Bled, Slovenia - Fresh Water Paradise

At the foot of a lake, surrounded by characteristically charming mountains, the fresh water beckoned us as soon as we had dried off from our previous submersion. Bled was a breath of blue, joyful, revitalising air.

We pitched up our tent under the shade of a tree and walked 100metres to the freshwater lake. It was swarming with people but we managed to walk around the skirts of the bank and find a secret shaded place where we played cards until the heat defeated us. Once in the water, it was so heavy after being in salt waters for so long. Heavy, but perfect. I just couldn’t help but feel a little closer to the inventor of this beauty, whilst staring out across the reflections of the mountains whilst holding onto my husband to stay afloat.

With the disappearance of the sunlight, the coolness of the night provided for a serene, dim-lit evening where we demolished our picnic dinners of prosciutto, an assortment of cheeses and plump, juicy grapes. I whipped Tim’s bum in endless rounds of cards. He ordered ice cream from the campsite restaurant… typically!

Another breath-taking day of natural wonders enthralled us as we trekked our way through the stunning valley of Spodnje Gorjie. I still cannot get over the bright blue-green colour of the waters. By the damp rocks, the coolness of the water was incredibly rejuvenating and the ice cream was well worked off by the end of the hike.

Whilst it sounds like we were avid adventurers here, this was very much a peaceful rest stop. It was hard not to feel at peace with the stunning surroundings. And to top it all off, we met a couple of Kiwi blokes (such a small word!!) and had a fun evening getting to know them and having a drink.

We could have spent a long time in Bled. Although, I am glad we didn’t as our final destination proved to be yet another gem. One to be revisited!