It was a fairly epic journey all the way up from Sarajevo to Bled which is north of Ljubljana (the capital of Slovenia). I caught an overnight train from Sarajevo to Zagreb (capital of Croatia) for which I decided it was well worth paying the extra 20euros for the LOCKABLE sleeper cabin when there were many dodgy looking Bosnian men hanging around...I then arrived in Zagreb at 7am and had a couple of hours before my train to Ljubljana, from where I caught the bus to Bled...straight into piles and piles of snow which didnt stop spewing down the whole time I was there!!
Bled. straight from when I arrived, was beautiful...but VERY quiet!! Particularly with the constant falling snow. You know how earily quiet it can be in the snow...
I stayed in a great little hostel which I was once again alone in for the first night but was then joined by 3 Manchunians (youngens from Manchester) on the second night...YAY...company!!
I had three nights in Bled and by the time I arrived after my trek there on my first day I was too exhausted to do anything but have a sleep and then head out for an early dinner before going back to bed.
I then spent a day walking around famous Lake Bled whilst the snow continued to fall and continued to cover everything in sight in thick snow...
I stopped to re-hydrate at one stage too...there was enough around!!
And stopping to escape the cold and snow...and of course to try the local sweet delicacies...
I tried to get one of the boats (written about in my Lonely Planet bible) across the lake to the famous pilgrimage church in the middle, but the lake was semi-frozen and I was advised that none of the boat drivers would be willing for any amount of money or people in that weather...I didnt really blame them especially with their boats looking like this...
And by the second day, the lake was well and truelly frozen...
So I took the trek up the hill over-looking the lake to the castle...but once again as I have told you from experiences in other European cities in the winter, most of the castle was closed...including the ancient printing works, which I was quite annoyed about. But I did get to see a great view of the lake and church in the middle.
I had a great dinner of grilled calamari (it was MASSIVE) for a very cheap 7euros on my final night and then caught the train to the border the following day and walked over the border without a sideways glance from anyone or a question or even a viewing of my passport...
I just walked across a VERY quiet town square on the Slovenian side of town.
Ci vediamo
xox
I tried to get one of the boats (written about in my Lonely Planet bible) across the lake to the famous pilgrimage church in the middle, but the lake was semi-frozen and I was advised that none of the boat drivers would be willing for any amount of money or people in that weather...I didnt really blame them especially with their boats looking like this...
And by the second day, the lake was well and truelly frozen...
So I took the trek up the hill over-looking the lake to the castle...but once again as I have told you from experiences in other European cities in the winter, most of the castle was closed...including the ancient printing works, which I was quite annoyed about. But I did get to see a great view of the lake and church in the middle.
I had a great dinner of grilled calamari (it was MASSIVE) for a very cheap 7euros on my final night and then caught the train to the border the following day and walked over the border without a sideways glance from anyone or a question or even a viewing of my passport...
I just walked across a VERY quiet town square on the Slovenian side of town.
Ci vediamo
xox
