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Bled and Ljubljana (Day 10, Mar 26)

Our hotel is only steps away from Lake Bled.  So naturally, I was up early to take a walk around the lake.

Bled Castle

Assumption of Mary Church.  You're going to see a lot of these.

Bled Castle

View of the Julian Alps

Sunrise behind the church

Crucifix in a carved niche on the side of the mountain.

Another view of the church

Our hotel (Hotel Park) is the darker building.  Not much to look at, but the location was great, the buffet was good, and the room was comfortable.

Morning view

I'm glad I got up early to do this but while flat and easy, the walk around the lake was longer than I thought at 6 km (3.7 mi).  I had to hustle towards the end to make it back in time for breakfast.  And I'm not much of a hustler.

After breakfast we got on the bus which took us to Bled Castle, the oldest castle in Slovenia.  

View from the castle

Fe and I at another castle viewpoint

 
Inside the castle courtyard.  The "Bird of Paradise"  is a symbol of Bled.

Another view inside the castle.

Me at the castle printing press.

This is the result--with a lot of help from the printer actually running the place.

The castle was included in our overall cost, but I discovered it was 17 euros (about $18.50) per person.  If we were traveling here ourselves, I'd pay it anyway--it was worth it.

After this, the bus took us to Ljubljana for a half-day tour.  It wasn't real close--it took about 45 minutes to get there.

Cooperative Bank Building

Fe in Prešeren Square

Hauptmann's House

Steet scene with Ljubljana Castle in the background.

University of Ljubljana

Holy Trinity Church

View by the Ljubljanica River

Fe and I in front of the Franciscan Church of the Annunciation.

Inside the church

Monument to Slovenian War Volunteers

View of the city from The Skyscraper

City Model

Ljubljana (Old Town) is very walkable.  We saw a lot, but I wish we'd have had more time--or even stayed here instead of Bled.  Everyone in the group really like it too and compared it favorably to Zagreb.  Poor Zagreb.

Our tour group has 23 people in it (including the guide), but ten of them were leaving the next day and not continuing to Venice.  Because of that, we had our farewell dinner tonight which was very good.

The trip is winding down--tomorrow we leave for Venice.

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