May 6
I did not sleep well and woke early. It is amazing how I can enjoy myself so much on these trips when I tend to get so little sleep. And I was now sure that I was coming down with a cold. Well, what could I do? I got out of bed and went off to have another fantastic day.
I had another great breakfast. The nice lady knew I wanted my omelette.
I took my now familiar route down the hill to the lake.
After two days of hiking, I planned to start the third morning with something a bit less strenuous. I was going to visit Slovenia’s only natural island, Bled Island, a tiny piece of land in Lake Bled.
I had a few choices as to my mode of transport to the island. Many visitors rent rowboats and go paddling around the lake, but that was a non-starter for me since I wanted easy, although I might have been tempted by a canoe. Naturalized or not, I am a Canadian.
The most popular way to getting to the island is on one of the pletnas, the traditional flat-bottomed wooden boats that have been used on Lake Bled for centuries. They are like Italian gondolas, especially in that the pletnars (boat rowers) stand to row. The original passengers to the island were religious pilgrims. Eventually Empress Maria Theresa, who ruled the Habsburg dominions for forty years in the 1700’s, gave ferrying rights to 22 local families. Many of the current pletnars are descendants of the original rowers.
With that history, I should have been excited to ride on one. But I decided that it would be fun for about five minutes and then rather tedious as the boat made its way slowly across the lake, and the tedium might begin with waiting, as it looked like the boats did not leave until they were full. It reminded me of the cable cars in San Francisco. I have always loved them in my photographs of my favourite city but don't ride in them. I did once. It was packed with tourists. I got off after a couple of blocks.
I chose what I thought would be the fasted and easiest method to get there, a wooden electric boat. The electric aspect is consistent with Slovenia’s efforts to be “green”.
The boat was docked next to the pletnas.
I had arrived about 15 minutes before the scheduled departure. I asked the driver about payment options. He told me that either credit card or cash was fine. Then, since I had several minutes until the scheduled departure, I went online and bought my ticket. He remembered my question and commented when I showed him my e-ticket.
The boat was quiet and comfortable as we cruised along the glassy lake. I was captivated by the colours, so different than the sunny morning on my first day, a different type of beauty under this day’s mostly overcast sky. There were many rowboats.
We were dropped at the island and then had to walk up 99 steps to the Church of the Assumption of Mary. The steps date from 1655.
I went first to the church tower. The tower was built in the 15th century but has been renovated several times after damage from earthquakes and a lightning strike. The tower is 54 metres (177 feet) high.
I was fascinated by the clock mechanism as I walked up the tower.
The view at the top was nice but not spectacular.
There has been a church on the island for hundreds of years. The Church of the Assumption of Mary has been rebuilt different times over the centuries, including twice due to earthquakes. The current Baroque form dates from the end of the 17th century.
I walked around the island and was surprised to find a funicular. I was not sure if it was in operation and if so, was it for visitors or perhaps was just there to service the church. It would not have been a long ride.
After enjoying a quick gelato, I walked down to the dock to wait for our boat
The lake was even more beautiful on the way back.
I chatted with some of my fellow passengers. They were Filipinos who were working in Zagreb, Croatia and had come to Lake Bled for the day.
I made a video of my trip.
I had a latte at a cafe on the main street.
I talked to Dennis on my return and agreed that I would try the e-bike, so after a brief rest I went to the front of the hotel where Dennis was waiting with the bike. He gave me some rather basic instructions, “You will get used to it.” He was right. It did not take long.
He also sent me down a busy road. I was not happy there and took the first right. I then turned right again down an even quieter road. I wanted to get the “getting used to it” part out of the way.
The bike that he gave me was what is called a Class 1 e-bike. The assistance is through the pedals, so it is only available when the rider is pedalling. I quickly learned that the assistance is easily controlled by pushing buttons to increase or decrease the power, or to turn it off altogether, which was how it was for most of this ride. These bikes are a totally different from Class 2 e-bikes which have throttles, so that riders can just steer as the bike does all the work.
This was technically my second time on an e-bike since I had tried out my friend’s bike in Pouch Cove. That lasted less than 30 minutes, but then I had spent a lot of time reading and watching YouTube videos about which bike I might buy. There are lots of hills in Newfoundland, especially around Pouch Cove, and I had been quite frustrated in my efforts to get back into cycling. That research is what led me to the idea of biking in Slovenia. The internet’s algorithms matched my bike interest to my travel interest. We are all being controlled.
I was riding along trying the different gears when a young boy rode up beside me. He pointed out that we had the same bike, then seemed not to be impressed when I told him that I had only borrowed it. He raced away. I had yet to get used to the electric motor help and had no chance of catching up. I would like a rematch.
I really loved the bike and had picked a great place to ride. It was a very quiet country area with few cars. I crossed over a river where I met another cyclist. I said hello and found out that she was Czech. We agreed to exchange phones so we could take each other’s photos.
I saw a warning sign and thought that I should find out what it said, just in case I needed to be aware of any road hazards. Google Translate said, “Attention: Children”.
I passed this rock climber. I was not interested in trying.
I really had a good time, especially when I left the little town and saw more cows than cars.
My route back took me to the western end of the lake where I just happened to pass the café where I had tried the Bled Cream Cake. Really, it was just an accident. I had another cake, along with a latte.
I returned to the hotel and found a woman in charge. Since she was quite busy in the back room and Dennis was not there, I was left on my own to find a restaurant. I had seen some reviews of a traditional Slovenian restaurant and decided to go there.
I walked up and the down a road before I figured out that the restaurant was in a mall. There was only one table occupied. It was obvious that no reservations were required. I quite enjoyed the music and the beer, but the food was not memorable.
I walked back up the hill to the hotel. I checked all my remaining laundry. I had been diligently washing since this was my only stay of over two nights. I checked in with Po and Zoe and then hoped for some sleep. I would be back on the rails the next day.
This featured blog entry was written by Bob Brink from the blog Searching for Magical Moments.
Read comments or Subscribe
By 