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Europe » Slovenia » Upper Carniola » Bled
June 25th 2011
Published: July 7th 2011
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“I feel sLOVEnia” – that’s the motto and we have to agree with it.

Arriving in Lake Bled is like seeing the postcards and pictures come to life. The turquoise Lake with its tiny island and the Julien Alps all around. Camping Bled is right opposite the shore with a public beach. The staff are friendly and energetic and we pitch right next to the playground which suits us fine.

A quick scan of the tourist brochures in the camp reception over dinner and we decide to go to a flea market in a local town Radovljica. After a very relaxing breakfast (the boys being happy in the playground opposite the caravan by themselves) we head off and park up.

There is some sort of religious procession (Roman Catholic?) going on with a procession and chanting stopping at various shrines bedecked with flower petals and chanting and we wait as patiently as is possible with Thomas and Miles for them to file past and head off to the church.

The town square is absolutely gorgeous, a mix of architecture from 16th century onwards all lovingly restored complete with frescos. The flea market has a children’s activity area with a marble madness and this totally absorbs the boys and we find ourselves able to sit a few feet away in a café having another coffee watching them play happily without us for the second time in a day – can this be happening? They are playing there for so long we get bored!

In the interim I have scoped the local gingerbread museum – as gingerbread is dairy free it is always a winner at home. This place is a little gem, its all gingham and black wood with a big kitchen downstairs where they demonstrate (sort of) how they make the gingerbread. Miles drills them on what they use the sugar flowers for and we leave with two gingerbread hearts for the boys and a Santa Clause for the Christmas Tree!

As the Peace and Quiet Gods seem to be looking down favourably on us today, we decide to throw caution to the wind and go out for lunch too to a restaurant owned by a family of Accordian players (when in Solvenia..) whose family restaurant has been serving local fare for centuries (or so says the brochure).

The village is set at the foot of the Julien Alps and we opt to eat in the garden which is covered by a parasol the size of a big top. There is a play area for the boys resplendent with alpine chalet with wooden shutters, rock cave and slide - there is even spaghetti with tomato sauce on the menu – we are favoured today. Simon and I opt for some local fare, a veal stew with buckwheat and a local sauage goulash with cream and mushrooms – delicious! A great big happy face at the bill too, they only charge one euro for a glass of wine.

Sometimes, quite often actually - our holiday is interrupted by the need to do chores (over and above washing up 3 or 4 times a day). Today, we are in danger of running out of Camping Gaz which wasn’t available in Croatia and has only limited availability in Slovenia and unfortunately not around these parts. This means that we have to go to a town in Austria about 40km away and the boys are enthralled at thought of a road tunnel that goes from one country to another.

We pick up the gas and choose the Wurzen pass mountain pass route back to Slovenia which has some splendid views and a nice 18% gradient. At the top we see a sign for the Bunker Museum. As we’ve been in the car for a while we stop and take a look. At first glance we would have rated its longevity with the boys at about 15 minutes but they surprise us with their appetite for going underground and along the tunnels in this facility that was built in the cold war and only decommissioned in 2002. Miles wanted me to write in the visitor book that he liked the tunnel with the sheep in it and Thomas said he liked everthing – Mummy was pleased to get back in the car and away from the creepy crawlies.

Just up the road from Lake Bled is Lake Bohinj and we spend a magical late afternoon there on the beach skimming stones and trying to catch fish with the crumbs from our peanut butter sandwiches. Unfortunately we just missed the last cable car up and down Mt Vogel.

Back at Lake Bled the boys were keen to go swimming so we opted for the swimming area beneath the 1000 year old (this year) Bled castle. Here they have made some shallow and not so shallow swimming pools in the Lake with grassy banks to lie on and a couple of sandpits. It’s a really nice facility but would be less so if crowded. There are some enormous fish (3 or 4 feet long) at the bottom of the pools, perhaps Carp, which put us right off going in them. The boys are undeterred.

Wanting to see more of the Julien Alps we ventured up the Vrscic Pass (1500m) to Trente on the border with Italy. Stunning scenery, the pass being built in 1916 by Russian prisoners of war as a supply route for both the military and the locals who according to the literature used it for visiting fayres and the doctor. I hope they weren’t too ill when they started out as there were 54 hair pin bends up and over the pass.

For a last bit of fun before leaving we visited the “Fun Bob” summer tobogganing on the steep hill around the Lake. Thomas and Simon went up first on the chair lift and hurtled down the hill on a rail – Thomas was ecstatic aftwards. Miles and I went up next and I promised him that we wouldn’t go fast. We didn’t but it was great fun and the second time around for all of us we were a bit braver and a bit faster!

All too soon, its time to leave Slovenia and head north to Munich to meet Pat & George the Brukls and Lanzenbergers – but we will be coming back to Slovenia, it is too good not to.



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9th July 2011

Pleased your having a great time. House still standing! Enjoy the remainder of your excursions

Tot: 0.139s; Tpl: 0.011s; cc: 26; qc: 85; dbt: 0.1017s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1; ; mem: 1.3mb