Bled

Suzie cooks some great eggs for breakfast, we can even make toast today which is scrumptious. Today’s plan is to hire bikes and head around the lake. Bike are €6 for 6 hours, so of we head. Stopping around the lake to take pictures. About half way round we find the start to Mala Osojnica , a view point located 645 metres above Lake Bled.

The sign says 20mins so off we head. It is a gradual climb upwards, sometimes quite steep, but every onwards and up. Whoever said this was 20 minutes playing a nasty joke. You’ll have to work hard for this view: it’s a tough 45 to 60 minute hike from the lake shore but it is 100% worth the work. There is a very step set of stairs (ladder) with 100 steps. This is not the top, it is another 5 minutes from here. The view is certainly worth it, but I do believe the signs should be more accurate.

Most of the path is in shade, but where exposed it was very hot. Coming down is no mean feat either. Ben struggled a bit with the heights, but overcame the fear to come back down those stairs.

Back on the bikes, time for a cold drink and some food. We stop at a small beach area. Everyone is swimming, beach chairs are out for hire, just like I imagined beach life in Europe. Suzie and I share a pizza, fresh garlic, chilli, pepperoni and cheese -delicious and certainly enough for 2. It was only cut in half which I found odd. Ben enjoyed gnocchi with truffles, a local favourite.

A thunderstorm looked like it was coming in so jumped back on those bikes to finish our circumnavigation of the lake. They say it takes 90minutes to walk around, again I think this is a little short in timing.

Suzie and Ben head home while I head back to the lake. I take a penta across the lake to visit Bled Island. The fare is €14 for the return trip and 40minutes to explore the island. The penta is rowed by a lone rowman using 2 paddles standing up,- quite a slow smooth quiet trip.
You can hire your own rowboat for €10, which would be lots of fun and far cheaper for a small group. You can explore the church for €6, instead I choose to have the largest ice cream ever for €4.

Jump back on board to head to land. I quickly head back to the bus station, if I miss the bus I have another hour to wait. Luckily I’m there with a minute to spare. This bus is not direct, instead of the normal 5 mins it take 18. The bus heads into a different village first, then backtracks to finally take me home.

We head to the local bar for a few drinks. As you can imagine we are the source of amusement . Ben, using his basic German skills, becomes translator between a local and Suzie. Very amusing, he is a widow, finds Suzie very attractive. We all have a fun night, lots of laughs and too many drinks.Read more