Posted by & filed under Travel Country: Slovenia.

30/9/2008

I got up at 9.15am and went down to have breakfast. There was cereal, fresh fruit, meat slices, cheese, a variety of juices, tea and coffee, bread etc. It was one of the best spreads I’ve seen in a long time and all fresh. I was full by the time I was finished. The food was great here at the Pension Mayer, judging by the breakfast anyway.

I wanted to visit Bled Castle today because the weather was really nice again, beautiful blue skies with the sun shining. It really puts me into a good mood. I left the Pension to go exploring at 11am and there was a fresh nip in the air. I love mornings like that! Pension Mayer is only two minutes walk from the lake and the town. I knew that there was a path to the castle up behind the Church of St. Martin, so I followed that one but it was through the forest and steep enough. I made it in fifteen minutes though.

It was worth the steep climb. God, the view was fantastic. It really WAS like a fairytale, with the island, with the church, in the middle of the lake, which was so green, surrounded by high mountains. It was gorgeous. I could have stayed there for hours, taking it all in! There is a museum in the castle, which is ok, not the most impressive or informative I must say. It gives a history of when the castle was first discovered in the area, to some of the archaeological finds, to the history of the spa resort Bled was, to the present day. The castle grounds are split into a lower and an upper courtyard and the views from the terrace on the upper courtyard are just to die for! Especially in great weather, like it was that day. There is a lovely little chapel in the upper courtyard, which is definitely worth a visit because of the beautiful pink frescoes on the wall.

I sat on the cafe terrace and debated whether or not to go to Bohinj that day. I decided not to, because I’d really need to give it a whole day, to see the lake there and go to the Savica Waterfall and get to Vogel and take the ski lift to the top. At Vogel, you’re right in the middle of Triglav National Park, surrounded by the Julian Alps.

I came back down by the road this time and found my way back into town. I stopped off at the Gostilna Planincu again, for Hungarian Goulash soup. It was so tasty. I just took it easy for the rest of the day and sat on the benches by the lake for a while. It’s so peaceful there, you could just while away the hours, reading a book or taking a walk around the lake. At about 6.30pm I stopped off at Bistro Arbor, in the little square, full of shops, cafes and restaurants and had a coffee and a brandy. It was perfect as it was pretty nippy at this time of the evening. I decided to stay for dinner and they had a big choice on the menu, at very reasonable prices. I went back to the Pension and made use of the lovely big bath. It was so nice to have a soak in a bath and to step out covered in suds! Really nice!

The Pension has it’s own bar and restaurant and serves the local specialities, like “koline”, a pork and sausage dish, or fresh trout and “skutini strukli” a delicious pastry dish, filled with cheese curd. Their restaurant is always busy, even off season, as all the locals dine there. I went down to the bar and got talking to this lovely English couple, in their seventy’s, from Gainsborough, called Frank and Margaret. They had been coming to Bled for the last thirty years and always stayed at Pension Mayer. Frank told me that if I was going to Bohinj, that I should go on Saturday or Sunday because that’s when the cable car at Vogel goes up to the top. Good tip! If I had gone today, I wouldn’t have been able to take the cable car, as it wasn’t running.