Day 4 - Back on the Bus

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As always, we started the day out with breakfast at the hotel. After breakfast we boarded the bus, bound for various sites in the Alpine region. Lorie wasn’t feeling well, so she stayed in Bled.

Our first stop was Skofja Loka, Slovenia’s oldest city. We strolled along 800 year old streets, layered with cobblestones. After reaching the highest point in the city, we toured the museum and castle. Portions of the castles have been restored through the years, most notably by Joze Plecknik, Slovenia’s most important Architect.

We continued our tour by stopping at the Elan Factory outlet. We shopped briefly then continued on to Bohinj. We had a late, light lunch at Restavracija Zlatovcica (the size of our group apparently overwhelmed the very lightly staffed restaurant). After lunch, we strolled around Lake Bohinj - Slovenia’s largest glacial lake (where I got another rock for Becky). The views of Mount Triglav from this area are spectacular. We tried to get into the church but it was locked up tight. Dad and I wandered over to another area of the very small town and found a nice little gift shop.

Special note: one of the group was looking at the internet on his BlackBerry® and saw that tickets to see UT beat Memphis are going for $10,000… Go VOLS!!!!!

We rode up to Vogel, the ski area near Bohinj. Afterward, we headed back to Bled, through several small villages. We stopped at a village and took pictures of the hay barns that are very similar to the cantilevered barns in East Tennessee. We said goodbye to our intrepid tour guide, Jon, and finished up the tour.

While staying in Bled, Lorie road a boat out to the Church of Mary the Queen on the island in the middle of the lake. The island’s history dates back to 7th century B.C and the first chapel was built 8th-9th century. The legend associated with the bell of the church is that those who ring the bell and make a wish will see their wish come true.

Upon returning from the island, the swans were out on the lake and we walked over to see more of St. Martin’s church. There where paintings around the walls of St. Mark’s Church, depicting phrases of The Lord’s Prayer. Also in the church, several in the group were particularly interested in the painting of The Last Supper with Judas present.

We ended the day with a group dinner at the hotel.

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Photos

From the Island on Lake Bled
View of Castel Bled and St. Martin's.