Lake Bled Weds 14th and Lake Bohinj Thurs 15th

Lake Bled

The lake was formed after the recession of the Bohinj glacier. It is up to 2120 m long and up to 1380 m wide, its maximum depth being 30.6 m and tectonic in origin. After the last Ice Age, the Bohinj glacier deepened the natural tectonic hollow and gave into its present form. The basin was filled with water when the ice melted. The lake has no large natural tributaries; it is fed only by a few springs.

The thermal springs in its north-eastern part are led into three swimming pools - Grand Hotel Toplice, Hotel Park and Hotel Golf. The picture-like image of Lake Bled is highlighted by the island in the western part of the lake.

I woke up 8ish and went on the internet before leaving about 9.15am. We got some shopping on the way to the bus station, with Canadian Graham, aussie Hayley and me and Ro. We got the 10am bus and spent most of the journey chatting as we also met a kiwi girl Emma and aussie guy Tim who were realy nice and also heading there for the day.

Once we arrived we found accomodation without much stress for 12 euros, and headed out to walk around the lake also with another guy we met called Rohan, another aussie who was in our dorm. Walking round the lake was really pleasant as it was sunny and very pretty and a good group to chat with along the way. We hired a boat and rowed out to the island in the middle of the lake which had a pastel coloured church on but which I didnt go in because they wanted a few euros and at the end of the day a church is a church! - and we were there and back within the hour which was a miracle but do-able once we had learnt the art of going in a straight line! It actually reminded me of Srinagar in India where I was rowing with Caley and we bickered the whole way like an old married couple! It definately teaches the art of team work!

In the evening we went to yet another free concert than I had seen a poster of, a choir of 111 men on tour from Norway. It really was incredible, I have never heard that many male voices in concert before and especially as they approached the stage and got into formation they were singing 'conquest of paradise' which was just awesome, especially as the song itself builds anticipation as it gets lounder and stronger. When I was chatting to one of the singers in the interval he said they had done the same before in darkness carrying torches which must be even more incredible.

As I adjust to travelling in Europe again instead of Asia I am struck at how much culture there is in Europe and how much I would miss it if I were permanently based elsewhere. It also reminds me of the complicated book I am reading about Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance and the authors explanations of quality being impossible to define. We all know what it is, just not how to explain it without being subjective.

It was a great day although very very very cold! Fortunately our room had a heater and for a change I didnt have to worry about being chilly.

Money spent: food 1.09 euros, bus to Bled 6.30, hire boat 3, coke and twix 1, cappo and wine 2.10, 12 euros accom.

Thurs 15th Lake Bohinj

The thermal springs in its north-eastern part are led into three swimming pools - Grand Hotel Toplice, Hotel Park and Hotel Golf. The picture-like image of Lake Bled is highlighted by the island in the western part of the lake.

This time we headed out with another kiwi guy who checked into our dorm - Leon - and a new aussie guy called Connor who was on the same bus as us to Lake Bohinj. In true carla fashion I had optimistically hoped to climb a snow covered mountain 'Triglav' which at 2864 metres is Slovenias highest point in the one day. Ha! It was covered in snow and after asking at tourist information realised it took 7 hours just to get their yet alone the return hike! - so I quickly moved on from that idea! Instead we walked around the north shore of the lake, stopping on numerous occasions to enjoy the view and take pics. It really was stunning, much more natural and less touristy than Bled - and bigger in fact. It was 12 kilometres in lenght. One funny moment was me pottering about on some stepping stones I lost my balance on an unstable one andwcompletely submerged my feet in the water and half of the lower part of my right leg. At least it was a sunny day but boy oh boy it wasnt very comfortable having icy cold feet as the air temperature was not conducive to clothes actually drying out!!

We walked around the lake and to a nearby waterfall and on the way home the fun started. We had walked a lot longer than we realised and were getting pretty knackered and achy feet. We wandered upon this beefer of a truck and in broken english and a lot of hand signals we basically managed to hitch a ride with him, with 3 of us squashed behind the front seats on what I imagined constituted his bed, and the other two guys sharing the passenger seat in the front. Cricked neck aside, it was a rather funny experience. But it didnt end there. He dropped us off in some weird place where we would have had to wait for an hour for the next bus so I proposed we split and hitch our way home. Ok, so hitching is not quite so easy as it seems. Me and Ro, thinking we' be at an advantage being girls - did manage to get one lift fairly soon with a couple of friendly van drivers who barely spoke english but reponded to our pleading faces. But unfortunately they wernt going very far and so we found ourselves in the less than ideal situation of trying to hitch another lift in the flailing light. Gutted and admitting defeat we finally caught the same bus that we would have originally waited and hour for, and even more gutting was the face that the lads managed to get a ride all the way back! So much for the advantage of being female!!!

In the evening we went out to eat at another Mexican - Ro is seriously obsessed! - and I shared a fab pizza with Connor the aussie guy and had a couple of glasses of red wine - well its just so damn cheap here even in a restaurant!

Its been a great couple of days here but Slovenia is definately worth a longer stay and I would love to explore the mountains more next time I'm here...but looking forward to Vienna and seeing and staying with my friend Anne from India...

Money spent: Cappo 1.10, bus 3.70, Park 2 euros, return bus 2.70, dinner 6 euros, tuna sarnie and mars bar 2,18 euros, accom 12 euros. TOTAL 29.68