Slovenia, Austria: Part 5 - Day 6: Bus to Bled

Here is a summary of what is spent on Day 6.

28/7 Day 6: Bus to Lake Bled. Walk along Lake Bled.

Costs
(1) Bus (Arriva) ticket from Ljubljana to Bled EUR1,90

Accommodation
(1) 3 nights in AirBnb in Bled for 3 persons - EUR529,41 (EUR146,67 per night, EUR10 cleaning fee, EUR79,41 service fee)

(2) Tourist tax - EUR9,39 per person for 3 nights (EUR3,13 per person/night)

Food
(1) Breakfast at Norma 23 cafe EUR12,20 - Egg benedict on pancake EUR8,70 and coffee with whipped cream and topped with supposed fresh herbs EUR3,50
(2) Radler at Devil Caffe & Bar in Bled EUR4,50

(3) Lunch at Spica bar & restaurant EUR18,42 (beef burger EUR16,92, cover charge EUR1,50)

(4) Radler (again) at Restavracija Zaka Camping Bled EUR4,50

(5) Dinner at Hotel Starkl EUR22,20 - Cheese struklji (cheese dumpling) with gorenjska skuta (local curd cheese) and porcini mushroom sauce EUR16,90, and a glass of white wine Sauvignon Verus EUR5,30

The Story

28072024 : Today, we checked out to continue our trip to Bled. We had breakfast at a random cafe which is on our way to the bus station. Ljubljana and Bled is very near and the journey is scheduled to take one hour. But we did not anticipate the traffic into Bled. Gosh, we reached Bled 45 minutes later than scheduled.

Here is our breakfast place at Norma 23 cafe. There were large columns in the area, inspired by Roman barock architecture that we learnt during our walking tour. I had coffee with supposedly fresh herbs plucked from the mountains nearby. The waiter is obviously making it up because the herbs that came with the coffee were dried rose buds. How can it be fresh when they are dried? My eyes just rolled when I saw that. Of course, that made it an expensive coffee.

We needed to use a toilet after breakfast and luckily, there were public toilets. One of them was under the bridge which is right in front of the pink Franciscan church located on Prešeren Square. Toilets were clean and free!

We walked to the bus station and saw a queue waiting for the bus heading towards Bled. There were a few bus stops for Bled. There was no pre-booking of bus tickets. I was confused initially on how to get the bus tickets. Two of us went inside the ticket hall to queue for tickets and one stood in line for the bus. Only cash to buy the bus tickets. The bus ticket is valid for any bus. The first bus was full so we moved to the next bus at Platform 8 and managed to get seats. It was the 10.15am bus which I had planned. 

The bus stopped in designated bus stops but could not take in any passengers as the bus was full. I thought that the bus driver was very patient to explain to the passengers who wanted to board the bus. Some of them even argued. Some managed to get on bus had to stand and some sitting passengers offered their seats to them as the ones who managed to get on the bus were elderly. Some sat on the steps to the door. There were many cars getting into the Bled and they were car plates from Austria. Bled is located very near to the border of Austria. We were supposed to arrive Bled at 11.18am but we arrived at 12pm. There was air-condition on the bus but it was still very hot. We decided to get off the bus at Bled Union station. Initial plan was to stop at the station after Bled Union but we could not stand the heat in the bus. Anyway, the station was very near to the lake. 

Right in front, Lake Bled! I cannot believe that I have reached Lake Bled! One thing that caught me by surprise was the amount of tourists here. This place is so commercialised! I had only researched about the church in the middle of the lake which was the reason for me to agree to have Bled in the itinerary.

First stop, beer for my travel companions. It was such a hot day. Radler for me. We stopped at the first place that we saw with outdoor seatings and people drinking beer. I thought that I would get a nice photo with the lake behind me. Well, at least in my imagination.

Then, lunch. There was not much shade to get in Lake Bled. It was a very hot walk to the nearest restaurant. Good thing I had sunscreen on me. 

The restaurant that we chose - Spica restaurant is an expensive restaurant. We even had to pay cover charge. I was confused when I saw this on the bill. I asked the waitress and she said this is for sitting here. I did not understand what she meant and my travel companion explained that it is the price for getting a place. I was WHAT?! I have never ever experienced this before in my life! Even water costs EUR2,59 in this restaurant. This is so ridiculous when water is free in Slovenia! So, I had burger only and drank from my water bottle. It was very hot in the restaurant and it took us some time to finish the food. I could not enjoy my meal. It reminded me of my dinner experience in Bolzano. 

After lunch, we headed towards our Airbnb. Along the way, we stopped to fill our water bottles. There were water stations around Lake Bled. It rained on the way to our Airbnb but we managed to reach in time before it poured.

The way to our Airbnb is uphill. Tiring when it is hot. Bled Jezero train station is near our Airbnb. We have to cross over (or run over) railway tracks to get to the other side. It is a short cut. 

Then walk through some shrubs and tall trees. It is not a forest which opens up into a well-paved uphill road.

This is a never-ending uphill road. It is not a long uphill road but it feels like forever. 

Then, we saw our Airbnb. A house on a hill. We were on the second floor, I think. The apartment does not have a kitchen. It has a mini fridge, some coffee and tea sachets and an electric kettle in a cupboard. There is a side balcony that is attached to the bedroom with the queen-sized bed. But the view is blocked by the roof. So, we could not see the lake. We could only see the lake from our window.

We did not use the tv.

A mini drying rack. Definitely not big enough to hang anything other than underwear and socks.

Thank goodness for the coffee and tea offered. We had them twice for our breakfast as there were no cafes nearby. There is a bakery nearby but no options to sit in.

Nice that there is hairdryer! 

The view from our window. 

The view if we stand and stretch out from the balcony.

When the rain stopped at 5pm, we went out, took our first dip in Lake Bled and had beer (friends wanted that first) then dinner.

Me and the famous church of Lake Bled in the background! The water is so warm! I could enjoy it. Usually, the waters in Sweden are too cold for me that my ankles hurt when I stay too long in the water. In Bled, it is so warm that I could stay long and enjoy. The water was 24 degrees as shown on a large display.

There was a camping place on Lake Bled. We stopped at the restaurant to have beer and radler. There were many families with kids in the restaurant.

We continued our walk along the lake to our dinner spot. I saw some signboards offering boat hire and stand-up paddle board hire. I read that one can rent your own boat to row to the church in the middle of the lake. I thought none of my travel companions could row a boat but to my surprise, one of them could and thought about rowing. It would be cheap too! So, we planned that for tomorrow's activity!

Dinner was at Hotel Starkl which was on the opposite side of the lake (of our Airbnb). I thought it will be an expensive dinner but it was affordable. I tried the local food - cheese dumplings. Very delicious. I was surprised because I am not a fan of cheese in general. I can eat cheese but not a lot of cheese. I had my cheese dumplings with whine wine. Apparently, wine is well-known in Slovenia. I don't know how to appreciate wine, though. I think the wine and meal went well. 

During dinner, it started to rain heavily again. The rain did not look like it will subside so we decided to leave the restaurant in the pouring rain. Thankfully, we had our rain ponchos and it was not such a bad walk. It was about a 30-minutes walk back to our apartment.