Thursday's Child: Bled Castle, Slovenia

All castles are romantic by their nature, but the most romantic one I’ve ever seen was Bled Castle.  This seemingly inaccessible fortress sits high on a rocky ledge overlooking Lake Bled in the tiny, beautiful nation of Slovenia.

For all that it looks impossible to reach, we actually walked there.  One morning we decided to walk the perimeter of the lake and ascend to the castle.  Fortunately, we didn’t have to climb the rock face, since a path winds behind the castle and leads to the summit.  Once there, we stood on the castle terrace, taking in the stunning views of Lake Bled and the Julian Alps.

So often when I see something beautiful, I rely on the words of the great writers to express it on my behalf.  John Keats wasn’t writing about this castle, but he could have been when he imagined the following:

“You know the Enchanted Castle, – it doth stand

Upon a rock, on the border of a lake,

Nested in trees, which all do seem to shake

From some old magic-like Urganda’s Sword."

"You know it well enough, where it doth seem

A mossy place, a Merlin’s Hall, a dream;

You know the clear lake, and the little Isles,

The mountains blue, and cold near neighbour rills.”

- from “Epistle to John Hamilton Reynolds”, by John Keats

Thursday's Child: Passage by Rowboat

Bled Island.  Photo used courtesy of Sava Hoteli Bled

This month I've written about our forays via car, airplane and raft.  But our most romantic means of transport was taking a rowboat across Lake Bled in the Julian Alps of Slovenia.

I wish I could tell you that ‘Bled’ is Slovenian for ‘fairy tale’.  It seems impossible that such a prosaic name could be given to such a picture-perfect location.  A glacial lake, surrounded by tree-covered mountains, with a tiny island in the middle.  You could easily believe that once upon a time Rapunzel was held in the church tower on the island.  And that only by rowing across the lake could the prince release her.

In truth, the voyage to the island wasn’t nearly full of the perils that would be required for a prince to prove himself.  It was a short twenty minute trip from dock to dock.  We all took turns rowing, although Andrew was the only one capable of steering the boat toward a destination rather than taking us in circles.  But the day was warm, the breeze was mild, and we were in no hurry.

Master oarsman

Bled Island was as lovely a destination as we had hoped. We climbed the stone stairway of ninety-nine steps that leads from the dock to the church. We admired the views back to the alps on the mainland.  We visited the church and rang the wishing bell, which guarantees that our wishes would come true.  As we took in the beauty around us, we felt as if they already had.

Departing Bled Island

The lake is small enough to walk around in a few hours, which is what we did the following day.  We climbed a steep pathway to reach the medieval castle that overlooks the lake. (Set on a high, rocky cliff, it’s a more likely place to have imprisoned Rapunzel.)  On our walk, we fed the swans, and stopped for lunch at a little restaurant with a perfect view of the lake and the island.  But for sheer fairy-tale beauty and tranquility, nothing beat the rowboat trip to Bled Island.

Thursday's Child: Markets of Ljubljana

In some ways, Ljubljana is the most perfect little European city we’ve visited.  The capital of Slovenia possesses the glistening canals of Venice, the red roofs of Prague and the pedestrian areas of Istanbul.  But all of this beauty came with virtually no crowds. 

We arrived on a Sunday afternoon, enjoyed the weekend flea market and outdoor musical performances, and marveled that so few others had found this perfect fairy tale town.  Our hotel was in the centre of the city, literally a minute from the pedestrian-only area of bridges, restaurants and stylish buildings.

The following day we visited the town marketplace.  The market, open on weekdays and Saturdays, seemed to cater primarily to residents rather than tourists.  It bustled with crafty locals carefully choosing fruit and vegetables – and a few hearty travelers carefully practicing their few memorized Slovenian phrases.

In the covered stalls, a few small shops sell cheese, meat and household goods.  The market sits a few feet from the glorious Ljubljanica river and its lovely pedestrian bridges.

Of course, there were a few touristy stalls in the marketplace, and the occasional tourist felt the need to pose by them: