The Bled lake

The city Bled

Bled is known as one of the most romantic cities in Europe, and it is known worldwide. Well, if you have not heard about it before, this entry is a perfect chance for you to get to know it, and maybe its beauty will make you visit it someday.

You will probably ask yourself, what is so special about a small, medieval city, situated in the northern part of Slovenia. The first interesting thing about it is, that Bled is known as the best spot in Slovenia for rich tourists, especially for Russian guests. But it is a rather expensive destination. Describing Bled as a city is not my intention here. What I am willing to describe here, is the Bled lake with a small island in the middle of it, and a church on the island. To top this scenery up, there is a tall cliff on the other side of the lake, with a big castle on the top of it. This is a perfect combination for sightseeing, and basically those are the most important points of interest in Bled.

Famous desserts to taste here

Other than that, you have the famous hotel Bled, which is very old, and a couple of good restaurants. If you are a foodie and you like to try different foods, Bled is famous for its dessert, called 'Blejska Kremšnita'. There is no good translation for it available, only in German, because the name comes from German (Cremeschnitte). Even in English guidebooks, you will find it described as kremšnita. They are made out of eggs and milk, and there is cream at the top, so they are very sweet. But they are expensive, of course. One piece will cost you at least four Euros, depending on where are you eating. They say that there is only one restaurant at Bled, where they are making the 'right' ones. This is the same as with Pasteis de Nata in Lisbon – they taste the same everywhere, but only one place makes them the right way, as they say. But it is very simple to make kremšnita at home, and you can make a full tray for that cost of four Euros.

There are a lot of swans and ducks all around Bled, and they are so used to people that you can touch them although in respect to the animals you shouldn't do that.

How to get to the island

For those of you that are wondering, yes, you can get to the island. It is actually pretty simple. From anywhere in the city of Bled, you have to head towards the lake. The city is not surrounding the lake, it situated next to the lake, so there is only one way next tot the lake. When you reach the lake, you will notice several boats there. They are called 'pletna', and they are not motor boats – the person that owns the boat will take you to the lake by rowing. This is a very old tradition, and the owner of the boat is wearing a dress, that was typical for Slovenia in the past.

There is also a very famous Slovenian song, called Zvon želja, that talks about this tradition. The lyrics are about a girl, who takes a pletna to the island, because she wants to ring the bell and find her beloved one. On the way back, she finds out that this person is the boat owner. The return ticket to the island and back costs five Euros. When I went there with my family, the man told us that in the high season, he can earn as much as five hundred Euros per day! Not bad, right? But imagine how hard the rowing must be if there is a whole family in the boat.

The way to the island lasts about fifteen minutes. When you reach the island, you have twenty minutes of free time. This is plenty of time, because the only thing you can see there, is the church. There is another interesting thing inside the church – a bell, that is said to grant wishes if you ring it and then silently think of your wish. In front of the church, there is also a place where you can buy postcards. Just so you know, there are no toilets on the island.

What else to do there

In summertime, lake Bled is perfect for swimming, although it can be a bit cold. Some people are brave enough to swim to the island and back. There is plenty of shadow everywhere, and the lake is big, so you have a lot of space. Another fun thing that you will find there, is a big rope swing, which is great, if you would like to get into the water the fastest way possible.

The lake is also a great diving spot with lots of fishes inside, and close to the island, you can find really big ones (some are over two meters long). Of course, they have no enemies in the lake, so they can grow.

Another thing that you can do there, will take you about two hours. There is a walking path, that goes all around the lake, and is well – maintained and very popular among runners. Every summer, they also organize an event, called Nočna desetka, which is basically a night run around the lake. I probably do not have to mention how popular this event is among people.

Castle of Bled

You can also visit the castle, but currently, you can only see the exterior, because they are renovating it. But it is worth going there anyway, because from up there, the view of the lake, the island and whole city of Bled is just spectacular. You can not get there by car, and there are not many parking spaces in Bled, but the way to the top is not very difficult, and it takes about half an hour. I have been up there a few times, and I must say that I was always surprised that such little number of people are going there. There is also a museum inside the castle, and it will be opened again when the renovation is finished, and the entrance fee is five Euros. There was also a restaurant in the past, but unfortunately they closed it down.

The castle was once a very popular spot for weddings, but since the renovation works have started, it is not possible to get married there. I would like to mention that those weddings were extremely popular especially among foreigners. There were only a few weddings per year, and you had to book it over a year in advance.

I hope I could give you a nice insight of beautiful lake Bled and its surroundings and maybe one day you come visit!