Lake Bled and the Julian Alps
We managed the Slovenian Interstate system well and arrived at Hotel Berc with no difficulty. Our first hotel seems to be a great choice and we can give the credit to Rick Steves. We were determined to not succumb to jet lag so we put on our warm clothing and hiked down the trail from our hotel to the famed Lake Bled. Our first view of the castle was breathtaking. We were able to watch it ‘light up’ as the night progressed. We walked along the shore of the lake to Panorama restaurant where we viewed the lake as we enjoyed soups, bread (oh, European bread!!!), cheese, drinks, and the famed Kremsnita. It is a Slovenian cream cake made of a rich vanilla custard and fresh whipped cream.
Our adventure began 31 hours earlier so it was time to hike up the hill to Hotel Berc for a much needed rest!
We woke up to a great European breakfast at the hotel consisting of, again, awesome breads along with muesli, yogurt, cheeses, meats, fresh veggies, and eggs.
Day two was exceptional. We walked around the entirety of Lake Bled. Yes, it was cold at first but we endured. It quickly became a beautiful windy day with lots of sun. The boats were scurrying to and from the center island with loads of tourists to visit the church. Personally, I was happy to be viewing from afar and not down in the boats. About halfway around, we stopped for tea (or beer, for some). There, we also bought cheese, bread, chocolate and wine for a picnic and continued on. Before our departure, however, our good-natured server came up to us and warned us to beware of the crocodiles in the river. We didn’t go swimming, nor did we fall for the story. It made me think of the Nagas in the Mekong River. We found a great place to picnic just off the lake trail headed toward the castle. It was a much needed rest. Julie and I continued our picnic while the guys raced to the top. We had a dinner to die for at OLD CELLAR restaurant with great views, again, of the castle at night. It was all great except the hike up to our hotel while being stuffed, tired, and cold. The lamb shank — yum!
Our last full day in Lake Bled took us on a driving adventure through the Julian Alps. Wow! These mountains can hold their own against any other range. Rocky, sun-lit, although free of snow, mountains were everywhere! We made a stop at the Nordic Ski Center where we saw great athletes pushing themselves to jump greater distances. We expected to see a closed course waiting for cooler weather but we were wrong! We saw athletes training and it was spectacular. The world record was set recently with a jump of 254.5 meters. Do you know how many feet that is? WOW!
The guys hiked to Boka waterfall, and also made a quick detour to Italy as we returned to Bled. Quite a day in the mountains! We ended our stay with dinner at Restaurant Central. The beef goulash with gnocchi was delicious. The best part of the meal, though, was the server. She was quite a character, had parachuted out of a helicopter last week (she was no young chick), and brought us lollipops when we left.
After one more delicious hotel breakfast we headed to Croatia but with another stop planned in the capital of Croatia, Zagred.
