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After farewelling Beks and Tim in Ljubljana, Dale and I drove the 40 minute journey to Lake Bled. This glacial lake is dominated by Bled Castle, Slovenia's oldest, which sits atop a rocky outcrop thrust up above the lake. In the middle of the lake is a small Island with a pretty church sitting on it. The picturesque scene is completed with the overlapping mountain backdrop. But if it was tranquility we were hoping for, we won't find it here. It is peak season in this tourist haven and visitors from all over Europe have descended on the town for sunshine and swimming, while Japanese and American tourists have turned up to see the sights. The prices in this holiday town are steep and the lake shore in town is littered with ugly looking buildings with tacky restaurants and a casino. Further around the Lake are a few glamourous villas and boutique hotels, separated from the town by a buffer of greenery.
Our accommodation here at Vila Ana can be described as Austrian-Villa-meets-Barbie's-playhouse. Our room is very pink, with white lacy curtains and floral accessories. Dark wooden cabinets in the hallway hold china ornaments, the carpet is forest green, and every floorboard creaks. The shower has about a dozen nozzles which spray water in different combinations depending on which direction you turn one of the two swivelling handles - I haven't been able to master it so find myself alternately scalding hot, freezing cold, or sprayed in the face! Thankfully this wacky place does have a tv, so we have been able to keep track of what is happening at the Olympics. The Eurosport coverage is very good and we have enjoyed having the chance to watch sports that don't usually get much coverage at home.
We took a drive right around the lake when we first arrived, confirming our suspicion that there is nowhere to escape the crowds. But we managed to find some charm in this place that evening when we took a romantic walk along the lakefront, listening to the live music played at different lakeside restaurants. Dale found a pizzeria that had good reviews on trip advisor, so we shared a large pizza. Embarrassingly, we only managed two thirds of it (while the people around us were capable of devouring a pizza each!) and we sheepishly reassured the concerned waitress that we had enjoyed our meal.
The walk up to Bled Castle was a steep 15 minute climb from the lake front. Legs aching from all the stairs, we paused to catch our breaths at the top and admire the beautiful views over the lake and surrounding countryside. As with the Ljubljana castle, a lot of renovation has been done so it is difficult to imagine what life here must have been like. But there were some interesting artefacts to see in the museum and I particularly enjoyed the life sized models of early Bled inhabitants, whose appearance and dress had been recreated from archeological study of remains excavated from ancient graves.
A thunderstorm rolled in that afternoon and we gratefully used this change in weather as an excuse to take a break from sightseeing and spend some more time watching the Olympics. Due to the lack of soundproofing at Vila Ana, our enjoyment of the Olympic commentary was interrupted from time to time by the noise from the house around us - loud Germans clomping up the stairs complaining about the weather (irritatingly they had woken us at 6:45am that morning as they had clomped their way to secure the best table in the breakfast room), one of the guest's dogs also started complaining loudly about the weather (yes, the Europeans take their dogs on holiday), and some bored Japanese backpacker started singing along to his iPod (although he only knew the words to the repetitive chorus).
I managed to tear Dale away from the TV screen and persuaded him to drive us to a traditional Slovenian restaurant on the outskirts of Bled which I had read about. Attached to a guesthouse, the restaurant looked very cute from the outside. But when we walked into the rustic dining room we found ourselves to be the only diners - always a concern when trying somewhere new. Fearing that I might soon owe Dale an apology for not being able to deliver on my promise of a delicious local meal, I tentatively opened the menu... An hour later we left feeling very satisfied with our Slovenian meal experience- beautifully presented food that tasted great, surprisingly good Slovenian red wine, and impeccable service. If only I could remember the name of the place so that I could recommend it!
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