Lake Bled, Part 2: Just Call Me Rugged

Day 2 in Lake Bled started out with two cream-filled donuts from a local bakery down the street from Marko's = winning.


Cliffnotes of the Day:
We started the day by renting bikes and riding to Vintgar Gorge, a couple kilometers outside town and a 30-minute bike ride. The ride out there was SO CUTE, through rolling green hills and little neighborhoods. Some of the inclines were not-so-cute, especially as my bike chain broke as we were almost there and we had to ride all the way back to town to change the bike out, so inclines x2.

The scenic view on the bike ride

Today is National Slovenian Independence Day, which meant people were all off work/school, so the gorge was packed! It was a really pretty hike though; they built bridges and walking paths that followed this huge bubbly river in the gorge (it was "gorge"-ous ✌) complete with waterfalls, random bends, bridges, and waterfall spray.

Here's the gorge!

The water was so green!  MINERALS

Bubbly river

Just some selfie stick action

Winding footpaths built along the side of the gorge

Just a rainbow

Ending waterfall

After the gorge, Sunny took a bus out of town to see another lake, while I cycled back to Lake Bled because I wanted to hike a trail with a scenic overlook that we'd heard about the day before.

Armed with my map and my bike with the most uncomfortable seat ever (like sitting on a cement block), I located the trail halfway around the lake, chained my bike to a fence, and made the climb. For as chaotic as the lake area was with Slovenians on holiday, the hiking trail was incredibly empty and peaceful. It was so empty that I was afraid I was going the wrong way, and had to ask the first person I came across (an older British woman, who directed me towards one trail vs. another because "the other is rubbish"). The hike was a lot harder than I thought it would be, but when I finally reached the top, I was rewarded with this:

STAHHHHP IT, LAKE BLED

It was the prettiest overlook ever, and the best part was that it was totally empty as well, besides a photographer taking photos of a model:

I kid, I kid.

Just kidding. No but really, there actually was a real model doing a photoshoot, people. 

Anyways, I sat at the top for awhile - and you know what I did? Ate my kiwi (see Budapest entry)!!!! It was finally ripe after its own mini-world adventure.

After my hike, I biked a little further until I found an area where there was a huge expanse of lounge chairs facing the lake. Of course they cost money to sit in, but I treated myself a little (5 Euros; big spender here). The lounge chair came with my own personal concierge, who brought me a pillow, coffee and a sandwich. Living the dream.

I had a prime view of tons of small naked Slovenian children running around

On a side note, my legs/ass are in pain from the rugged outdoorswoman I've become over the past two days.

To round out the day, I ran to the fruit market, then cozied up on our guesthouse patio - then Sunny got back and we went to our last meal overlooking the lake.  Tomorrow, Sunny is headed back home to NYC by way of Belgium, and I continue onto Croatia.  

Slovenia was a great time; I didn't know a ton about it before I showed up, and it surprised me how nature-oriented and outdoorsy it is.  I can see how it is definitely like Switzerland (or even Colorado! So many parts like Colorado), but with delicious cream cakes and castles - so if those are things you Coloradans have been longing for - Slovenia is your place!

See you in Croatia!

Lake Bled, Slovenia: The Day I Spent in a Postcard

This morning, by some miracle of God (we may have have been misinformed of the bus times), we made it on a bus to Lake Bled.

Hello, adorable Bled Island

What It's All About:

LAKE BLED. If you've ever seen any photos of Slovenia (don't worry, you get a free pass since it's a baby country), then you've seen photos of Lake Bled. It's a stunningly picturesque lake about an hour away from Ljubljana - it's framed by Slovenia's famous mountains, and is probably most well-known for its tiny little island in the middle of the lake, which is home to a tiny church. And hazelnut rolls.

Cliffnotes of the Day:

• Sunny and I met up with some solo traveling friends we met in Ljubljana from both the walking tour and our hostel: Nadia (a solo backpacker from Australia) and Alex (solo vacationer from Canada), and Felipe (Canadian from Brazil; was traveling with his gf but was doing this leg alone). It was a great assortment of people - the traveling community is the best.
• We walked around the circumference of Lake Bled (3.5km) and took entirely too many photos

Solo adventurer crew - Nadia, Alex, Felipe, Sunny, me

Swans and a castle

Artistic

• Hiked up to the top of Bled Castle for more views

Group shot at the castle

• Took a traditional wooden rowboat out to the island, which was much, much more difficult than it looked. They have these traditional boats called pletnas that take you out, but we didn't want to be on a time constraint, and we were like, "We're young! We can do it ourselves!" On that note, I don't know if rowboats were made for 5 people. 

The traditional pletna boats

Felipe rowing, me posing

However, the island itself was adorable, and I loved walking around it. It only took like, 5 minutes to go from one end to the other.

Our group album cover shot. These are the stairs that lead up to the
church on Bled Island - legend has it that any groom who can carry
his bride up the 91 steps will have a happy marriage. About 80% succeed

Inside Bled Island church - you make a wish, then pull the rope to the giant bell
in the belltower. If you can get the bell to ring 3 times with only one pull
of the rope, your wish will come true. Let's just say I didn't want my stupid
wish anyway.

• Nadia, Alex, and Felipe returned to Ljubljana for the night, and Sunny and I had dinner in the small town of Bled. We are staying at the cutest guesthouse run by a man named Marko, and his house is straight out of 1970. It's so good. Marko is the best.

MVP of the Day:

Hands down - Felipe. I'm not sure if we would have made it to Bled island and/or back if it wasn't for his rowing skills. The boat only allowed for one rower - the oars were thin, unwieldy, and didn't have much leverage, and again - not sure if rowboats were made to haul 5. Add in a dash of strong winds, and Felipe was only one who could propel us in the general direction we wanted to go. Each of us gave it a go - most of us managed to make the boat paddle uselessly in circles in the water, while some even managed to row us in the wrong direction and create more work.

Um....can you row a little faster, Felipe?

Felipe, claiming he had "a little rowing experience" (LIES, FELIPE - ADMIT YOU'RE A PROFESSIONAL) not only single-handedly rowed us out there, but also managed a very impressive parallel boat parking maneuver. 

Oh, just parallel parking the boats

I will say, however, that I managed to row us half the way back. But only because there was no wind. 

Why does this look like such a struggle

Meal of the Day:

The restaurant we went to for dinner, Oštarija Peglez'n, by the waterside, which served the most ridic fish platter ever. 

Platter of fish. It was more appetizing than this photo makes it look...

And for the grand finale, Bled is known for its traditional desserts (reaction: extreme glee), the most famous of which is called Kremsnita. It is a vanilla custard cream sandwiched between two layers of delicate puff pastry, sprinkled with powdered sugar. I can't. Even.

KREMSNITA DELIGHTFULNESS

I swear I will tone down the dessert postings. And by "I swear I will", I mean NEVER.

Moment of the Day:

After dinner, Sunny and I walked outside the restaurant to hear strains of polka music (the official music of Slovenia). We followed it and found a traditional polka band playing on the patio of a nearby restaurant. 

Polka!

There were only a handful of people and one couple dancing along, so we went ahead and joined in. We attempted to polka, we waltzed, we solo-danced like idiots, the works. At one point, we had most of the restaurant up on the dance floor with us, and at other times (towards the end of the night), we were the only ones out there. We met the greatest people (a group of Canadians motorcycling through Europe, a couple from the U.S. celebrating their 50th anniversary by going to see the land of their ancestors), and even chatted with the band, who were adorable. 

Another travel moment I want to remember: dancing the polka to a live polka band on an outdoor patio overlooking Lake Bled, Castle Bled lit up gorgeously in the background, with a bunch of awesome strangers.

Bled Castle by night reflecting off the lake

On that note, I kind of want to learn to play the accordion now.

Ljubjlana, Slovenia - And Then It Never Stopped Raining

You know that Winnie-the-Pooh song where it rains so much that everything floods and things are floating away, including Pooh himself and all his honey pots (CRISIS, HE LOVES HONEY)?  Well, that was our day in Ljubjlana.

What It's All About:
Rain. Lots of rain.

Ok finee. According to my guidebook, Ljubjlana (which, fun fact, is the capital city of Slovenia and is not as terrible to pronounce as it looks) is a completely charming city that is a blend of both Eastern Europe and Western Europe.  It's fairly small (only 270K people), and people often compare it to Salzburg, Vienna, or a town in Switzerland.  Slovenia is all about the outdoors and it has gorgeous mountain/river spaces, which is why it is slightly reminiscent of Switzerland.  The town itself is borders a river and has multiple gorgeous bridges that were designed by a famous local architect.


Cliffnotes of the Day:

• Arrived from Budapest via a 9-hour train. Apparently, it's only like 4-5 hours away typically, but the train stops at literally ever single city anywhere near Budapest and/or Ljubjlana on the journey over.  I swear we made like 20+ stops. It was super talented. On the bright side, the train was fairly empty so I found an empty compartment (lap of luxury) and settled in nicely.

Oh, you don't also do your own photoshoot when you get your own train compartment...?

• Arriving in Ljubljana late evening, I checked into the hostel and met up with my friend Sunny, who I met at Daybreaker (a 7am morning sober dance party) in NYC a couple months earlier. He happened to be in Italy for a wedding last weekend, so tacked on a brief side trip to coordinate with my Slovenia itinerary. We did a brief walk through of the riverfront and its famous bridges

"This bridge reminds me of the Venetian in Vegas!" - direct C. Wang quote

• The next morning, we did the walking tour. Which was really nice and interesting, and lasted for about an hour, then.....RAIN. SO MUCH RAIN. IT NEVER STOPPED RAINING. IT RAINED MORE THAN I'VE EVER SEEN.  Like, super heavy heavy rain + wind that never let up the entire time. My entire bottom half ended up soaked, it was very very cold, and I went through a couple outfit changes to prevent hypothermia. And it never stopped raining all day and night. Apparently this is "very rare" for the city. 

Dragon Bridge - Ljubljana's symbol is a dragon, based on an old story about Peter & the Argonauts slaying a dragon there

Adorable riverside market

And then it started raining

Rainy Franciscan church (the pink church!)

Rainy tour group walking

Rainy streets

It's nighttime! Still raining.

• For lunch, Sunny and I met up with some people from our tour group at a local restaurant Sokol; which was touristy but offered Slovenian fare.  I had goulash in a bread bowl, so that was nice. And it was warm and dry indoors.

Bread bowls for the win

Fun Facts of the Day:

• Slovenia wasn't a country until 1991 (it's a baby!)  - formerly a part of Yugoslavia, it wasn't as impacted by the wars and managed to maintain some semblance of culture and intact-ness, which is why it's so put-together and slightly fancy, but in a small-charming-city kind of way
• They use Euros, and were one of the few net donors to the European Union when it was formed
• Slovenians love the outdoors.  There are so, so many outdoor activities to do here!
• The Slovenian flag features three mountains - rumor is you're not a true Slovenian until you climb the main mountain featured on the flag (Mount Triglav - apparently it's pretty difficult!) - the final step is when you reach the top, you get hit with a rope. Then ta-da! You're an official Slovenian.

Meal of the Day:

Rick Steves, genius that he is, recommended this incredible restaurant As Aperitivo - the food was delicious (fish!), the waiters were so on point, annnnnnd none of that really matters because the only thing that I cared about was they had this incredible famous strawberry cake. Which we obviously got for dinner.  It was borderline life-changing. Kind of like an incredibly light, airy cheesecake with thin white choco slivers and STRAWBERRIES.

NOMNOMNOMNOM

So I'm being a baby about the rain - I could totally see how Ljubljana could be a lovely, lovely city to visit. There is a huge cafe culture by the riverfront that is unparalleled, the town itself was beautiful and had that smaller-town feel, and the people were incredibly sweet.  Also, for as many days that are a washout (no pun intended) like today, there have been just as many beautiful, insanely perfect sunny days. I am just thankful to be a part of any of them at all.