Posted by Karbo
We'd been looking forward to Bled since our trip started, so it was a bit surreal when we finally stepped off the bus and saw the lake with its landmark island. Bled is a popular tourist attraction in the summer but it was cold when we were there and the town was pretty quiet.
On the 16th, we woke up to a beautiful sunny day. Considering this was our first sunny day in a while we were ecstatic to be able to spend it in Bled. Right after breakfast, we went off to find Trail #6, where we'd been told we could get postcard-worthy views of Lake Bled. The trail was pretty steep and covered in leaves; I guess they don't perform trail maintenance during the winter! However, there were markers every once in a while and we were able to make our way (slowly!) to the top.
After tearing ourselves away from the beautiful view, we made our way (even more slowly!) down the trail. We rented a rowboat and Jason rowed us to the island in the middle of the lake. It was very romantic except for the fact that I was gripping onto the rowboat the entire time - Jason has a history of capsizing while on water.
Bled Island is very small, and the main structure on it is a church. We paid a small admission fee to enter the church and ring the 'wishing bell'. You make a wish and ring the bell 3x for your wish to come true.
After returning our rowboat we walked to the Park Restaurant & Cafe, the home of the original Bled Cream Cake. Believe me when I say that we saw references to the famous "Bled Cream Cake" everywhere during our time in Slovenia. Even restaurants in Ljubljana would advertise it on their menu. We were dubious on how good this cake could be; from its pictures, it didn't look like anything special.
It was amazing!! Full of cream yet light and delicate with a hint of crispiness from its puff pastry layers. I have a craving for one right now as I'm writing this post.
Bled was everything we imagined it would be and we're so lucky to be able to visit it in person. Hopefully one day we can return when the weather is warmer!