which towers over the lake on a cliff. Bled Castle
is considered to be the loveliest wedding venue in Europe. Had we more
time here we'd have definitely climbed up to it to take a look across
the lake.
Even from the edge of the lake the view was amazing though.
My wife sensed that I was keen to go tobogganing and she was correct so we headed there first.
Beside
the toboggan hill was a few other fun activities like this tyre slope
with ramp st the end. Something we'd noticed about Bled was how they
were keen to cash in on the tourists as much as possible. If you wanted
to use the public toilets it would set you back €1 each time.
Anyway,
having spent €1 to spend a penny we bought tickets for the toboggan. It
cost €9 for one go, €12 for two or €15 for three goes. With a predicted
queueing time of 45 minutes we would only be going on it once today.
It actually took us just over an hour just to get onto the ski lift.
The views from the ski lift were breathtaking!
Here's the view from the top.
At
the top we waited a further 10 minutes or so. They do space out the
toboggans going down quite well though which is a good thing, this
allows you to go really fast if you like without crashing into the
person in front.
The
lady in front of me made her way down and I climbed onto my toboggan. I
didn't risk taking photos on the way down but I can confirm it's a lot
of fun and well worth trying if you visit Lake Bled.
Back
at the Lakeside we went in search of some lunch. Many of the
restaurants were either fully booked or crazy expensive, it wasn't
looking very promising.
Then
we spotted a small food festival on the Lakeside Promenade called
"Taste Bled". This was right up my street so we ordered a beer and some
food.
The
ribs here were amazing! The bone fell away leaving generous chunks of
slow cooked pork soaked in a BBQ sauce. They were served with potato
wedges and coleslaw and cost €12, I was well impressed.
My wife was also impressed with her vegetarian mix costing €8. A stack of potato wedges and coleslaw topped with grilled halloumi.
I
couldn't come to Bled without trying Bled Cake which was also available
on the street food stall at €4 a slice. The layers consist of puff
pastry, a light vanilla cream and custard, sheer bliss!
We
wanted to swim in the lake but didn't fancy joining the hoards of
tourists in the main swimming area which cost €8 to enter. Instead we
walked a little further and found a secluded spot between some trees to
take a swim. The water was warm and actually being inside the lake felt
quite magical.
Afterwards
we stopped for a beer on a jetty overlooking the most recognisable
symbol of the lake, Church of the Mother of God. The church can be found
on Bled Island which the lake surrounds, it's accessible by boat if you
have the time.
Back
in Ljubljana I decide it was time to try a traditional Slovenian meal.
The Slovenian Plate seemed like the best option to me.
The light was fading fast so excuse the quality of the photo.
The
blood sausage was my favourite part of the meal, a slightly bitter
tasting sausage with a fairly course texture. My least favourite part
was the sauerkraut, way too vinegary for my liking.
The
Slovenian sausages were great and the pork rib was nice enough. Nowhere
near as good as the ribs I'd eaten earlier in the day though at Lake
Bled.
I
thoroughly enjoyed the rolled cheese dumpling which I found hiding
underneath the sauerkraut. Time after time I kept coming across this
creamy Slovenian cheese, so good!
Back at the hotel we shared a chocolate doughnut, hmm.. a tad dry.
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