Bled and Bohinj
There’s few more famous landmarks in Slovenia than lake Bled. But of course, if you ask most Slovenians they will scoff at it --“Tourist trap!” — and praise the nearby Bohinj. Having over a month at our disposal, we went to see both and to attempt to summit Bohinj’s Vogel peak. On our first trip, since everyone made Bohinj sound more appealing, we decided to spend the night there after starting the trip at Bled. Then, enamored with it despite all the other tourists, we came back to do Bled properly for 2 days on our way out to Austria, even touring Vintgar gorge.
Bled
Dominating the lake, sitting on a massive, forbidding stone outcropping is Bled castle.
We did little research and had few expectations when we drove up the windy road to the castle. But because of the road we took, it offered us our first glimpse of the lake, and took our breath away
Those dots in the water are stand up paddleboards, kayaks, rowboats, and every other conceivable small watercraft, mostly going from shore to the tiny island in the center. We didn’t get to do that the first day, but more on that later.
The castle is technically a museum, with tidbits about the history of occupants of the castle and people who lived in the area before. Masha was quite taken with some of the exhibits.
We also happened to catch an intriguing re-enactment of some pass-times of the past. Not as cools as swordfights they apparently sometimes stage there —
As we finished with the castle, the sun was heating up, so after grabbing some lunch, we headed down to the water. There’s a pleasant walkway around much (all?) of the lake.
Since Masha craved sun umbrellas and Alya spotted water slides, we went to the private beach right under the castle instead. Parking is not trivial in that area, but we were lucky to get a spot nearby. Masha relaxed with a book while Alya went down slides, jumped off a diving board, and played in a water park
On our second trip, we actually managed to get on the water on kayaks and SUPs
We paddled and paddled, sometimes in opposite directions. But eventually we reached our destination, a tiny island in the middle of the lake with a church and, of course, an ice cream shop, and its own glorious views
The other reason we came back to Bled was to ride our first toboggan - essentially a mini monorail bobsled that careens down a ski hill.
From the top it looks formidable, but since the rider controls their own speed using the brakes, you can choose whether you fly down (me), or go down comfortably like the below. Either way - it’s fun!
We really enjoyed Bled, and we LOVED our hotel there, as well as riding the electric scooters they generously provided. Masha says she’d go there again in a blink… ”to just be”… That being said, it is touristy, and the food is not the best in Slovenia.
Bohinj
Bohinj - about 45 min away - is definitely less touristy than Bled, and also considerably more rustic, as promised. We stayed in the village of Stara Fuzhina, a short walk from the water. Interesting fact, every street in Stara Fizhina is called… Stara Fuzhina, which makes finding your hotel so much fun! And, eventually, richly rewarding, for as the sun set, we saw a progression of stunning views from our room
The morning greeted us with a shockingly different view — or lack thereof —
But the fog dissipated pretty quickly
As the fog cleared up, and the clanging of the cowbells died down (they attained their pasture along the street directly below ours) the scene of greenery was left to us and the cheerful accordion playing somewhere to the left. It lent such a starkly different, European feel to the scene. "It is so fresh!" exclaimed Alya walking on to the balcony, "I don’t want to leave!" But, breakfast baconed, and off we went, leaving this behind
After a few strike-outs at Inns that only served overnight guests, we happened upon this gem of a place (Hotel Majerca) with incredible views and delicious offerings
where Alya and I got pulled into an impromptu game of soccer with other patrons
It was a blowout - they crushed us!
On our way to the Vogel gondola, nicely sated, I noticed that even regular bus stations in Slovenia get love and red flowers
In the winter, Vogel is still a ski resort, but in the summer it makes for great hiking. Going up the Vogel gondola was a piece of cake after Velika Planina, even though it was at least as tall.
The view of the valley is spectacular, especially while the sky remains blue (note this for later)
As on velika planina, the gondola is just the first step. But here the chairlift was actually running, for which we were initially grateful
But once we got on, we realized why everyone else was wearing windbreakers or rainshells. The wind was merciless, piercing our ridiculous t-shirts like Morozko attacking the evil stepsister.
After what seemed like hours, we finally arrived at the top, got a bit of bloodflow back after eating a warm crepe at the bar/cafe at the top of the hill, and started walking on the trail. Except, as we learned during our stay, more fickle than foreign exchange rates is the weather in Slovenia, particularly around mountain peaks. Very quickly the sky went from cloudy to menacing
Gimme shelter
The wisest among us turned back at the threat of rain, while the rest (me) soldiered on. But very quickly we were all forced to seek shelter under the pigmy bushes on the slope
and then run back to the chophouse at the top of the chairlift when the rain let up a bit. Here, in the warmth and comfort, we sampled our first proper Slovenian mountain delicacies while the weather raged outside: sausage and cabbage soup and chicken schnitzel, as well as various schnappses, including honey!
After the rain cleared, we enjoyed ourselves on the way down to the gondola — building cairns, chatting with the cows and, of course, finally putting our frisbee to use on (what?!) a disc golf course!
And now that there was no more rush to get to the top, we could pose with the animals (wooden and live) to our hearts’ content
Maybe we didn’t get to the top of the Vogel peak, and maybe we didn’t see the mountain in the best light, but its beauty will stay with us. Its beauty and the lesson that one should always carry a jacket to a hike…
I will also mention that one of the best parts of getting out of Ljubljana might have been just walking around the relaxed small villages and taking in all the cheerful scenery, especially given the regional tradition in rural Slovenia (and west Austria) of maintaining fresh red-hued flowers on the windowsills. They say that the worth of a housewife of the house is determined by the wellbeing/beauty of the flowers on the house.
