Day 56 Bled, Slovenia – Kayaking, swimming and drinks in perfect weather in a perfect place.

Day 56   Bled, Slovenia – Kayaking, swimming and drinks in perfect weather in a perfect place.

The early morning mist that filled the valley had burnt off by 10 am to reveal a perfect blue sky. We packed up and drove the short 20 km down to Bled and were re-installed by midday.

Guide book weary words they maybe when it comes to descriptions, but Bled lake is one of those locations that has everything and on a pretty much windless day with clear blue skies it made for a perfect day.

The lake is just over 2km long and a little less wide; it has an Island ( with bar J) , an impenetrable castle perched on a rock outcrop 100m above the lake, green clear water warmed to 26 deg C by thermal springs and a superb all round Alpine mountain backdrop....it has  it all.

We spent the rest of the day on the lake in or just out of the kayak. 

Charlie was going on about jumping in and then all of a sudden he was stood up and launched himself into the lake requiring an about turn for the pick up and drag in – more jumps followed.

the 99 steps

diving over the boy

We call in at a bar near the town and in late afternoon we stop at the island on the way back, climbing the 99 steps to the church where you can ring the ‘wishing’ bell for a few Euros. The crowds are dying down but the people watching remains top quality as we sat outside with a beer and an ice-cream.

There is a mixture of those who grandly arrive by ‘gondola’ who are led to the church, souvenir shop and down the 99 steps but who are clearly on a timer, to those who row or kayak across to that small number who wander around dripping wet in speedos or a bikini ,sometimes clutching a 3 euro air bed, after  their daring ½ mile crossing.

Being on and in the water is so perfect that it is one of those afternoons that you wish would never end.  Within 30 metres of us there are vans, caravans or tents from UK, Slovenian, France, Finland, Sweden, Germany , Italy, Spain, Netherlands ( surprise surprise), Belgium, Czech, Poland  - An as we have pretty much found along, if you don’t speak the native tongue ( Slovenian on this occasion) then English is the next choice whether you are a Swede, French, German etc....

Going dark over the lake

I had seen the lake beforehand on TV when I have watched the world rowing championships but my neurones needed some help making the links to remember it – the 10 m spaced 2km straight lines of discreet small yellow buoys that make up 3 wide lanes across the full length of the lake were a big clue.

Day 56 Bohinj (Slo) to Bled ( Slo )                                                          21 Km          Total 7404 km