Bled

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There would come to be 3 places on this European trip that I would be totally encapsulated and engrossed with, Bled was one of them. It was missing a pretty town, like that of Cesky Krumlov and was more of a functionable place with hotels, banks and modern bars but what it didn't lack was one bloody beautiful lake! Bigger than I was expecting and 10 times more picturesque than my travel book suggested, this lake was truly formed by some higher force. Lake was rounded with a small island at the far end and on this island was a quaint little church.

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At water level it was stunning but when you ascended the hill to the castle, the views were truly inspiring and breath taking. This was the first time I saw the lake as the hostel we were staying in was on the other side a hill. After checking in Rhys (who had already been here) took me up the tree covered path to the entrance of the castle where a small fee was paid. As we walked around the castle grounds we headed towards a small cafe by the castle walls, only then was I struck by the sheer beauty and expanse of Lake Bled.

"...only then was I struck by the sheer beauty and expanse of Lake Bled..."

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The weather was changeable whilst we were there but every now and again a rouge ray of sun light pierced the thick clouds and reflected these wonderful turquoise and blue shades.  From up on the castle walls you could see these small row boats slowly meandering back and forth to the island. We of course had to take this trip and did so from the far end away from the town itself. I felt sorry for the oars man who really had to work hard to move the boat through the still water. I felt even more sorry for the oars men coming from the very far town side which was very far over 1 1/2 km easily (i'm not the best at calculating distances), the boat men will surely say its double that!

Its tradition that you ring the bell in the church on the island and that we did. We were given half an hour on the island and then we had to return to our waiting ferryman after we had a coffee of course.

The hostel was great. A detached hostel that had a strange fascination with George Best. We drank there during our first night and I sketched a few fellow travelers out by trying to convince them that a lochness monster type creature resided in the deepest parts of the lake...I had had a few by then I hasten to add.

The following night we headed into the town where we went on a small crawl to see what other bars Bled had to offer and met 4 crazy Irish sisters, no way we were going to freak these girls out, they were freaking nuts themselves. A night wasn't a night if I was near water and didn't go skinny dipping. I did and it was cold!

I want to comeback here as there are some kick ass walks by the looks of things plus outdoor sports such as white water rafting, canoeing and canyoning...I shall return on a Alpine tour planned for 2010.