A Weekend on Lake Bled
Deep blue waters, crowned by mountains and forests, in the middle of which floats a small green island with a towering church. This corner of Slovenia seems to be a favorite of locals and tourists from neighbouring regions. Lake Bled is perhaps the nation's most famous resort, but in addition to offering a bucolic setting for a relaxing lakeside vacation, it is an excellent starting point for hiking and discovering some of Slovenia's unexplored villages.
OJSTRIKA AND MALA OSOJNICA
HIKE TO ADMIRE THE LAKE FROM ABOVE
The lake itself is very picturesque, bathed in morning mist and silence, it is a lovely place just to take a swim or stay and admire the placid waters along its perimeter. To get an overall and top-down view of the lake, you can take a short but rewarding hike, also suitable for families (we did it with baby and backpack). From the beach at Velika Zaka, southwest of the lake, a fairly easy trail climbs up on the high ground through the woods (we still recommend hiking shoes since it is steep and the ground is uneven) that leads in about 20-25 minutes to the Ojstrika viewpoint. If you want an even better view of the lake, you can continue for another 15-20 minutes and reach the second viewpoint, Mala Osojnica. Along the way there are several views of the surrounding hills, and the forest itself is very pleasant for a walk, especially in autumn.
From here you can descend back down to the lake, slightly south of the Velika Zaka parking lot, along a very steep path equipped with steep metal stairs, or, as we did, back down the same path.
The beach parking lot provides easy access to the hike, although the hourly price is very high indeed.
VINTGAR GORGES
About 4 km from Bled are these picturesque 1.6-km-long gorges, which offer a pleasant and undemanding walk. This deep gorge is traversed by a rushing river that forms loops and cascades, along which you walk on a wooden footbridge that cuts through the rock, traverses the waters back and forth, and allows you to admire the river in all its roar. A picturesque, tall waterfall, graced by a stone railroad bridge, and a second, even taller one that plunges into the mist of the forest, mark the end of the trail.
The gorge can only be crossed in one direction, and when you reach the end, you can continue on two paths through the woods back into parallel valleys, skirting crops, farms and pastures.
The walk through the gorges is in itself very easy, and takes about half an hour. Also, if you do not want to continue on foot, there are shuttles between the end point of the gorges and the parking lot.
Parking costs 5 Euro and entrance to the gorges 10 Euro per adult (children at reduced rates). Admission in the morning until 1 pm must be booked online, only in the afternoon can tickets be purchased on site.
ROUND THE LAKE
Lake Bled is a small body of water, and you can walk around its perimeter in a leisurely 1.5h walk. Each point around the lake offers a different view, now toward the mountains, now the castle, now the church and its bell tower, now the impressive staircase that reaches it. One crosses meadows, wooden footbridges at the water's edge, avenues and gardens. The village itself has nothing special, and is devoted to intensive vacationing, but the rest of the perimeter is very picturesque to explore at a leisurely pace.
In summer, along the lake, one can stop to sunbathe on a lido deck, or admire the rowing races from shore to shore. To reach the island, one can rent picturesque wooden boats in the village.
From the north shore, you can also climb to the castle, which is open to the public for tours, or for a tasting menu dinner in its exclusive restaurant.
RADOVLJICA
Just 7 km from Bled is this delightful medieval village that can be visited literally in 10 minutes, but invites you to spend a few peaceful hours among its honey stores, typical gabled houses surrounding the village square, and its taverns, such as Gostilina Lectar, a historic eatery that prepares local comfort food.
WHERE TO SLEEP AND WHERE TO EAT
Such a popular resort really offers dozens of solutions for lodging. We opted for lodging away from the center (Villa Alpina), but there are plenty of options, including some glamping with stilts on the river and hot tubs in front of the tent.
For dinner we found an excellent place that offered a typical tavern atmosphere and hearty, fine dining: Restavracija Sova. This restaurant offered us very courteous service, especially for the baby, and the decor and style of the restaurant are very cozy. Finally, we were pleasantly surprised by the cuisine: the dishes are really plentiful, and in addition to an excellent baked lamb with vegetables, we tasted a really excellent octopus with mashed potatoes and truffles.
Finally, it is said that one cannot leave Bled without tasting its signature dessert, Blejska Kermna Rezina. It is a thick slice of cake that between two layers of crispy puff pastry encloses two tall overlapping layers of cream and custard. If you are on a diet, stay away from this cake; if, on the other hand, you are curious to try it, the place to go is Slaščičarna Zima, a very spartan café, that nonetheless churns out excellent desserts. Although we honestly preferred the Prekmurska Gibanica, with a similar composition, but instead of overlapping layers of cream, it is filled with cheese curd, raisins, apples, and poppy seeds.
