Our first stop of the day was to the gorgeous Vintgar Gorge. The drive itself was breathtaking with the windy roads surrounded by lush green mountains and cute cottages. The photos below do not do the colours justice, but hopefully you will get to experience a little of the beauty. The Vintgar Gorge is a close drive from the town of Bled, and the walk takes 1-2 hours, depending on the time of day as it does get overrun by those with the same idea.
The Gorge is open every day from 8am to 7pm. Cost: 4 Euros per adult.
Our lunch stop was at the small town of Bohinj, which lies within the Julian Alps. We ate a fantastic Slovenian lunch at the cute restaurant Strud’l choosing to share homemade noodles with mushroom sauce and a dish of home made gnocchi with tarragon, cottage cheese and jam. It was deliciously sweet!
We had every intention of traveling next to the beautiful turquoise waters of the Soca River, but as we had lost time with car hire issues we had to cut our losses and find somewhere else to explore. Exploring the Vintgar Gorge and Soca River is doable in 1 day, however you would need to start early as driving times to the Soca River is another 3 hours from Bled, and you need to factor in your hiking time as the rivers are in the National Park. It would be a long day but well worth it. We were quite upset about not seeing this amazing river, but the good thing about a country like Slovenia is it didn’t take long to find another beautiful area to explore. We drove towards Lake Bohinj and decided on a swim instead.
A small cathedral spotted on our drive
Top views of Lake Bohinj
Parking is available in a “car park” high above the lake in a field of green. We then climbed over a fence and hiked down the mountain, admiring the “Sound of Music” scenery.
Taking a moment to admire the views
I am not going to lie. The water was ICE cold and with large rocks under your feet it wasn’t the pleasant experience I was expecting. But with such gorgeous scenery surrounding me, I persevered…. PROOF
The surrounds of the lake
The hike back up to the car
Stara Fuzina – A c ute little village
Hotel Lovec Room service. Chicken Caesar salad and fish with a cheese plate of Slovenian cheeses.
Room service is always a must at least once on any of my longer trips, and it was the perfect end to a long day of sightseeing and driving. It was also great to have a salad!! Next stop. Ljubljana
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