Bled Castle and Island - Day 18

Today is our last day in Bled so we needed to see the two things that everyone does when they visit - climb up to Bled Castle and get over to Bled Island. But first a BIG shout out to the wonderful B&B we are staying at here. It’s called Garni Hotel “Berc” It is a third generation business and the people and place couldn’t be nicer. It is meticulously clean  and well decorated in an authentic alpine style. The bed is so comfortable and it’s the biggest and best bathroom we’ve had on the entire trip! And they don’t mind if we take over the main traffic area and do our yoga. And the breakfast is great too!! 

Garni Hotel “Berc” 

Bled Castle is over 1000 years old and sits high on a hill overlooking the lake. There are various ways to get to the top - walk up, drive up, take a bus or even a horse drawn carriage. We did the walk and compared to hiking Cinque Terre it was a piece of cake. The best part of seeing the castle is really the views you have of the lake, Alps and surrounding towns and villages. 

Views from the top. We wore our Slovenia shirts again - why not!

Inside the castle they have various displays on the history of the castle and the town. Also there is a working printshop printing from Gutenberg’s time, and a wine cellar where you can bottle and cork your own souvenir bottle of wine. The “monk” working there told us Laura Bush came in 14 years ago and got one. And that she was a lovely person. George was meeting with Putin 30 miles away so she came to see the castle. That was pretty interesting. He was also the first person in all our time in Slovenia that mentioned Melania Trump being from there - and that she never smiles anymore. His words not mine! 

Julie and “the monk”, the castle chapel where they still hold weddings, the printing press and entrance to the castle.  

Next up Bled Island. There are a couple of ways to get to the island. You can rent a rowboat, swim, bring your own kayak or do what is the tradition - take a Pletna boat - and that’s what we did. We thought about renting a rowboat but I am clueless about steering AND rowing, plus the water was a little rough. Julie would have had her hands full with me so we took the usual way. The history of the boats is interesting. They have been used since the 17th century and are built by hand. They are difficult to steer and the oarsmen are all in a union where they pool their money each day and give a share to the tourism board and split the rest evenly. There are only 21 official pletna boats on the lake. 

Our oarsman was working hard! 

The island is small. It basically has the Church with the bell tower, a gift shop and a bakery plus some land around the church. It does have a good view and is the only natural island in the entire country of Slovenia. Once the pletna brings you to the island you only have 40 minutes to do and see what you want before they take you back, so you need to make the most of it. 

Julie on the island, stairs up to the church from the water and a view of the church. 

Most people head right to the church or up the bell tower to ring the bell, but Julie and I had another plan. I had read that the bakery had amazing potica - that’s the wonderful nut bread that is a favorite of ours because we were raised on it by our grandmothers, and it has not been as easy to find in Slovenian as we had hoped. So we made that our first stop - fingers crossed they would have it. Success! So we each bought two pieces - one for today and one for the drive tomorrow and ate piece one on the island immediately. The woman in the bakery proudly told us that their potica was eaten by Pope Francis for Easter dinner and that Melania Trump has had it served at a state dinner. Needless to say it was delicious! And we had our second Melania Trump mention of the day.

Yumm! 

We walked around the lake again and looked for a place for our last dinner. A cute local Bavarian place caught our eye so we decided to give it a try. No one is more shocked than I on what we both ordered. Grilled bratwurst, sauerkraut and boiled potatoes. I haven’t had a bratwurst in 10 years but when in Rome or for that matter Slovenia......

I could only eat half the sausage but I especially loved the sauerkraut and potatoes.  

Here’s my favorite picture of the day. 

The Alps and Bled Castle taken from Bled Island.

I’m a little sad leaving this beautiful country. It has really exceeded my expectations in every way and I feel so fortunate to have had the time here. Next stop Croatia!

#catchmeincroatia!

Alpine Mountain Biking - Day 17

Blessed with another beautiful day in Slovenia! We knew the area around the lake would be crowded, and since we still have Monday in Lake Bled to do the island and castle, we decided to avoid the crowds and use the mountain bikes the owner of the B&B offered us to see some of the countryside. As an “expert excurstionist” I figured since I had ridden a bike a year and a half ago down the lake in Chicago I was ready. I was not quite prepared for the rough terrain we would encounter, most of which was our fault since we got lost so many times! I had read about a town called Radovljica that was famous for bee keeping (yes I am that much of a nerd!) and had a lot of history so that was originally our goal. On a map it looked to be about 4 miles or so from Bled as the crow flies, but the roads were not built for crows so it appeared we would have to navigate our way through several towns to get there. We figured it would be well marked with good signage - the first of many mistakes we made. To get started we asked a few people for directions which in all cases went like this. We first of all butchered the name 20 different ways so had to always pull out the map and show it to them. Correct pronunciation of Radovljica is rah-DOH-vleet-suh but try remembering that when you’re out on a gravel road in the middle of a field! So they would say something like go right and at some point cross the river and you’ll find a sandy road somewhere and it’s over there. Huh?? And once in awhile a sign for another village we had never heard of. I’ll end the suspense right now and tell you by some miracle we found it! I am still pretty astonished at that, but really worth it. We saw amazing beautiful countryside, perfectly manicured little villages, a gorgeous rushing river with people fly fishing, and lots of toplars! 

Wearing our Team Slovenia shirts! A big toplar (Julie does not get as excited as I when we see a toplar) and one of the roads we biked on leading into Ribno. 

There were many of these pretty grotto’s along the way. We definitely needed some divine intervention on the ride!

It took us over two hours to find Radovljica and the ride home when we kind of had our bearings took only 35 minutes. When we got to town and looked on the map at all the places we had ridden through it was clear we had gone in circles quite a few times and definitely not stayed on the road. At one point a woman waved us through a field on what was not even a road! But people tried to help us and we just kept going. Radovljica was like a fairy tale town. It sits on a plateau overlooking the Saba River and is very old. The town originally was surrounded by a stout wall and you can still see the remains of it.

There were a few pubs and restaurants in Old Town and people out enjoying a beautiful Sunday. 

The beekeeping museum was not open so Julie did not have to suffer through that. Instead we walked through town and saw a cute place to have the famous Slovenian “cheese toast.” Only famous to us because they serve it everywhere and it’s a grilled cheese sandwich. 

A picture of the sign to prove we made it! Sandwiches and beer at the oldest medieval pub. We earned it!

Here is my favorite picture of the day. The Alps and the Saba River - so beautiful!

It was starting to get overcast and we had somewhat of an idea how to get back to Bled but had no idea how long it would take so we headed back. We did catch some rain on the way back but just kept going. Just a steady drizzle not a downpour. We have been so lucky on this trip. That was the only rain we’ve encountered and it actually cooled us off. We made it back to the B&B in time to shower and head across the street for our dinner reservations at what we had heard was one of the best restaurants in town. It exceeded our expectations! Pension Berc was wonderful. We’ve had some truly amazing food on this trip and this dinner is in the running for best meal of the trip. The atmosphere was relaxed but elegant. They had a pianist playing the entire time and the presentation of every course was special. 

Julie had a beef fillet artfully presented with sauces and veggies. I had homemade egg pasta with beef fillet, sun dried tomatoes, pea pods and capers. For dessert lavender panna cotta with berries and chocolate shavings. And a nice bottle of red wine!

Another great day! We loved seeing some of the countryside and continue to be so impressed at how well everything is taken care of. The people are quite serious and so hardworking, but friendly and helpful. They really remind Julie and I of our grandparents and Dads. I wish my Dad could have seen it but I know he’s happy I’m here. 

Thanks for coming along and more to share tomorrow 😊 

Lake Bled - Day 16

I’m happy to report my knees are recovering nicely - I got up this morning and was ready to ROCK! Hopefully one day out of commission won’t cause my “expert excursionist” title from Cinque Terre to be revoked. We had half a day still in Ljubljana before we needed to catch our bus to Lake Bled, so headed out on another beautiful day to catch a bit more of the Ljubljana Festival that just started and make our way to the Ljubljana Cathedral named after St Nicholas. The cathedral was gorgeous. Italian Baroque interior and amazing outside front doors that were created for the visit of John Paul II’s visit in 1996.

That’s John Paul II on the middle picture of the doors.  

Another walk through the amazing Central Market which was even bigger and better because it’s Saturday! So many homemade bakery items, cheeses, flowers, produce, sausages etc.  

Beautiful arrangements handmade with dried flowers. 

Slovenia has a strong German feel to it evident from all the beer and sausages available and consumed, so we decided for lunch we would give it a try.  

It was delicious! Served with brown mustard and fresh horseradish. A beer seemed an appropriate accompaniment. My Dad would have loved it! 

A full bus heading to Lake Bled. It only took 40 minutes to get there but we could see the snow covered Alps almost immediately.  

Wow!  Lake Bled is where Slovenians vacation and the travel books give it a big thumbs up for beauty, relaxation along with hiking, biking and boating.

Lake Bled!  On the right is Bled Castle. We’re heading there tomorrow!

We found our awesome Alpine B&B and changed into shorts to do the 3 and a half mile walk around the lake. 

Bled Island sits in the middle of the lake and you can take a boat out there and explore the island which we will also do tomorrow. Apparently they also allow nude sunbathing!

Along the way on our hike we walked up to what is now called Vila Bled high on a hill overlooking the lake. It was originally built for Tito as one of his summer homes, but is now a fancy hotel with a beautiful restaurant. We weren’t in the right attire to have a drink there, so instead headed up the hill a little higher to what used to be Tito’s Teahouse where he entertained diplomats. 

Vila Bled has a beautiful drive leading to the entrance lined with flowers that were in full bloom. 

Tito’s Teahouse is now called  Cafe Belvedere and they serve drinks and snacks with a beautiful view.

We had a great view of Bled Island while we enjoyed our late afternoon wine while deciding where to have dinner. 

Unfortunately I have no pictures of dinner because we finally had a bad meal on this trip. It was a great location right on the water, and I think we just ordered the wrong thing. We felt like a burger so decided to split what in their defense they called a meat burger with potatoes on flatbread. We were expecting a good old American hamburger but instead got what appeared to be a mixed meat patty of which there was clearly no beef. Our first response was “where’s the beef?” This after Julie ordered  a vodka on the rocks and was delivered a tray with 3 glasses - one with ice, one with water and one with a teaspoon of vodka! Her response was “where’s the vodka?” So he brought her another teaspoon of vodka! On the bright side the potatoes were actually french fries and they were good. Then we ordered the famous kremna rezina cake which we had the night before in Ljubljana and was delicious. Not nearly as good here so that was a bust as well. Our poor waiter felt bad so he actually gave us the dessert free. He did his best so we tipped him which is not super common here - not like in the states at all. Some of the grilled fish and sausages going by looked pretty good so I think we just made a bad choice. Oh well. Not every meal can me great.

We did get to see an example of the famous Slovenian roofed hayrack called a toplar. Because of the frequent rainfall in the mountainous northwest the hay racks are covered by a roof that allows the hay to dry thoroughly. 

The toplar. That should help you if you’re ever on Jeopardy!  

All in all a fun day. I can’t say enough good about the beautiful country of Slovenia! Can’t wait for tomorrow!  

Ljubljana- Day 15

Still in Ljubljana - but showing how flexible we are today. The plan was to rent bikes today and tour Ljubljana via that mode of transportation - but because sometimes my head gets ahead of my feet our plans changed. That’s a nicer way to say I can be super clumsy and took a hard fall at breakfast and banged up both knees pretty badly. So riding a bike seemed like a very bad idea. I was laughing at myself in spite of the pain because Julie fell in Florence and hurt her knee so it appears we are not still 20 like we think we are and need to pay more attention to what we’re doing. I’m sure I’ll be fine but we took it pretty easy today which actually worked out well since unbeknownst to us it’s a holiday in Slovenia today - and lots of people are in town around the square with food and music to participate in. We seem to be hitting the holidays everywhere we go.

How often do you see two accordions in a band?? Statue of France Preseren Slovenia’s most famous poet in the main square, and the nicest department store in town! Beautiful high fashion in a gorgeous building.  

The river is a main focal point in the center of town with shops, restaurants and bars lining both sides. There are quite a few bridges that cross and in addition to the Dragon Bridge I posted yesterday another famous one is the Triple Bridge which comes right off Preseren Square. 

Three bridges all crossing in the same area designed by Joze Piecnik the leading architect in Ljubljana. 

We went on our hunt for potica and found it! Julie and I both have fond memories of our Slovenian grandmothers making potica for the holidays, and it’s delicious. It’s a nut bread in a yeast dough rolled up like a pinwheel. Usually made only around the holidays we were told it might not be available but we scored and ate it immediately. Pretty close to what we remembered. 

Top left - the pinwheel. They appear to make different flavors now but we went with the classic. 

Ljubljana is a beautiful clean and friendly place. We have been very impressed with the locals that all speak really good english. Thank goodness because their language is hard to decipher and even harder to understand. They are all very proud of their city and country, and it shows with how well organized and efficient they appear. 

Just a sample of some of the beautiful buildings.  

The food is quite different from Italy although there is still a representation of pasta on many menus. There are lots of meat choices and not just beef and pork. We’ve seen quite a few options with deer, boar and veal - also fish including octopus and squid. Rick Steve’s gave a good recommendation for Julija and we had walked by it a few times so decided to try it for dinner. It might sound unadventurous but we opted for salmon and sea bass both with veggies. And lots of local wine that is good and very reasonably priced. Still working through the guilt for all the pasta, pizza and tiramisu we consumed in Italy.

Sea bass and salmon. Both excellent! 

We came back to the hotel to do a few things and heard some voices outside our window. Oh look! It’s a group of Germans here to celebrate a bachelor party! They wanted to send a big hello to America so I’m delivering the message. Their matching T-shirts say Game Over! We all got a kick out of each other.

The Slovenians love their dessert and they make some good ones. Last night I had apple strudel. Tonight we found a cute place that had amazing desserts and coffee. It just wouldn’t be right to leave here without trying them.  

Top left is called kremna rezina which is whipped cream and vanilla custard sandwiched between a delicate crispy crust. Bottom left is gibanica which is a pastry filled with poppy seeds, apples, walnuts and cheese drizzled with rum. Both delicious but we could only finish half of each - shocking!

We walked around the city center one last time and agreed that we love Ljubljana. There are tons of restaurants and bars along the river and the side streets all with outdoor cafes filled with people having fun. The beautiful buildings are lit up making it a magical place. And since there are no automobiles permitted it creates a festive fun atmosphere that’s great to be a part of. So glad we got to enjoy it and we will miss it when we leave tomorrow. On to Lake Bled! 

Ljubljana Slovenia - Day 14

Next stop Slovenia!! My Dad’s parents are from Slovenia so it’s been on my list for awhile. The more I read the more I wanted to see it. Julie’s Dad’s parents are from here as well so it fit right into our plans post Italy. Slovenia is a small country, half the size of Switzerland but mighty. Economically it does extremely well compared to other countries that were also part of Yugoslavia. It’s a melting pot part Austrian, part Italian and part German and I can’t wait to see more. Trying to get to Ljubljana which is the capital of Slovenia was not super easy. After quite a bit of research going with GoOpti Shuttle seemed like the best plan and it turned out great. They picked us up in the only parking lot in Venice and drove us there with 4 other people. You have to book it in advance but it’s pretty reasonable and they go other places in this part of the world. Where there is a will there is a way!

Coffee and croissant in hand getting in the shuttle!! 

It took about 3 hours to make the trip and the terrain is quite different from Italy. Slovenia sits at the base of the Alps so it’s beautiful hilly country with little picturesque villages all along the way. We found our hotel and headed out to find food. One thing we noticed fast - you get a lot for your money here. We had a great lunch for almost no money. 

We both had the grilled chicken with a Mediterranean salad AND dessert for 5 euros - cheap!!! But good! 

One of the main things to see here is Ljubljana Castle which sits high above the city. Best way to get there is on the funicular so that’s what we did. 

We toured the castle which was built over 500 years ago, but the site has been used since 1200 BC. It was really in bad shape before the town of Ljubljana purchased it in 1903 but they have worked on it over the course of the last century and done a good job of making it something that can be used for events now and still maintained as much of the history as possible. 

The castle overlooking the town and pictures from when we were closer.

Having fun in the historic center.

The famous Dragon Bridge. I learned a lot about the history of dragons and mythology today. 

Trying to scare him back.

Such a pretty town and so peaceful after the throngs of people in Italy. We’re going to take it a little easier here and enjoy some sausage and sauerkraut!!! 

No cars allowed in the center of town - how nice!!

Na svidenje (Good bye) I have my work cut out for me!!!