Slovenia: Lake Bled
I have long desired to explore Slovenia!
Krisztina and I have intended to hike the Julian Alps for a couple of years now. The adventure is finally here. We drove 5 hours from Budapest to Bled, arrived mid-afternoon and immediately headed out for our first hike…to explore Lake Bled. It is considered one of the most scenic lakes in the world and most will recognize it from the iconic pictures taken of the lake with the church on an island right in the middle.
Luckily, I found a fabulous Airbnb with kind and very helpful owners, Alex & his wife, where we could walk right out our front door to the lake and surrounding hikes. I would highly recommend this place to anyone visiting in the area. https://alexbumblebee.com/
The Pilgrimage Church of the Assumption of Maria is the 17th-century church on an island in the middle of the lake, and up on the cliffside (to the right in the picture) is the Bled Castle overlooking the lake down below. It is believed that this church was initially the temple of a goddess before it was destroyed. Legend has it that a bell which was constructed on request of a widow to honor her husband sank on Lake Bled with the members of the ship. It is believed that the bell still rings from under the waters.
There are many legends about Lake Bled. According to Culture Trip, the most well-known folk tale about the origin of Lake Bled tells that the lake was created by fairies. According to the story, the area of the lake used to be a valley full of luscious grass. The local shepherds liked to bring their sheep to the valley during the day, and fairies loved to use the soft grass as their dance floor at night. Afraid that the sheep would eat all of their grass, the fairies asked the shepherds to build a fence around their dance floor. The shepherds refused to help the fairies and soon the sheep ate all the grass and left nothing but bare earth behind. Seeking revenge, the fairies flooded the valley and created a lake with a small island in the middle, where they could continue to dance at night.
We started with a circular hike to the top 3 viewpoints and ended up finding a 4th. Viewpoint #1: Ojstrica; #2: Velika Osojnica, #3: Mala Osojnica. We then hiked the entire circumference of the lake enjoying the stunning scenery and feeling very grateful.
