Lake Bled in the Middle of Winter

The bus dropped us off in a place that seems like the middle of a residential neighborhood. Fortunately, the tourist information is only a few steps away. As a fanatic of castles, I immediately asked the girl sitting behind the counter at the tourist information office how to get up to the castle that is literally hanging on the side of a cliff. She advised us that there is a route for cars and it would be way too far for us to walk. Then she suggested an alternative. And what an alternative it was! We literally climbed up the castle on our hands and feet on slippery ice and knee deep snow. On the way down, we took the car route and realized that it does not take long at all! Not to mention it was an easy stroll back down. If I had any energy left from that earlier climb, I would've charged back to that tourist information office and let the clerk have a piece of my mind.

The climb up to the castle

Bled Castle
Bled castle is the oldest medieval castle in Slovenia. The castle grounds contains a museum, restaurant, printing workshop, wine cellar and herb gallery. Aside from the breathtaking view of the castle from afar, I must admit the interior was somewhat disappointing. The museum was small and it had a few artifacts on display while other exhibits are computerized. The wine cellar offered visitors a "bottle your own wine" gimmick where you can cork and seal your own wine. As we were never offered service to taste the wine, there was no temptation to buy a bottle. The castle printing works seemed to be more interesting in that it houses a reconstructed Gutenberg's wooden printing press. Souvenirs of prints of various sizes were for sale, but there was no temptation of purchasing one either. Although the castle interior didn't prove to be too intriguing, the view from the castle more than made up for our strenuous ascend.

Bled castle

Inside the castle

View from Bled castle

Lake Bled
The famed island in the middle of the lake stood out like a fantasy while it basked in the sunshine. Due to the lake being frozen (It was mid February after all), it was impossible to reached the island and the 15th century church (Pilgrimage Church of the Assumption of Mary). But we were satisfied just admiring its beauty from afar.

Pilgrimage Church of the Assumption of Mary

Lake Bled

 After a full day of sightseeing and mountain climbing in the snow, we welcomed the 1.5 hour bus ride back to Ljubljana as a much needed nap time. The few times I opened my eyes to take a peek at where we were, I noticed some scenic passages. We passed by small villages covered in snow, castle ruins sitting on hilltops and scenes that resemble a Peter Bruegel the Elder painting. I just wished I wasn't so tired...