LJUBLJANA AND LAKE BLED

After all of the craziness in Italy, I was looking forward to the slowness and chilled out vibe of Slovenia. The town of Ljubljana looked really small and I knew it would be a place where I could relax for a bit - or so I thought!

On my bus ride from Venice to Ljubljana, I was annoyed because usually when you book with FlixBus, you’ll get a reserved seating and they’re typically pretty good seats. Other times, it’s a free for all. For some reason, this ride had me booked all the way at the back of the bus. Like, what?! I had gotten cosy and by the time, the bus started moving, I’d realized the bus was hardly even full.

I had already made myself comfortable when another girl sat down beside me. Her name was Grace and we had started talking about traveling. She was going to Ljubljana as well to fly back to Kuala Lumpur via Zagreb and we hit it off immediately talking about all of our travels on this trip. She was seeing her boyfriend and I, of course, was traveling across Europe (literally!). She had told me how lovely Ljubljana was and showed me her photos from Lake Bled and Lake Bohinj. How absolutely incredible! She convinced me to go and as we were getting off the bus, I quickly dropped off my things to hop back on another bus over to Lake Bled.

It was another 1.5 hours one-way to get over to Lake Bled. The bus we rode on was a nice coach bus run by the Arriva company; very similar to FlixBus. Free WiFi, comfortable seats, overhead storage, and reclining chairs. Why can’t bus companies be like this back at home!?

Once I arrived, it was short walk to the lake. You walk down a hill, about 4 minutes and then you see it…Lake Bled. It was so serene - like a movie scene. Just so beautiful. It actually really reminded me of home. Grace told me would take me an approximate 1.5 hours to walk around the lake. It is a glacier-fed lake and the periphery is 6 km in total. Well, shit. I arrived at 3:30pm and the sun sets at 4:30pm and I walk fast so… I finished it in an hour. I didn’t mean to rush it but 1) it was getting dark and I didn’t want to be alone VERY far away from home and 2) the temperature was rapidly decreasing. Like -6 C - not fun! So it made for a hasty walk but the beauty of the entire park made the trip totally worth it. It was the pinkest sunset I’ve seen on this side of the earth and the reflection of the Junior Alps in the lake was just exquisite. I loved it.

I made my way back home and checked into Hisa Pod Gradom Apartments in Ljubljana. I rented a cute duplex and was surprised at the sheer size of the place! I couldn’t believe I had the entire 2-story apartment all to myself. Since I was thawing out form returning from Lake Bled, I even ate at the restaurant on the bottom floor - delicious! The even gave me some borovnicke, a Slovenian blueberry liqueur that they make in-house. Not to mention that, but all of the staff from check-in to check-out including the servers and bartenders from the establishment were top notch. Bravo! Not bad for random accommodation that I found!

As for the town of Ljubljana, I had mainly explored it in the evening when I had returned. I was leaving in the morning the next day for Croatia so I spent my evening wandering the streets. Luckily, for me, the town itself is quite small so it was easy to roam amongst the few stores that were open. Visiting around Christmastime also meant that the decorations were still up and the town was still wonderfully festive. There is also a market in town and of course, Ljubljana Castle which I didn't have time to climb up or explore the interiors. More reason to come back though!

Getting around Ljubljana and Lake Bled:

Walking - This town is tiny! You can definitely walk around everywhere…in under an hour. No joke!
Bus - Coming in from another country like I was? Flixbus comes through this way and is super easy and convenient to use. And not to mention cheap! I also visited Lake Bled via bus (Arriva). A round trip ticket only cost me 12,81 euros - well worth it! You cab buy the ticket right at the station itself and hop on any bus back. Busses back from Bled come every 30 minutes (5:00, 5:30, 6:00, etc.)

What to see in Ljubljana and Lake Bled:

Triple Bridge - In the centre of town, there is a beautiful bridge comprised of three bridges. It sounds simple but it is actually really pretty in person! It was even prettier at night time. These bridges go right into old town.
Dragon Bridge - This bridge was just a block away from my apartment. I’m unsure of the significance of the dragons on the bridge, but it does cross over the canal which you can take beautiful pictures from.
Ljubljana Castle - The castle sits high above the town of Ljubljana sits the castle. You can’t miss it - you can literally see it from anywhere in town. I didn’t have time to climb or go on up though. The castle still looked nice at time time, illuminated.
Central Market - There is a small market held on the castle side of the bridge. Lots of fresh produce, vegetables, nuts, dried fruit and a handful of ready-to-eat foods as well like burke, chicken strips, sauerkraut and more. There are a lot of clothes and accessories for sae as well at the market but it’s really small but it’s something to do, even if just passing through.
Metalkova Art Centre - Do you like street art and graffiti? Then you’ll enjoy this alternative side of town! Just a few more blocks passed the bus and train station is the Metalkova Art Centre. I just saw brief glimpse of it as I had to catch my bus. I’ve also read that the area makes for some fun nightlife - maybe you can explore it?

What to eat in Ljubljana and Lake Bled:

Kremsnita - There are so many names and so many variations on this cake but apparently the Slovenian cream cake originated here in Lake Bled at one of he hotels! It is a layer of flaky pastry, pastry cream, thick whipped cream and topped with more pastry and powdered sugar. The taste reminds me of the French millefeuille which I personally prefer. You can also find this cake in other countries of the former Yugoslavia (ie. Croatia, Serbia, etc)
Cheese-stuffed pork loin wrapped in bacon and deep-fried - Now, I wish I knew the real name of this dish but it was a dish that I also encountered when I visited Montenegro as well and saw on other Eastern European menus. It was exactly like the Njeguski steak I had when I was in Podgorica. It is literally as it I had described it. I think to be specific, it is likely wrapped in prosciutto and stuffed with kajmak, breaded and deep-fried. It is certainly not a dish for the faint of heart. I actually was only able to finish half since it was so rich! Made for a great breakfast though!
Slovenian wine - Loved it. I was able to sample some of their red wines and I loved the fuller, bigger bodied wines. Went well with my dinner! Just wish I had more time to enjoy Slovenia!
Borovnicke - Slovenian blueberry liqeur. Tastes like a creamsicle but not too sweet. Great after a heavy dinner!

Slovenia went by WAY too quickly. I think I might have spent more time on the busses than actually exploring the city! Ljubljana is tiny but it has such a cute, quaint feel to it. Lake Bled was absolutely a gem and I’m so glad to have met a fellow traveler to tell me about it. I’ll have to revisit next time I’m in the area since Lake Bohinj looks even more impressive… next time!

LJUBLJANA AND LAKE BLED

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