CC Travel Blog

Mar, 2009

Lake Bled is a glacier lake. On top of the hill is Castle Bled, the first mention of the castle in history dated back to 1011 AD. The castle was given to the bishop and different rulers overtime modified the castle. In 1677, the castle was damaged badly by an earthquake and then it was rebuilt. Today the castle is a museum with a small chapel. The press technology was remarkable and worth a look.

After several rebuild, Castle Bled does not feel as old as the other western European castles. One side of the castle is now used as a cafe and the other side still remains a chapel and the middle portion of the building is the museum. Overall it takes probably about an hour to walk around the castle and get a good feel.

One of the attractions of the castle is its panoramic view of Lake Bled.

The island on the lake has a beautiful Gothic dome baroque style church that has 99 steps. It is a popular wedding church and the tradition is that the groom has to carry the bride up the stairs and the bride has to stay quiet to show respect to the groom. The joke is that it gives the groom more time to think about what to say in church.

From the castle, we can also see the ski slope on Mt. Alps.

In the past, the castle owner rules the village and farm lands nearby. Due to special geographic conditions, the area enjoys favorable climate conditions and fertile soils for agricultural development. The castle serves as the administrative, military and economic center of the region.

The museum displays 16th century residents artifects and some exhibits related to the region’s history. This is the baby’s cradle.

The chapel of the castle is rather small with damaged wall paintings.

From the castle’s terrace, we can also see the hotels and vilas along the lake.

Among them is the Vila Bled, the resident for former president Tito and later converted to be a four star hotel. Once used to host receptions and parties for the famous politicians and celebrities, Vila Bled has a famous conference room.

The castle’s printing work represents the topmost presentation of printing heritage that includes all manual technology processes.

Slovenia is a country at the foothill of Julian Alps. Driving around provides great opportunities to contemplate the beautiful view of the Alps.

Around Lake Bled, the view is excellent. At certain areas around the lake, one can see both the Julian Alps and the castle.

There are boats riding to the island for 12 euros per person. However, the boat’s route is fixed so we couldn’t get a dropoff at Vila Bled on the return, so we moved on and explored the lake and the nearby by foot.

Vila Bled has a large front court but a small hotel lobby.

The receptionist showed us the hall with a long mural of painting that has tons of details about the lives of Yugoslavians. However, lots of ironies are embedded; but to understand them, one has to read the artist’s journal to learn the hidden meanings of the details. The hall was used by Tito to host diplomatic conferences and meetings with other government officials. When the sons of the government officials found out about the journal, they wanted to paint over this mural; luckily it was preserved.

For a relaxed afternoon, one can walk around the lake shore and enjoy a piece of the local bakery signature item called creama.

Overall, Bled is a scenic place for tourist to slow down and enjoy a relaxed close to nature vacation. I would say that it wrapped up our tour in a nice scenic and tranquil way. As Croatia is famous for its coastline, Slovenia’s orderly, conservative and tidy mountain view is equally impressive.