Explorations

Tourists have been visiting the Bled area since medieval times. I wonder if they invented these chocolate flavours ? We decided reluctantly , not to test these for you . We did do some research and located a place with Bled cake…..a combination of sweet flakey pastry, cream and custard. It was difficult but we did force ourselves to sample it. Delicious !

Now , where did we eat this treat,? at the Bled Castle of course but only after we walked up a steep ramp. We wimped out on the 1000 stairs and drove there. Sorry but we did do other stairs.

Bled castle stands high above the town on a rocky cliff . It has commanding views over the Lake, and surrounding countryside. Made initially in the 8th century, the Castle has been added to during the ages. It is now used as a Museum  , a venue for events and of course for tourists . The  top tower is a used to display a 360 degrees view in a series of televisions. Both the history ,and present  natural features of places in each direction are visually shown. Enjoy your visit and the views from it. 

This is an island in the centre of Lake Bled. No one lives there now, but there is a church with a bell tower. People make a pilgrimage to the church but the main reason people come is to see and hear the bell. It was given to the church by a pope who heard the story of one of the Castle’s administrators. He was somewhat mean to the farmers and other people he controlled. One day he disappeared. His wife was devastated and had all her gold and silver melted to make a bell for the church. On the way to the island, the bell, boat and boatmen were lost. People believe you can hear the missing bell and when a pope heard the story , he had a bell made and sent to the church. That bell now rings out across the lake.To get to the island you go by a traditional wooden row boat. Yes we did go for you.   

It took considerable effort to row the boat out. The boatman was puffing with the effort ,and said they only do 3-4 trips a day . The water is amazingly clear  If you look carefully ,you can just see the rocks under the water. You can imagine people enjoying swimming and fishing in summer.

PS there were stairs

PPS. We visited the railway station. For those with withdrawal symptoms. No trains in sight.

PPPS Bled cake..different version for dessert.mmmmmmmmmmm