Day 52 - 11/9/11 - Sunday- Ljubljana (Bled)

Former President Milosovic spent heavily on military for Yugoslavia, and not on trains, so unfortunately for Cinthia and we ride in the latest 1960's rolling stock. It doesn't ride smoothly on the rails, and its walls creak a little, however at least the windows open, allowing a pleasant breeze to circulate through the pint sized cabin. Unfortunately this creates a slight delima, sleep with the window closed and the cabin increasingly stuffy, or leave the window open and have fresh air, however put up with the loud train bogie noises outside.
We have traded up to sleeper cabin, as the journey is about 10 hours, and if all goes well we'll have a good sleep under our belts by the time we arrive in the morning. Our 3 days in Ljubjana have come to a close, with our next destination Belgrave, capital of Serbia.

Today was another 8.30 start, same guide, and two of the other group passengers also on the trip to the caves yesterday. Also an Australian girl from Sydney who was travelling until May next year, and, rather ironically, a Dutch gent from Utrecht, dad's birthplace and where we were 2 weeks ago. The guide Jure provided the major entertainment today, with his stories from the world of fashion (he is also a make up artist) and the even more hilarious stories of his love life (where most women assume he is gay). I'm sure there is a philosopher, or at least a talk show host, trapped inside him in future. Perhaps a book... "Life and Love of a Slovenian make up artest".

We drove for about 90 minutes out to the North West of the country, to the scenic spot of Bled, which is at the feet of the Alps. It also has lake Bled, a beautifiul blue green lake with a small central island that contains a church. The overall scenery is very picturesque, with a quant church on a small island sitting mid lake, with a castle sitting atop a sheer rock face, with the multiple- layered Alps providing the appropriate background.
Firstly we visited Vintgar Gorge, a rather windy and angry little river that cut its way through a densely forrested gorge, and ended in a nice waterfall.

We then drove to an elevated point with a rock face that provides the foundation for a 12th century castle. The castle provided the perfect vantage point of the lake and island church, and through the course of history, no doubt played host to many stories of kings and conquests. The castle also had an interesting gallery, museum of the regions history, and a small printing press.

Lunch was another gastronomic delight, with a traditional Slovenian food on offer. Cinthia had a beef meal stuffed with bread, whilst I enjoyed the beef goulash. Both were lovely, and we were too full for the deserts on offer.

Post lunch we laid on the grass beside Lake Bled, too full to consider hiring a boat and rowing out to the island in order to see the church up close.

On return we dropped in to visit a medieval city, Skofja Loka, which had old fashioned signs showing the business trade of each house.

We arrived back at Ljubjana without much time to spare, retrieved our bags, and set forth for the increasingly familiar routine of heading to the station, to depart for a different destination.