Lake Bled

Lake Bled is 55km away from the capital of Slovenia, Ljubljana, it adjoins the town of Bled. When we went everyone was swimming in the lake & hiring boats but in winter it is a huge ice skating rink which seemed really strange when we were there.

When we got there we started walking and came across a really nice area but you had to pay 7 euros to go in & sunbathe. Seemed a bit of a rip off so we carried on walking. After about 20 minutes or so we came across a really nice area and decided to put our towels down and go for a swim. It was really really nice. The water was gorgeous, so clear you could watch the fish from the shore. 




Russell really wanted to hire a rowing boat to row to an island in the middle of the lake so after a few hours of sunbathing & swimming we walked again to find a rowing boat. We found one for 10 euros an hour which was cheaper than everywhere else and it was shaped like a swan. The boat hire guy explained that once you get to the island just tie up the boat using the clip to one of the hooks. I was thinking that doesn't sound very easy - whenever I've been in a rowing boat there's always a guy at the other side helping you moor up but Russell seemed to be fine with it so I assumed he knew what he was doing.

So off we go & its all lovely, I'm taking pictures, we're moving really fast, I was really enjoying it. After about 15 minutes we get close to the island & can see most of the hooks to moor up are taken, Russell starts to steer towards the gap (with my directions since he was going backwards). Now this bit didn't go so well, someone took the 1 free spot so we had to totally change direction. We were doing that for a while and then got in the right direction and were just about there. I said to Russell "shall I get out & try to pull us in?" but Russell misheard and just jumps out of the boat leaving me there on my own. The boat starts floating away from Russell and I'm panicking cos I've never rowed a boat before ever & Russell says "you're just guna have to row it back here". I was proper scared, I tried for a bit but nothing was happening, I looked back & Russell was about to strip off and jump in to pull me back so I pulled my socks up & got rowing. You know what? In no time at all the boat sailed safely right where it needed to be. Turns out I'm ace at rowing, who knew?

After that everything was less dramatic & we had a lovely time on the little island.

After the exertion of rowing we went to the supermarket for a beer & a Kremna Rezina. A Kremna Rezina is a Slovenian speciality dessert. It is basically a vanilla slice with fresh whipped cream in it. It is really really nice & the one we had was freshly baked in a hotel in Bled that morning.

What I didn't realise until we got to Bled was that it is a bit of a holiday town full of hotels so you could go stay there for a week or weekend - I would highly recommend it. I can't imagine there is anyone who wouldn't like it. For people who like more adventurous holidays there is caving, white water rafting, climbing etc.

So if you fancy a trip away and want something a bit different definitely consider Bled.