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expedition_retirementI have wanted to visit Lake Bled ever since I first saw photos of the picturesque lake with its pretty church on the island in the middle of it, the alps rising up behind them. Those images are a big part of the reason I jumped at the opportunity to go on this bicycle tour, and I must say that I was not disappointed.
We transferred from Ljubljana to Bled by bus, about an hour ride, and arrived in Bled in the early afternoon, with rain threatening. By the time we walked from the bus stop to our hotel, the immediate threat of rain seemed to have passed, so after dropping our luggage, we headed out to see a little of the town of Bled and the Lake before we had to return to the hotel for our bicycle fitting. Our walk wasn't long, and we mostly just explored the area at the end of the lake closest to the town. The low clouds on the alps beyond the lake made the views more dramatic. While I was prepared for the church on the island, I somehow I hadn't realized that there was also a castle on the hill above the lake, which was equally impressive. We also walked over to the Church of St. Martin, which sits in the town, near the base of the castle hill.
The next day, after our ride, a group of us hiked up the hill to visit the castle. Bled Castle is believed to be the oldest castle in Slovenia and dates to at least the 12th century, although portions of it were added much later. Today it is a museum, with exhibits on the history of Lake Bled and the surrounding area. While there is a road the climbs up the back side of the hill, we chose to walk up the steep trail that climbs up from the lake shore. The views of the lake and the surrounding countryside from the castle are breathtaking. The castle also has a small chapel with beautiful frescos.
On our final evening in Bled, we opted to ride one of the traditional Pletna boat out to the island to visit the Pilgrimage Church of the Assumption of Mary. These wooden boats are rowed with long oars by a boatman who stands at the stern of the boat, facing forward. The ride out to the island took about twenty minutes, and we were given about 45 minutes to explore. We visited the church, climbed the bell tower and made a very brief visit to the museum before returning to the boat for our ride back to shore. Later, after eating some supper, we went for a walk around the lake, taking in the changing vistas across the lake, and watching the sunset color the evening sky.
On our final day in Bled, after our hike through the Vintgar Gorge, we had some down time while they loaded the bicycles for our transfer to Piran, so we returned to the lakeshore to watch a little bit of the rowing competition that was being held there over the weekend. There were rowing teams from all over Europe in attendance, competing in various events from single rower sculls to 6 and 8 person crews.
We transferred from Ljubljana to Bled by bus, about an hour ride, and arrived in Bled in the early afternoon, with rain threatening. By the time we walked from the bus stop to our hotel, the immediate threat of rain seemed to have passed, so after dropping our luggage, we headed out to see a little of the town of Bled and the Lake before we had to return to the hotel for our bicycle fitting. Our walk wasn't long, and we mostly just explored the area at the end of the lake closest to the town. The low clouds on the alps beyond the lake made the views more dramatic. While I was prepared for the church on the island, I somehow I hadn't realized that there was also a castle on the hill above the lake, which was equally impressive. We also walked over to the Church of St. Martin, which sits in the town, near the base of the castle hill.