Bled and Ljubljana - Slovenia

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We had drizzly rain in Ljubljana so we decided to head out of town to Bled. Bled is a very beautiful lakeside town. There is a church on an island in the middle of the lake and a small castle set on a cliff high above the lake. When we arrived in the town the rain eased so we had a walk on the lake edge. We then drove up the hill to view the castle but it was raining 'cats and dogs' so we retreated to town for hot drinks. Eileen’s saga of hot chocolate drinks continued. This time we had a problem we had never struck before – the drink was toooo chocolatey! That’s right, it was melted chocolate in a cup and you needed a spoon to eat it! My coffee was ordinary.

We drove back to Bled Castle (Blejski Grad in local parlance) as the rain had eased again and we were pleased we did. There is a wonderful view over the Bled area and The Church of the Assumption on Bled Island on the lake. The castle is now a museum with an excellent display of local artefacts and history of the local area and its people through the ages. It is well worth a visit.

We headed back to Ljubljana and had dinner at Sokol in the main street. It was good quality food at a reasonable price. After dinner we strolled through the very pretty town centre which spans a small river.

We stayed at the Symbol Hostel. This is a modern hostel with good facilities, but no breakfast. The security was lax and needs to be improved and often there is no one on the reception desk. We would recommend looking for something closer to the old town.

In the morning we decided to visit the castle, Ljubljanski Grad, before moving on to Budapest. The substantial castle overlooks the old town, giving lovely vistas. The castle is now used for a variety of civic purposes after a chequered history of uses, including a prison!

Walking through town, Eileen ducked into a store where she had seen some shorts in the shop window the night before. An hour later she emerged with shorts, dress, and two tops! Only 90 Euros! A little further on, I purchased a nice casual shirt in a 60% off sale.

We really enjoyed this very pretty and compact city. I had not heard of Ljubljana prior to this trip but we would strongly recommend a day or two here if you are passing close to Slovenia.

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