The pletna boats
Canopies and oars to the island for centuries.
Carsten Steger — CC BY-SA 4.0 · incidencematrix — CC BY 2.0 · Dreamy Pixel — CC BY 4.0 · Milo van Kovacevic from Linz, Austria — CC BY 2.0
Slovenia's most famous picture: an emerald glacial lake two kilometres long beneath the Julian Alps, a small island with a white church at its centre, a castle on a rock on its northern cliff, and forests around it mirrored in the water — a postcard scene that does not disappoint even in reality. The lakeside walk is six flat kilometres in an unhurried hour and a half, passing beaches, lake lidos, the traditional canopied "pletna" boats that row you to the island, and the cafés of the famous cream cake, the "kremna rezina", born here. Rowing boats are hired by the hour, and summer swimming is in water reaching 24 degrees. An hour from Ljubljana by bus, and a night's stay changes everything: the misty morning and the sunset from the western shore without the day-trip coaches.
Canopies and oars to the island for centuries.
Sunset on island and castle.
The original cream and vanilla cake.
Bled, Slovenia
Bled Island and the Church of the AssumptionSlovenia's only island: a small rock in the middle of Lake Bled crowned by the w5 minutes walk4.6
Bled CastleSlovenia's oldest castle on its highest rock: Bled Castle has crowned a 130-metr10 minutes walk4.3
Ojstrica and Mala Osojnica ViewpointsThe picture of Bled you have seen was taken from here: Ojstrica is a rocky looko17 minutes walk4.7July and August at midday; before ten and after five are calm even in summer, and June and September are ideal.
Yes: snow on island, castle and mountains is another sight, and the lake sometimes freezes; the boats still run and the cream cake tastes better.