Lake Placid

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We reluctantly checked out from our Grobisce accommodation, after enjoying a generous farm stay breakfast. We headed for our next accommodation at Lake Bled, but seeing a sign for a medieval town and castle along the way, we took a detour and headed up towards the mountains to Skofja Loka.



Skofja Loka was first mentioned in 973 as Lonca, when the lordship of the town was granted by Emperor Otto II to the Bishops of Freising. For the next one thousand years, the history of the town was tied to that of the distant ecclesiastical principality, and a castle and tower were built above the town for defence purposes, which later became the residence of the bishop's governor.



Škofja Loka was walled in the 14th century. In 1476 the town was attacked by the Ottomans. Lutheranism was established in Škofja Loka in 1526. Laws were passed against the new religion, and a Counter Reformation Committee was convened at the castle in 1601, resulting in the burning of Protestant books. Partisan units were active in the area throughout WWII. On 9 February 1944, German forces shot 50 hostages in revenge for the killing of a German soldier.



We found Skofja Loka to be a well preserved old town, with narrow cobblestone streets, a large church dominating the town, overlooked by Loka Castle. After walking around the old town, we headed up the hill, hoping to see inside the castle. Unfortunately, it was a Monday, and many monuments are closed on Mondays in Europe. Still, it provided us with a good panorama of the town.



Returning to our Alfa, we continued our journey to Lake Bled, only stopping for Kim to take a photo of a large pyramid of multi coloured pumpkins, of all shapes and sizes.



On arriving at our accommodation in Lake Bled, we opened one of our two balconies, only to be greeted by an uninterrupted vista of Lake Bled, with Bled Island in the centre. The iconic buiding on Bled Island is the pilgrimage church dedicated to the Assumption of Mary, built in its current form near the end of the 17th century, and decorated with remains of Gothic frescoes from around 1470 in the Presbyterium. Medieval Bled Castle towers above the lake on the northern shore.



We borrowed pushbikes from our hosts, and pedalled around Lake Bled, taking time to stop and take many photos of this renowned and picturesque lake.



Our friends Liz and Darrol arrived in Lake Bled late in the day.

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