Visit Lake Bled, Slovenia

Who knows anything at all about Slovenia? I didn't, but it was our first stop on a recent vacation in Europe. The town of Bled is known as one of the most scenic small towns in Europe and I can tell you that it absolutely is.

There's a small castle overlooking the town and the views are awesome in every direction. This view of the castle is from our hotel window. As you can see, the castle is well-placed strategically to protect the inhabitants from invaders.

The castle was first mentioned in a deed in 1011 (although it has been renovated since), making it the oldest castle in Slovenia. This is the charming courtyard of the castle.

Here's an indoor toilet, which was surprising, given the age of the castle. I always thought people used outhouses. Notice the window.

The real surprise was the view that someone had framed from the toilet window. Yes, that's the same church you see in my first picture.

  

Lake Bled is small. It's a 3.5 mile walk around the circumference, which we did, but I don't totally recommend it. We'd already walked along the town side and that's where the best views are. This area is close to the Julian Alps which border Austria. 

We stayed at Vila Bled, which was the summer home of Tito, former leader of Yugoslavia and was, before that, a summer home of the Yugoslavian royal family. (Who knew they had one?) It was odd to think of Tito, an avowed Communist, living in this splendor. It is a wonderful place to stay. 

The top picture in the post is the view from my kids' room. Here's the funny thing. I booked one room with a view for hubby and me but they didn't have any left for the kids so I got them a regular room. When we arrived, I asked if any rooms with a view had become available and he said no, but the kids would have a bit of a view. 

That's quite a 'bit of view', isn't it? 

Here's the absolutely idyllic breakfast terrace at the hotel.

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