Over the Hill, Part One Hundred and Seventy-Seven; The Journey To Bled Castle
Waking up, we packed everything up and headed over to the main train station. We weren’t getting a train today though; we were getting a private transfer that we’d organised through a company called GoOpti. The reason for was that it would take four trains, and several hours to get public transport to Lake Bled, our destination for the day, or a car could drive us there in just over an hour. So we decided to pay a little bit extra and get an extra half day of sightseeing in Lake Bled. When we arrived at the train station the private transfer was already waiting for us; it turns out that the car was a van used for tours, and that the driver (Greg) was actually from Bled. After loading everything up we set off, and Greg offered us a choice; to take the motorway, or the more scenic route up and down the mountain. We decided to take the scenic route, but it turned out to be a poor choice as it started bucketing down as soon after we left, and visibility was quite poor, so we didn’t see much. On top of that the twists and turns of the mountain road made us all feel a bit car sick, but the drive was only a hour, and before we knew it we had arrived at our destination.
The hostel we were staying in was run by a local guy named Tom, and he took us to our room, which was a six bed dorm; we’d booked a three bed room, but he didn’t have many people staying (it’s the end of the tourist season), so he gave us a larger room for free, which was really nice. He also sat us down with a map, and gave us a run down of what to do around the lake, which was a good way of visualising what we needed to see while we were staying here. After a bit of time to settle in and have a rest, we then set off to explore the town, which is quite small. We scoped out a nice restaurant for dinner, and then tried to have lunch in another restaurant, but they were completely full with a bus tour, so we decided to try our luck somewhere else. Down the road we found a pizzeria that had been recommended by Tom, and it had a wood fire oven and free tables, so we settled in and grabbed a menu. The pizzas were really nice, with great toppings and high quality dough, and they were huge, so we were all stuffed when we left.
Our one and only destination for the day was Bled Castle, a majestic building situated at the top of a sheer cliff that overlooked Lake Bled. Buildings on this site date back to before the 11th Century, but the current building dates back to the 16th and 17th Centuries. Of course, getting up to a majestic castle on a sheer cliff means only one thing; a long and tortuous walk up. We found a trail without any issues, and proceeded up a trail that was part stairs and part path, until we finally arrived at the top, with heavy legs and weary lungs. Passing underneath an old gatehouse, we kept going up as the walls of the castle towered over us, eventually reaching the ticket office. It was full of tour groups waiting to go in, so no one else could get a ticket as they milled around, blocking off the entrance for everyone else. Finally though they all disappeared inside, we were able to get our tickets, and we entered the castle proper.
Off to the left was a viewing area, but it was full of tourists, so we decided to head into the building next to it, which housed a small printing press, manned by a guy who was slowly making souvenirs that you could buy; pieces of handmade paper, with pictures of the castle and the lake printed on top. Upstairs were two rooms; one had a little exhibition about the first Slovenian translation of the bible, while the other room had some interesting (but very expensive) paintings. Going back downstairs, we had a look at some of items that came out of the printing press. They looked really cool, and when we found out that you could get one with a small wax seal on it, our mind was made up and we bought one. It was fascinating to see a printing press in actual use, and the souvenir was one that we’ll treasure.
The viewing area was finally clear of people (for the most part), so we moved across to get some photos of Lake Bled, which was just below us. It was a stunning scene, and as we moved around and up the stairs, we found more vantage points from which to take photos. Getting to the top we found a small chapel, which has some beautiful frescos on the walls that date back to 1700. Next to that were a couple of souvenir shops, one of which had metal ornaments that looked pretty nifty, but were a bit heavy to take with us. Next to that was the main area of the castle, which contains a series of exhibitions about life in the area over time, from before humans came to the area, to the present day. It wasn’t that interesting, although it did have a few interesting artefacts on display, like a sword that was seven hundred years old.
Coming out of the main building, we found ourselves wandering down to the outer ramparts near the entrance, where you could get another great view of the surrounding area. Lake Bled is situated in a small valley that is literally ringed by mountains and rivers, and no matter where you look that view is dazzling. With that finished we had a little wander around, but there was nothing else to do. You go to Bled Castle more for the view of the castle, and the view from the top, than anything actually inside the castle itself. The whole place seems designed to extract as much money from tourists as possible with more shops than exhibition rooms, but it’s still worth a visit. Making our way down, we headed back to the hostel, having a well deserved break as night started to fall.
Nighttime found us at the restaurant we’d scouted out earlier, but this time we were here to not only have dinner, but to meet up with Alex’s brother and his friend Leighann, who had ridden into town on their bikes that afternoon. So it was a big Robinson family reunion, in Slovenia of all places! The restaurant did authentic Slovenian food, and Alex, Judy and I all shared three meals, which mainly involved grilled pork and sauerkraut. It was all very German, and pretty damn good. The family reunion went on until the restaurant was about to close, so it was late by the time we finally got back to the hostel. Exhausted, we all went to bed, knowing that another long day at Lake Bled awaited us.
