Walking. Gossip. Travel.

Category: Slovenia

Ljubljana – Day Three (Lake Bled – Bled Castle / Blejski grad)

We didn’t have time to go inside Bled Castle, but we thought that we’d walk the fifteen minutes up a huge hill (David Morgan would once again be pleased with me) to get to see the outside of it.

There it is, up there.

My bravery never ceases to amaze me.

Here the rest of the group comes, jogging up the mountain.

It wasn’t a technically difficult path to be fair, although there was quite a lot of it. As a natural hill walker, I rarely complained.

Having a little rest, waiting for the ladies, who were also doing a very recent pace up this mountain. We wondered how Richard would have got on and views differed on that.

Nearing the castle and the first recorded mention of a defensive structure being here is from 1101. This was when the German Emperor Henry II decided the Bishops of Brixen needed a little defensive structure to protect them, whilst also offering them lovely views over the lake. That feels like something of a win, the medieval bishops must have been pleased with this.

The castle arrangement looks pretty robust. For many centuries it was a symbol of ecclesiastical authority, but countries and territories changed around them. By the early twentieth century, this was very much a tourist attraction and the visitor numbers increased, so it was turned into a museum.

There are some lovely views from up here. I should mention as well that we’re in the Julian Alps here, which is very appropriate.

The moat and drawbridge, which as Steve pointed out didn’t seem hard to penetrate. Maybe things have been changed about a bit over the last few hundred years.

Imposing.

Susanna taking a photo of us….

Then it was the walk back down, but I’ll cover this excitement in another post. The anticipation for my two loyal blog readers really must be almost unbearable…..

November 28, 2025
Ljubljana – Day Three (Lake Bled – Father Christmas’s Helpers)

Bev and Susanna saw this and demanded that they go for a little ride on it, or whatever it was they were wittering on about.

I mentioned to them that we were danger of looking like tourists.

They didn’t seem concerned about that. Steve and I did our best to look like authentic locals, but I’m not sure we entirely achieved that with these two.

November 28, 2025
Ljubljana – Day Three (Lake Bled – Cafe Park / Kavarna Park and the Original Bled Cream Cake)

I hadn’t realised that Lake Bled was well known for a cake that was sold here, but when Steve mentioned this, it was inevitable that we would have to try such a thing when visiting the area.

We had to go to the home of the original.

Bev was disappointed that she had missed out on tickets to the Cliff Richard gig she was looking forward to. But at least we had beautiful alpine views to look across to instead over the lake.

Susanna announced that the cake looked a bit much for her. I announced it didn’t look too much for me.

The cake was a bit much, but apparently this hot chocolate wasn’t.

Food was delivered by this automated robot, it’s only the second time that I’ve seen these, the first was at Hard Rock Cafe in London.

Here they are on their little break.

I went to have a little look at the cakes being lined up at the counter. They’re made at the hotel over the road, with this cafe (Kavarna Park) being an extension to that arrangement.

It’s fair to say that they sell a lot of these and a couple more trays arrived from the hotel whilst we were there. The whole process felt regimented and a little like a conveyor belt, but at least the cakes are homemade and they don’t use preservatives and the like in them.

There are instructions on how to eat them.

And here it is, safely delivered to the table. The others had more food, but I’m not greedy and I wanted to focus on the cake. It did wobble as promised and I used the eating instructions provided. Now, I did like it as the top was firm and added texture, the custard had a pleasant taste and it was all agreeable. But, I’m not sure that it was a food of international quality like chicken bakes, but I enjoyed it.

The beer was actually really rather good and I liked that the cafe had made an effort here. It’s a Chimay Grande Reserve and this was a punchy 9% ABV which tasted strong, with some toffee and it was certainly rich. It was also robust and went well with the cake.

I liked the service here, although Bev was annoyed at something or other. We had a table which overlooked the lake and the venue was clean, tidy and comfortable. We weren’t rushed and the whole arrangement was relaxed and enjoyable. I’d have another cake if I returned to Lake Bled.

November 28, 2025
Ljubljana – Day Three (Exercises at Lake Bled)

This was an interesting sign at Lake Bled, encouraging people to do some exercises whilst enjoying the view. I helpfully suggested that Bev tried them.

She saw this and refused.

November 27, 2025
Ljubljana – Day Three (Photos from Around Lake Bled)

I took far too many photos when at Lake Bled, so to set the scene of the day, here’s a heap of them….. More text based excitement in other posts about the whole Lake Bled arrangement.

November 27, 2025
Ljubljana – Day Three (Arnold Rikli and Lake Bled)

Arnold Rikli was one of those glorious nineteenth century characters who was clearly upbeat, positive, new world and slightly odd. He decided that there was a way of getting people healthier, so he made them go into the country, walk about a bit, eat healthily and rest. He effectively developed a wellness retreat at Lake Bled and is perhaps the main reason that it’s as popular today as it is.

At Lake Bled, he established a health resort devoted to cold baths, woodland walks and standing around quite a lot in the sunshine looking optimistic. This was all billed as therapeutic and it was likely quite a financially lucrative arrangement for him as well.

Bled’s reputation as a spa destination grew and Rikli became known as a sort of eccentric health prophet. His legacy today, as can be seen from this sign, is as some sort of early Wim Hof. I could be engaged with the walking, but the cold dips into the river certainly wouldn’t excite and delight me.

November 27, 2025
Ljubljana – Day Three (Getting to Lake Bled)

Our Sunday excitement was a day trip to Lake Bled to have a meander around the lake and to have the famous cake that I’d never heard of as it had somehow passed under my cultural radar. We started in the bus station buying a ticket with cash as we thought that was the only way of doing it, as well as our unwavering commitment to outdated payment methods…..

Susanna wrongly said that it was too cold, but I don’t think she tries hard enough to enjoy slightly cooler temperatures.

Bev excitedly waiting for the bus, which are operated by Arriva every thirty minutes.

There was something of a queueing system in operation, but what became clear quite early on is that there were more customers than the coach could possibly take. There will be more on this theme later, but for the moment, all four of us made it on board. Around fifteen people were just left to wait for a later bus.

It transpired that we could have bought bus tickets on the bus using cards, but there we go… The situation was confused and boarding was laborious, so we left fifteen minutes late.

The mountains come into view.

I was talking to this passenger in red about taking trains across Europe and he said he had been surprised at how bad Deutsche Bahn have been. I wasn’t, they’re bloody dreadful. Anyway, more mountains.

The bus was a fairly useless service for many as it was full from the start to the end, with no-one getting off en route. That meant that it drove by every single stop where people were waiting, including the airport where around ten people had wanted to get to Lake Bled. It was all very sub-optimal, but more on this theme later as it got much worse.

However, the bus in the morning worked for us and we were at Lake Bled after around 70 minutes, with the temperature being moderate and we could then start our planned walk. What could possibly go wrong?

November 27, 2025
Ljubljana – Day Two (Ljubljana City Museum – After a Bigger Splash by Zmaga Lenárdiča)

Styled after the David Hockney work ‘The Bigger Splash’ from 1967, this sizeable artwork in the main atrium of the museum is by Zmaga Lenárdiča.

This seems to be one of these artworks that has numerous meanings depending on who is looking at it. There is maybe a statement on the water has gone, perhaps climate change or a suggestion that hope has declined since Hockney’s painting. Or it could mean that there’s something important about the elements that are visible and invisible, as Hockey’s initial work didn’t show any individual. Instead of the exuberant moment Hockney captured, this piece has the eerie and drained stillness of whatever happened after. Or it could mean that no-one normally captures the scene after it happens, when the spectacle has gone.

And my theme, if there is one here, is that it seems common for humans to find meaning in any given artwork. It’s not likely the meaning that the artist intended, but the viewer can walk away thinking there is meaning.

I asked AI to create a similar image and explain its meaning and why it chose what it did. It, rather cleverly, responded by saying that sometimes things don’t have to have meaning. And it delivered this image and I’m actually rather impressed at this philosophical line it went down….

Anyway, I digress.

November 27, 2025
Ljubljana – Day Two (Pub Loo-Blah-Nah Center)

This is the taproom of the Loo-Blah-Nah brewery and it took me longer than it should have done to work out how it was pronounced. It’s relatively newly opened and is well reviewed online, located next to the river. There is seating outside which might be rather more suitable in the warm summer rather than just before midnight on a cold and wet Saturday in November.

The venue only sells its own beer, but it’s an interesting little selection. I was served by the helpful team member when I entered, but then he went outside and ignored the other three. I suspect he was annoyed at Bev’s loudness, so he just wanted a moment to himself. We’ve all been there.

Steve looking confused where the team member had gone. I had my two beers though, so I was fine. It was a bright little environment in a row of shops which have a seating area by the market and a frontage to the river, it’s rather decent real estate. It wasn’t overly busy when we visited, but it was closing soon after although we were surprised in general how quiet Ljubljana was on a Saturday night.

My first beer was the Little IPA which was only 2.9%, so it wasn’t surprising that it was quite thin. However, it was light, gentle and inoffensive which is all a bit like me.

My second beer was the Porter and this was gentle in taste, with a flavour of coffee, chocolates and a bit of nut.

Bev, who hadn’t eaten in fifteen minutes since her two course meal, went to order a pretzel.

For my own preference, I thought that the music was quite loud for the number of customers and it did rather dominate the neighbourhood. The venue itself is relatively small, but I felt welcome and comfortable, it’s a decent little place to try the brewery’s beers. I thought it might have been nice to have a guest beer or two, but I enjoyed what they had.

November 26, 2025
Ljubljana – Day Two (Julija)

After an incident involving Susanna and Bev getting drunk on cocktails and missing our planned Indian meal, I managed to salvage the situation with another restaurant option, namely Julija.

We were seated and Bev was worried that it was a bit decadent and expensive for us, as if I hadn’t checked that latter detail before going in. I can imagine that if Bev thought that something wasn’t decent value for money she’d pocket the wine glass or something, but fortunately she has me there to keep some kind of control.

The bread arrived and Bev didn’t worry about waiting for a plate, she’s very much like an unsupervised toddler at times. Steve and I didn’t say anything and Susanna was too busy recovering from her cocktails to notice.

This was predominantly a wine drinking venue and there were some very reasonably priced options. However, I’m more into beer and wine, but had to opt for the slightly generic local lager. It’s like cutlery in airports, the local lager might be functional but it’s not really the real deal.

Beef goulash with polenta, with the meat being tender and the sauce being rich in flavour. I’m not a huge advocate of polenta as I find it a bit bland, but it added some texture to the whole arrangement.

I don’t usually do desserts as I prefer starters, but this apple pie with ice cream tempted me. It was pleasant in taste but served slightly warm rather than cold or hot, I’d prefer that they plumped for one option and committed to it.

Bev was excited by the plum wine and you can see how quickly Susanna moves here when there’s free alcohol involved. Bev was annoyed by the waiter, but I didn’t fall out with him…. The tip screen gave the options of 5%, 15% or 20% which annoyed me, as I wanted to leave 10% and so in the end I went for 5%. I was annoyed at this because they had denied me my right to be moderately generous, instead expecting me to only very slightly generous or ridiculously indulgent.

Anyway, the meal was pleasant and we were pleased with the choice as although it was busy they found us a table relatively quickly. I’d have liked a wider beer menu, but I always want a wider beer menu. The food was reasonably priced and it was well presented, with Susanna being delighted at her pasta. Fortunately I don’t think the waiter heard Bev saying that she didn’t like him, so that was one crisis averted at least.

November 26, 2025