Travels with Kathryn

Briony was safely collected from Ljubljana bus station (in the rain), and we had a did a short walking tour of the main sites. Chirstmas has now fully begun, and it seemed like the entire population of Slovenia (plus tourists) were in Ljubljana for the switch on:

We did manage a traditional meal though (including cheese rolls, which are a pinwheel of steamed dough and cheese – delightful) and then back to our hotel to dry off (albiet briefly) before bed.

Yesterday (Saturday) we had tickets for the 10am bus – so off we went in the pouring rain to Lake Bled. Lake Bled is possibly the most popular tourist site in Slovenia and is a lake in the Julian Alps, which stretches from Northwest Italy to Slovenia. It is 2,120m long, 1,380m wide, and a maximum of 29.5m deep (although we reckon it is deeper right now because of all the rain!). The reason for it being a tourist destination is not just because it is a nice lake, which it is, but for Bled Island in the centure of the lake. Our plan on arrival was to take a boat out to the island, but in light of the ghastly weather we settled for a run across the road to check in to our hotel (I was very pleased with my planning here!) and then for a walk around part of the lake before hiding in a restaurant. These were the best of the days views:

We also used the time to formulate a plan for today (Sunday) when the weather was forecast to be far better (dry and cold) and were pleased that was exactly what we woke up to.

First stop was a walk back to Bled town as we were in need of cash and then taking a pletna boat over to the island (at the extortionate tourist price of €18 return, but they do put the work in). The name “pletna” apparently comes from a Bavarian German word “platten” which literally means flat-bottomed boat (my Austrian relatives can correct me on this translation) and were first used on the lake in the late 14th century. They are somewhere between a row boat and a gondola and are rowed by a man standing on the back using 2 oars – it looked pretty hard work! The role of oarsman dates back to 1740 when Maria Theresea of Austria granted 22 local families exclusive rights to row pilgrims across the lake to the island, and today’s oarsmen still descend from these families. You can certainly tell as our oarsman bore a striking father-son resemblance to a boat setting off just behind us.

On arrival to Bled Island, one is faced with 99 stairs – which, as you can imagine, I bounded up with excessive speed and grace, i.e., I followed Briony slowly. Apparently, it is tradition for a groom to carry his bride up these stairs before heading into the church – not sure many of my friends (whether they being the carrier or carried) would enjoy this…

The island has a 17th-century church, a clocktower, and a few buildings. The main reason for paying the entry fee is to have a go on the wishing bell. According to island legend, on the 16th century, a lady lived on the island, and on the death of her husband, she gathered together all her wealth to have a bell cast in his memory. Unfortunately, a storm sank the boat carrying the bell, and she was so distraught she left Bled, moved to Rome, and became a nun (bit extreme perhaps?). The pope (Clement VII) heard of her story and cast a bell in her memory – he decreed that anyone who rang the bell 3 times and believed in God would have their wish granted. I may have missed an element here, but I was accompanied by a lapsed Catholic, so we gave it a try.

On return to dry land, we were just in time to take the bus to Lake Bohinj, which is a short 30-minute journey away. Lake Bled is a beautiful spot, but its main attraction is the island on the lake. Lake Bohinj is probably the more beautiful lake as it has the alpine setting.

After a walk around the lake, we had a hot beverage to warm up and took the bus back to Lake Bled for a final walk around the lake, including more, better photos:

I am writing this whilst we are having a little downtime in our hotel room before dinner. Currently, Briony is being entertained by her children (through the magic of video calling), and I am getting the impression that their father is enjoying quality time with them… Tomorrow, we are heading back to Ljubljana, Briony, to head home and for me to take a train to Trieste.

I am so pleased we had the extra day in Lake Bled. If we had just taken a day trip yesterday from Ljubljana, it would have been miserable. However, today, we got to see and do everything we planned to do – hurrah!

I am also reflecting that this is my final stop in the Balkans, and I have reached the end of Stage 3. I arrived in the Balkans (Bulgaria) on 24 October and am now leaving 41 days later. I could have travelled 802.43 miles had I come direct from Istanbul (which, of course, I haven’t). The Balkans are an amazing place to visit and so many contrasts, it is hard to believe that the very European, affluent, eco-concious Slovenian is technially the same region as the other more war damaged countries in former Yugoslavia such as Bosnia Herzegovina. There are countries which are going on my definite must re-visit list, e.g., Montenegro (the Bay of Kotor makes a fabulous summer holiday destination for all the family) and Transylvania (one day was not enough), but also so many places that I can heartly recommend, i.e. everywhere! Tomorrow I head to Italy and although I am excited for the culture, history, food and Christmas markets, I definitely feel that I have got a lot out of this stage which was never really somewhere I that was necessarily on the plan whern I set off all those months ago…