I'm Starting the Lake Bled Fan Club

A little side trip we took while in Italy was to Lake Bled, Slovenia. When I mentioned to my friend Gloria Pratt that I was going there, she gasped and said "It's idyllic!" Gloria served her mission "over there" and I wondered if she might have made it there. Wow, this got me excited. She told me many Eastern Europeans vacation and honeymoon there. I looked up pictures of the lake, looked at pics of our airbnb over and over and was stoked.

We were going to drive to Slovenia on Sunday morning, but Leisy did some research and found out that Bled Days Festival started Saturday, with 15,000 lights on the lake and music and artisans. Leisy said if she could find a place to stay on Saturday night, we'd head out after the ward party. She looked and found us room in a hostel. It was the one place less than 700 euros for the night.

We drove 3 hours to Lake Bled. She got us a family-sized room in a hostel. It was hilarious. It had one room with 2 twin beds pushed together and another room with 2 bunk beds. The bathroom was across the hall. No WIFI, no frills, etc. I loved it. The boys each got a bed. Annie slept on my top bunk. Metta and I shared the bottom bunk. Mack slept with his parents in the two twin beds. It wasn't fancy. The kids didn't know what to make of it. They're used to nicer places. It was so wroth it to enjoy the Saturday evening events at Bled. We found a place that had "fast food." It was kebabs, pitas, etc. As long as we ate there, we could park there and use their restroom. That ended up being the find of the trip. Annie and I shared food and it was delicious. We then went down to the lake to see all the happenings.

Northern Italy. On the road to Bled

Stopped to see a church on a hill and I said "Annie, let me get a picture." This is what I got.

Here's the church. Kids running up the hill to see deer. 

Just bury me and Annie here

Metta, my bunkmate

our roommates, Mack, Ike, and Zeb

Back of the Van: me, Ike, Annie, Metta, Zeb, and Mack

Neither words nor pictures can describe Lake Bled. I'm just glad I got to go there before it gets discovered by the rest of the world. It's so picturesque. There's a castle on a hill that overlooks the lake. There's a church on an island in the middle of the lake. There's a beach area for families that has water slides, diving boards, decks, and grass for enjoyment. There's a free beach area with grass and sand. There's a 3.5 mile path that goes all around the lake. There are only a couple of big hotels. There are also excursion buses that take you to the nearby national park with gorges, canoeing, zip lining, rafting, etc.

Bled Days appeared to be the culmination of a singing competition because we heard the winner sing. Very little English is spoken. Most of what we heard was Slovenian. Of course, those in the tourist industry spoke English, some better than others. It was also fun to note that tourists used English as a common language for communication. I met a family from the Netherlands and we communicated in English since Keenan wasn't there. We waited for it to get dark enough to see the lights on the lake. A local baker saves all their egg shells and they fill them with paraffin and put a wick in each one. Then they light them and float them on the lake for Bled Days. That was fantastic. There was live music playing and we just sat on the banks of the lake, watching the lights. Zeb really wanted to reach one. Finally as the night was winding down and the current had pushed the lights to one end of the lake, he was able to shimmy his way on his stomach to get close enough to one and get it. What a souvenir. He held onto that thing.

Sunday we got up and went to the Alpine coaster play area for the kids. Annie and I sat and took pictures as they came down. The views. The green hills. The clear water. Amazing!! We also hung out at the park where there were crafts and activities for the kids as part of Bled Days. There was a corner where a fairy was telling stories to kids (in Slovenian) and the helpers were all in character.  We had yummy fish and veggies for lunch, walked around the lake, walked up to the castle, got some groceries, and checked into our house. The house was great. It had a kitchen and living area, bedroom and bathroom on the main floor. Upstairs there was another small kitchen, a living area with a bed, a bathroom and a bedroom. The basement, which I never saw, had a washer and dryer. Leisy and Kent enjoyed the food that we had for lunch so much that they made reservations to go to dinner at the restaurant. They also saw a small Salvador Dali exhibit that was in the hotel. Annie and I hung out with the kids. Kent and Leisy don't go out often because the legal age to leave kids alone in Italy is 14.

This toilet seat cover and the fabric print on the wall made our room the coolest

Mack: always amazing at the park

Zeb playing around in some forts

Crafts with help from a Slovenian woman and Leisy

Fairy stories in Slovenian in the park. 

Zeb didn't use the brakes at all

Ike

the girls: Metta and mom

Mack and Dad

Annie hates when scaffolding ruins the view

NO FILTER

The view of Bled from the castle

These musicians ate lunch near us

Bled castle

The cat that hung out at our house

Monday we went to our fast food joint for baked goods for breakfast and to park and use the location as home base. Leisy and Kent took the kids to the lake. Annie and I rented bikes and rode around the lake. We got sandwiches at a local grocery store and just took lots of pictures. It really was an amazing day. After lunch, we headed to our parking spot/bathroom and the Millers were there, too. It had been too cold to really enjoy the lake. We all decided to go back to the house and have an adventure together. We drove to Triglav national park and hiked to a waterfall. The scenery was unlike anything I'd ever seen except in Disney's Frozen. I expected Sven's troll family members to jump out and start singing. That night Annie, Leisy, and Kent went back to the restaurant for dinner. I was happy to hang with the kids. I'm not a huge foodie. I don't appreciate expensive food. I like to make it, but I don't like to spend my money on it. The boys and I played some games. The little kids played a game I had put on my phone.

Why did this car have to be parked here?

I was in water up to my knees. It was so clear.

This is the look of someone who can't believe she's in Bled, Slovenia

View on our hike to the falls

Cairns everywhere

Made it to the falls and the fence that blocked us from the falls

I expected to see Sven from Frozen and his troll family pop out and dance

Tuesday we got up and went to the Vintgar gorge. It's a ravine with walking paths along it. It had been closed for months for them to fix up the walking paths. It had just re-opened and it was pretty crowded, especially when we were on our way out. Good thing we listened to Leisy and got an early start. Leisy and Kent then took their 3 big kids to the lake since it was a warmer day. Mack came with me and Annie on a boat across the lake to the island. We walked up to the church. I got some ice cream - Bled Bell Ringer flavor (Snickers). Did that instead of paying 6 euros to ring the church bell. No thanks. We got 40 minutes on the island to walk around. It was really beautiful. Mack was the star of the trip. He entertained everyone on our boat. Ok, we weren't done yet.

The gorge

Mack joined the gmas on the boat ride to the church on the island

It was time to drive home and we went home via AUSTRIA! First we stopped at McDonald's to get food for the kids. Yes, I've now been to Slovenia and Austria, too. We took a scenic drive on the Villacher Alpinestrasse. It was a 20 euro toll road that took us up to the top of Austria. At one point on the drive, you can see 3 countries - Austria, Slovenia, and Italy. We drove all the way to the top where there was a great playground with a zip line swing, a slide, and tunnels for climbing. We also ate dinner up there. No big deal, but I ate wiener schnitzel and apple strudel for the first time on the top of Austria. This is also where I paid to use the bathroom. The one and only time. Leisy got a delicious goulash. I want to learn to make that now. When she ordered it, the host seemed a bit puzzled, as if it wasn't good. We kinda laughed. It was so good. What a treat. We got home around 9:00 and crashed. What a trip! Oh, and the kids don't sleep in the car. I couldn't believe it. After all the days of packed activities, they were awake the whole time. They're good in the car. I just couldn't believe it. My kids would have crashed multiple times.

McDonald's always helps

These cows are busy making milk for delicious chocolate

Me on the zipline swing

apple strudel

cheese noodle

Right at the bottom of the dip in the mountains in Austria. To the left is Slovenia and to the right is Italy

Austria

Our van full of travellers

3 countries in one photo