Villa Bled
Somehow we managed to squeeze all four of us, our packs and luggage into the little rental car and putt-putted our way down to Lake Bled, Slovenia’s most recognizable natural beauty. Lake Bled’s most unique feature is the quaint little island that sits atop its deep blue waters. Home to a beautiful church with a decorative steeple, Small Bled island is one of the most photographed destinations in all of Slovenia. And we couldn’t help but be drawn to its charms just like everyone else.
On our first morning, we woke up early and walked down to the lake with hopes of a colorful sunrise, but gray-silvery clouds dominated the skies. Strands of fog lingering close to the water offered a little something interesting for the eyes.
To treat ourselves after staying in mountain huts for the last four nights, we reserved rooms at the Vila Bled. This lakefront property with its own forest used to be the summer home of President Tito, the former leader of Yugoslavia.
The hotel still retains that cold, stoic and practical Communist vibe with large empty rooms occupied by only a couple of chairs and tables.
Most of the wall space remains bare and the hallways unadorned. However, in the banquet hall two massive murals span the walls of the entire room. The first portrays the history of the Resistance and Tito’s army’s triumph over the German invaders from 1941-1945. The other mural depicts the birth of a new nation, the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Luckily for us, the breakfast buffet was French-inspired and delicious. Imagine if we had to eat a Communist-style rationed breakfast!
Assumption of Maria Church
Our hotel stay included free boat rentals, so after breakfast, we got a rowboat and Lyle expertly rowed us over to the island. The bright sun and clear blue skies had already quickly warmed up the morning.
After wandering around the outside of the church for a bit, we entered the church and all the mysteries that had been swirling in our minds since we arrived at Vila Bled yesterday started making sense. Usually, church bells toll on the hour and half hour. Some annoying ones ring every quarter hour and long into the night depriving all us sinners of sound sleep. But yesterday afternoon, while resting in our room with the open balcony door facing out to the lake, we heard the church bell toll. And it kept ringing and ringing, at random intervals for unequal lengths of time and with different amounts of bell clinks. Some clinks ended abruptly, some resonated a few times and others actually sounded like music. I tried so hard to make sense of all the ringing to no avail. Finally, I gave up and shut the door for some peace and quiet during my afternoon nap.
At the front of the church before the altar dangled a rope that is connected to a bell. On the floor, there were instructions on how to ring the bell--With both hands, pull down on the rope three times and then let go. That should be sufficient to set off a lovely succession of ringing bells. Interestingly, the bells did not toll as we expected. Lyle pulling hardest received the least amount of rings. I didn’t do so well on my first try either. Phong did better on his second try. It required a balance between the amount of force and the duration in which the rope was held down in order to produce the beautiful, flowing succession of ringing bells. It’s said that ringing the church bell on Small Bled island can make your wish come true.
Finished with the church, we climbed up the bell tower and witnessed the most spectacular display of the mechanics that moved the clock hands and set off the steeple bell at the hour and half hour. Thus my confusion surrounding the clocks and church bells were answered. Maybe, subconsciously, that was my wish, and the ringing of the bell made it come true. Oooohh.
Lake Bled
In the afternoon, we walked around a good portion of the lake looking for a perfect spot to lay down our towels and get into the lake. Because the walking path around the lake comes pretty close to the edge of the lake, there’s not much room for private sitting areas like around Lake Bohinj. However Lake Bled being lower in elevation, the water temperature was warmer and much more comfortable to swim and goof around in.
We tried to see how long we could stay afloat in a cross-like position without paddling our hands or feet. This was not the Dead Sea in Jordan. We sank within seconds of getting into position. The lake was so refreshing we stayed in for a good amount of time. It really was the perfect swimming lake. Since we’re on the topic of wishing, if the expansive grassy grounds and private small beaches around Lake Bohinj were combined with the scenery and warmer waters of Lake Bled that would be my ideal lake.
Even though we were starting to feel lazy, it was our last day in Lake Bled so we decided to put on our hiking boots for a short but intense uphill hike to a lookout over the lake. The incline started almost immediately. On the way to the lowest lookout, there was an elderly woman struggling to make her way up. I had passed her with some encouraging words, informing her that she was almost there. Sandy was behind us. After a short time waiting for Sandy at the lookout, we saw the elderly lady slowly pacing her steps and Sandy walking behind her carrying her bag. Sandy said she wanted to turn around when they were nearly there so she offered a helping hand. Sandy, the Good Samaritan. The elderly lady was so grateful and her excitement at seeing the view of the lake from above was heartwarming.
There were so many steep stairs, sketchy inclines and slippery slopes, I was glad we came in the right footwear. We saw couples wearing flip-flops struggling to stay upright. It’s amazing that with the amount of information out there, so many people still show up unprepared and unaware of the situation they were getting themselves into.
At the higher overlook, the complete view of gorgeous Lake Bled was well worth the tough climb up.
We had intended to visit Castle Bled, but reservations for the restaurant in the castle were all booked. So I guess, it will have to wait for our return trip to Slovenia. Instead, we had dinner reservations at the slowest restaurant of all time. I guess they wanted us to really spend our last night together around the table because Anh Vu and Chi Nga had just gotten back from Austria and Sandy and Phong were leaving for Ljubljana the next day. We were practically falling asleep waiting for our food to arrive. They tried to make up for the slow service with special locally sourced wine, compliments of the house. Sadly, their choice of wine did not meet favorably with Anh Vu or Chi Nga’s approval.