Bled is a beautiful small town, known as the ‘Alpine Pearl’ in Slovenia. It is a popular tourist destination, best known for its emerald green Lake Bled with an island in the middle and Bled Castle perched high up on the rocky cliff overlooking the lake. Bled is set against the backdrop of the forested slopes of the Julian Alps and the peaks of the Karavanke Mountains.
Heading towards Bled after crossing over the border from Croatia. Triglavski National Park is the only national park in Slovenia which is nearby Bled.
Heading towards the forest where lake Bled is located.
Finally reaching Lake Bled.
People sunbathing on the shores of Lake Bled.
Many people seek refuge from the hot summer sun by dipping themselves in the lake.
Measuring at approximately 2.12km x 1.38km, the lake is is small enough to walk around it.
Bled Island in the background.
Waiting for a boat to go to Bled Island.
This special type of boat with a roof called “Pletna” is conducted by one rower and two oars. That’s me boarding one of the Pletna.
The Pletna is like an oversized Gondola.
The boat must be reasonably occupied before departing for the island.
My beau and son.
I didn’t see any speedboat in the lake, only pletna and kayaks. I think that’s a good way to preserve the environment and tranquillity of the lake.
The boat we took, Sonja, heading towards Bled Island.
Bled Castle overlooking the lake against the mountain range. I’ll be heading to the castle next.
People swimming in Lake Bled. You can always swim across to the island.
The little white church and its wishing bell, built in 17th century is the main attraction on Bled Island.
Approaching Bled Island. Boats dropping off tourist for half an hour stop before heading back to the shore. Yep, its only a 30 minutes stop.
Taking a family photo before we got off the boat.
My beau paying the boatman for the ride. It’s about 12 EUR per person.
Legend has it that a husband who can carry his new bride up the 99 stone steps from the dock to the church will enjoy a happy marriage. It’s no surprise that weddings are held here regularly.
The bell tower in front of the church.
A souvenir shop on Bled Island.
Enjoying the beautiful scenery of Lake Bled.
The temple of ancient Slavic goddess Ziva once stood in the place of this present Baroque church. The temple disappeared after the Christian destroyed the altar and built a church instead. The present form of church dates from 17th century when it was renovated after the second earthquake.
Some of the archaeology findings being displayed at the church.
The history of the island of Bled.
The entrance to the Bled Island church.
The interior of the church.
On the central altarpiece, the Virgin Mary is shown seated with the donor of Bled estate, Henry II and his wife, Kunigunda at her side.
Besides the main altar, three older altars dating from 1699 are also preserved.
In the church, fragments of frescoes with the scenes from Jesus’s life are preserved.
It is said that whoever rings the bell will get his/her wish comes true.
So we took turns to ring the wishing bell.
The ticket we bought allowed us to visit both the church and the bell tower. Like the church, the bell tower had been renovated a few times due to damage by two earthquakes and one lightning strike in 1688. The present bell tower is 54m high and has three bells.
We went in to the bell tower to have a look. Unfortunately, we didn’t have enough time to climb up and see the mechanic tower clock mechanism and the view over Lake Bled.
Bled Castle as seen from the island.
Some people opt to rent their own boat and park their boat on the other side of the island.
Heading back to the main dock through a trail.
The tour guide Gorazd with me.
The photo of the largest fish that was found in Lake Bled.
The clear waters of Lake Bled amidst the forest.
Many people were seen swimming at the lake to cool off from the hot summer weather.
If you want to spend more time at Bled Island, its best to rent a rowing boat instead of the Pletna.
After half an hour or so, we left Bled Island by the same boat that we came.
Next, we headed to another major attraction in Bled, Castle of Bled.
Perched high up on the rocky cliff on the northern side of the town is awe inspiring red and white Castle of Bled, origins of which date back to the 11th century.
Castle Bled and its museum opens from 8a.m. to 9p.m. while the restaurant opens from 11a.m. to 9p.m.
Bled Castle is currently undergoing a major renovation works. A tower crane was seen at the site of the castle.
The castle used to have a drawbridge above a moat. But the moat is filled with earth today.
It’s an uphill task to carry my son up to the castle.
It really was a hot summer.
The huge fortified tower and walls.
The view of surrounding mountains.
The entrance fees of Castle Bled: adult 9 EUR, children 4 – 14 years old, 4.50 EUR and children under 4 is free.
The buildings in the castle are arranged around two courtyards. This is the lower courtyard which was intended for the residence of servants.
The staircase which connects the two courtyards.
And this is the upper courtyard with residence for the feudal lords.
The restaurant at upper courtyard offers great view of Lake Bled.
There are numerous accommodations and restaurants surrounding Lake Bled. If you truly want to enjoy the beauty of the surroundings, you should spend at least a night in Bled.
Bled Island can be seen from the castle.
The beautiful glacial lake surrounded by the Alpine forest.
Panoramic view of Lake Bled.
The history of the castle reaches back to 1004 when the German Henry II gave his estate at Bled to Bishop of Brixen. But the Bishops of Brixen never resided here. More towers and fortifications were built in the late Middle Ages.
The upper courtyard has a museum and a Gothic chapel.
The castle chapel was built in the 16th century. It was renovated around 1700 in Baroque style when it was painted with illusionist frescoes.
Besides the chapel is a souvenir shop.
Various souvenirs such as fridge magnets, soft toys, T-shirts and etc can be found here.
Next, we visited the museum.
The display room presents the ancient history of Bled from the first excavation.
A geological model of Bled area.
A video showing the history of Bled.
Traditional costumes worn by the people of Bled.
The individual stages of historical development of the castle is shown here.
Next, we visited the castle's wine cellar.
Visitors can buy a bottle of wine here.
Heading back to lower courtyard.
The castle printing shop at lower courtyard is well worth a visit.
The castle printing works represents the topmost presentation of printing heritage that includes all traditional manual technological procedures following old masterly manual printing with wooden press.
The demonstration of traditional printing process by using print block. First a paper is placed, a print block is selected and the ink is rolled onto the print block.
Next the paper is pressed together with the print block to produce the printing.
Bookmarks are sold at 4 EUR in the shop. ‘We travel not to escape life, but for life not to escape us’.
But I was more interested in the printed certificates that mark my visit to Bled. It can be customised to have my name on it.
My beau trying out the printing of our certificate.
But he couldn’t have done it without the help of the printing master.
Then I finished it off with a wax seal.
Yay, the end product is proudly presented to us. It was certainly a memorable experience in Bled.
Leaving the castle.
After leaving Bled Castle, our guide brought us to a view point of a restaurant to get a better shot of Lake Bled and its island.
The view from the restaurant was just amazing.
Bled has naturally always been something of a magnet for visitors. From pilgrims of many centuries ago to the honeymooners of today.
But the best shot of Bled Island was taken at the roadside where both Bled Island and Bled Castle were captured in the same picture.
The perfect shot. The lake, island, castle, forest and the mountain. Bled is most definitely the place to visit whenever you’re in Slovenia.
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