Magical Bled
Seeing Lake Bled is magical – it looks like something imagined in a Disney movie. Perfect water, a pretty island in the center with a church, a castle overlooking the lake, and all surrounded by mountains. We were there to row in the European ‘On Tour’ Masters races in a double (two oars each). After checking out the course and connecting with Filippi for a boat, we headed to our Pansion, a nice family run inn a slightly off the water.
The race was a lot of fun – we met some nice people from South Africa where the worlds will be in 2022. Who knows, maybe our travels will take us there with a safari as well. Our practice rows in the mornings leading up to the race were beautiful. The sun even came out Sunday morning for our race. Though we didn’t win, we had a blast in the race – Betsey’s first 1000 meter sprint race. The course was beautiful, perfect water, and stunning views and there were well deserved beers after the race with our fellow competitors.
After the race we hiked to the top of the local mountain to get some more exercise and take in the views of Bled.
Bled is a great place to hike and explore. We took a boat out to the island – its hand sculled by a rower who stands up and rows it across the lake – similar to a gondolier but with two oars. The island and church are beautiful – there was even a wedding going on while we were there – and yes we rang the bell for good luck.
We also hiked up to the castle – way up above the lake – which was the seat of the Bishop for hundreds of years. The castle now houses a great description of the archeology of the entire area.
Besides the great views, we discovered several great Osterias specializing in local dishes, seafood, and Istrian truffles. A couple of them were so good we went back twice. Beyond the great food, the small rooms lead to meeting people and hearing their stories including Angus and Jamie – 70 year old Edinburgh hairdresser and his god son who were fly fishing for a week. One of the treasures of travelling is certainly meeting fellow travelers.
After racing and exploring Bled we liked our Pansion so much we’d stay on to go hiking in the Triglav mountains, part of the Slovenian Alps.
More on the hikes next time!
