BLED, SLOVENIA

Hello Peeps!

We had to leave Ostrava, Czech Republic on February 25^th to continue on our journey. Although I was excited about our next destination, I was really sad to leave Teresa (and her friends too). It was so nice to hang with her and see her in her side of the world. Her friends were all so great and so hospitable to us too. I’m happy to know that Teresa is in really good hands. (Vanessa, I’m glad we got to help celebrate your “birthday situation” before we left! It was a great way to end our time there).

We arrived via train to Slovenia and couldn’t really see the view because it was getting dark. We checked into our hotel and went out to Rustic Pizza (a restaurant that was all the rage on TripAdvisor) It was delicious. (we went back the next day too)

In the morning, we woke up and went straight out to see the lake. WOW! I know I keep saying that, but seriously!! Lake Bled is beautiful and a little hidden treasure in Slovenia. I have to admit we never heard of it either until we were researching places to stop on the train.  There were some tourists there, but not a lot and most were not from America.  We were told that they get a lot of visitors during the summer, but the winters are much slower. I don’t know why because in the winter it is breathtaking!. The Lake is surrounded by beautiful mountains with ski slopes. There is a cathedral in the middle of the lake on an island.  Don’t get me wrong it was cold, but being in the Czech prepared us for that.  Here are some pictures that will maybe entice some of you to check it out if you find yourself in this part of the world. (although the pics still don’t do it justice).

Bled Castle celebrating their 1000th birthday this year!

Seer on the dock.

Seer on the lake with Ski Slopes in the back

So pretty and graceful!

The highlight of our short stay there was the Bled Castle.  They were celebrating their 1000^th Anniversary this year!! Crazy, right? The views from the top were amazing.  We made reservations right away for dinner that night in the restaurant attached to the castle. So we got dressed and right as we got there it started to snow. Beautiful!  As it turns out, we didn’t need reservations after all.  We were the ONLY ones there!!  It was so romantic. The place was beautiful, the food was amazing and the view was incredible.  So we had a beautiful candlelight dinner overlooking the lake with snow falling outside, with our own waiter, own chef and all the bread and wine we could consume! It was so nice, I didn’t want to leave! I felt like Belle in a deserted castle... all I needed was for the cups and saucers to come out singing “Be Our Guest, Be Our Guest….”.

Belle (minus the poofy yellow dress)

My Prince

Seer said the Lamb Chops were great!



















Here are some more pictures from the cafe at the top of the castle.

Another view from the top Cafe.

Teresa, I felt very European in this shot at the cafe!

Seer at the Cafe on the top of the castle.

View from the top courtyard





Roasted Pork Chops... yummy!



We left Bled the next morning for Venice, Italy!  I was the most excited about going to Italy and Venice did not disappoint!! We were there during Carnival also, so that added a lot of extra excitement to the atmosphere.  I know some of you have asked for pictures but we didn't have internet access there, but Seer will be posting that blog right away.

Cheers and Na zdraví,

Michelle

Travel Tip: #6 - If you book your hotels with Hotels.com, you will get the 10th stay for free. But make sure that you book the hotels that have plenty of great guest reviews AND make sure that the Hotels Reward symbol is on the hotel you pick or it won't be counted in the Free Night program.

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