This was my stop for the next three days - the absolutely stunning Lake Bled in northwest Slovenia. And right off the bat I'm going to say that this, as well as the surrounding area, is easily one of the nicest spots I've ever been too! The town of Bled itself sits on the eastern tip of the lake, and is home to around 10,000. In the centre shot above, perched high on a rock overlooking the lake is medieval Bled Castle. Very cool!

The lake itself is about 2km long and 1.5km wide with a maximum depth of 30m, and is surrounded by mountains and forests. Plonked in the middle of the lake is Bled Island (as seen in the first shot above), apparently the only natural island in Slovenia.

My plan for my three days here was to hire a bike and go nuts, again based on some of the recommendations from Kristina. So, day one then, and I immediately headed north out of town through Bled's cute little suburbia.

There was a direct way and a more exciting indirect way to reach my destination; I opted for the latter which took me through nearby villages and up into the hills.

High into the hills in fact.

Looking back towards Bled.

The point of coming this (indirect) way was to screw the bike off-road through this forest. It started out good enough until I reached this bog! I made a fair game of it but there was no way through it. The bike was sinking, I was getting covered in shit, and so I had little choice but to bloody turn back.

So I flew back down the hill with mud and shit flying off the bike in all directions, and finally made it to my destination.

Check this out, fish plucked straight out of the river for cooking up in the restaurant across the street - nice!

This is the amazing Vintgar Gorge, a short ways north of Bled (unless you take the muddy scenic route). The gorge is 1.6km long with canyon walls 50 to 100m high in places.

The gorge was discovered in 1891, and soon after was equipped with these wooden walkways and bridges (renovated several times since obviously) and opened to the public in 1893. You can walk the whole lot, and the natural beauty of the place is quite simply amazing! I had to do a lot of playing around with my camera's settings to do this place any sort of justice, and wait around quite a while for tourists to clear off. Natural beauty just isn't the same if it's full of people.

The stream terminates in the 13-metre Šum Falls (literally “noisy falls”) before disappearing into the forest below. Nice :)

I then took the more direct 4km route back into Bled, and continued around the perimeter of the lake. That bald patch on the hill in the left shot is a luge which wasn't open for the season yet. Video of it here though if anyone is interested.

Bled Island in the middle of the lake, and the traditional Pletna boats which can be hired to take you out to it. The island has several buildings, the main one being the church built in the 15th century where weddings are regularly held. The stairway there has 99 steps leading up the church. According to the local tradition, a husband who can carry his newly married bride up the 99 steps from the dock into the church will be ensured a happy marriage. I imagine that must end in tears sometimes ;)

On the south-western corner of the lake is a mountain with an awesome lookout point over the lake. The climb up there though isn't for the faint hearted though - it's fucking steep hehe.

But the views are definitely worth it :) Full-sized panorama here.

Back down I again I continued around the lake, and whipped up another steep climb to the castle. It wasn't free to go in however, and I'd been told it wasn't worth it anyway, but still worth a nosey.

The view over Bled from the castle.

From there I took these never-ending steps back down to the lake. These swans by the way expect to be fed, and if you don't oblige you either get hissed at or 'attacked' hehe.

As the sun set I met up with some chums from my hostel for dinner at a really good seafood restaurant across from the lake. I don't want to sound too cheesy but it really was a perfect day in a perfect spot - not a bad way to finish up your 28th year hehe (except for the mud all over my shoes - I could've done without that).