The BEST 36 Hours at Lake Bled: Slovenia's Fairytale Lake! 🇸🇮

We have made it to Slovenia's most iconic destination, Lake Bled. Located in the Julian Alps, this stunning blue lake is surrounded by mountains and is known for its island with a picturesque church perched on top. It truly feels like something out of a fairy tale. And we have just 36 hours to experience it all. From seeing the lake by boat, land, and toboggan to visiting a local hidden gem, wandering through a beautiful gorge, and of course trying the famous blood cream cake. [Applause] [Music] If you missed our last video, we're currently road tripping around Slovenia in a camper van. And while here at Lake Bled, we're staying at Camping Bled, which is definitely our priciest campsite so far. But the location cannot be beat. It's just steps away from this little beach area. So, we came out here at sunrise to watch the lake and the surrounding mountains illuminate in the morning light. And it was super beautiful. And our plan today is to explore all around the lake. But first, we're off to try a famous lake tree. [Music] We are at Confectionary Zema, which we hear is the best spot to try creme schnita or blood cream cake. And this is one of the foods I have been most excited to try here in Slovenia. It is a cake with a flaky crust plus custard and a whipped cream center and powdered sugar on top. Oh no, they weren't kidding about the flaky crust. It was very hard to break a piece off of this. M. It's just lightly sweet and creamy and then you have the nice little crunch from the crust and it just has kind of a nice subtle vanilla flavor. One thing I've noticed here in Slovenia is that the desserts aren't overly sweet. They just have the perfect amount of sweetness, but they're not that make you feel sick kind of sweetness. That's really, really good. I love the jiggle. So hard to kind of hard to eat. It gets destroyed. Gets destroyed very quickly. M. Oh, yeah. I love that it's cold, like light and fluffy. I could eat the whole pan of this. One of the best ways to see Lake Bled is from high up. There are a handful of overlooks you can hike up to right from the campground we're camping at, with the most popular being Oyza and Ouanita, which you can combine into a 3 km loop. [Music] That's a steep one. And the terrain is also pretty rugged. [Music] Oh my gosh, these stairs. They are almost straight up. They're almost a ladder. [Music] The handrail is so high up that it's actually easier to just put my hands on the steps ahead of me. And after about 30 minutes of uphill climbing, you reach this picture perfect view with green trees lining the blue waters of the lake and a stunning backdrop of mountains. This is one of those scenes that we have seen photos of countless times and it was a surreal feeling to finally get to stand here and see it for ourselves. [Music] Both viewpoints were incredible. But if we had to pick a favorite, I think we liked the Ouanita one better just because it was higher up. But regardless of which one you go to, make sure you wear good hiking shoes and maybe bring some hiking poles because the trail is very steep and rugged. But now that we've seen the lake from above, it's time to get out on it. [Music] All right. [Music] So, this is actually kind of harder than I thought it would be. It's a little confusing to get used to. I thought it would be so easy. The guy, the boat master, asked if I knew how to row. I said, "Yeah, no problem." I get to be the passenger princess today. What else is new? Yeah. What else? We're getting it. Look at you. We're cruising now. Whoa. [Music] Oh. [Music] So, you may have noticed there's an island on the lake. And to get to the island, you can either take a platinum, which is a wooden flatbottomed boat that dates back to 1590. And it's rode by a platinar, which is a job that's handed down from generation to generation, or you can rent a rowboat and row yourself, which is what we're doing, or trying to at least. Trying to at least. There are a handful of spots to rent a boat, but we chose a spot on the south side of the lake because it's the shortest distance to the island at about 10 minutes or so. And since you pay by the hour, that gives us more time to explore once we're on the island. [Music] Oh. Oh my gosh. It's so wobbly. Was a little stressful, but we made it. Way to go. The island on Lake Bled is the only natural island in Slovenia and can be seen from all around the lake. And standing tall on the island is a church which dates back to the mid7th century, although many other versions have stood before it. And to get to the church at the top of the island, you have to climb 99 steps. [Music] Visiting the island is free, but if you want to go into some of the buildings, there is a€ 12 fee. We ultimately decided not to pay to go into any of them, but one cool thing you can do if you go inside is ring the bell, which you might be able to hear happening right now. We've heard it all day from all areas of the lake. [Music] Now that I've gotten the hang of the rowing, it's actually pretty fun. You just got to get in the rhythm. [Music] Now, here's going to be a real test of the skills. I got to back this in. [Music] Way to go. We did it. We survived. Good job, Captain. Thanks. One thing I love to do when we're planning trips is just play around on Google Maps and click on random icons. And sometimes it brings us to some really cool places like this spot right here called Monica Pulukar. It's a historic Slovenian farmhouse that's run by a local family who serves local meats and cheeses plus homemade beer and other drinks. To start, we got a couple of their drinks. This is the lemon balm juice and then we got a a currant juice. They are both very delicious, very light on the flavor and lightly sweet. And then we got their meat and cheese plate that came with a bunch of different meats, a bacon pate, some veggies here, and a whole basket of bread. Oh, and a cat kitty cat wants to have little bite. No, no, no. Not for you. [Music] Okay. So, they said to spread the bacon pate on the bread just like uh if I can get some just like butter. The pate is a little salty, a little creamy, and just gives a little moisture to the bread and other ingredients. Yeah, the pate is basically just like butter. And this meat on here has such a good smoky flavor. This is the perfect afternoon snack. We are ending with freshly baked zucchini bread. Apparently, the zucchinis are popping off locally here. Has some nuts and berries and a little bit of chocolate in there. So good. As if that experience couldn't get any cooler, they give you a little tour at the end of your meal of their house. And the house dates back all the way to the 1100s, over a thousand years old. And one of the coolest parts of the house is they take you into the black kitchen. And the kitchen is black because of all the smoke, because that's where they smoke all the meats. It was just a cool experience because it just felt like you were stepping back in time. This morning, we're heading to the Ventur Gorge, which is located a little bit north of the lake. And there are a couple important things to know about visiting. First, the main parking lot is about 20 minutes from the entrance. So, to get the rest of the way, you can take a free shuttle. Also, they only let a specific number of people in per day, so you need to get your tickets in advance. These cost €15 per adult, and when you buy it, you will have to pick a time slot, so make sure to take into account the shuttle time as well. [Music] So, since there could be rocks falling from the canyon above, you're required to wear this nifty helmet. The Ventgar Gorge is a 1,600 m long and up to 250 m deep canyon that has been carved by the vibrant and crystal clear Ravna River. It was first discovered in 1891 and was the first protected natural attraction in the country, opening to the public just 2 years later. Today, there's a one-way pathway with boardwalks that allow you to skirt along the gorge walls and over the river that created this magical landscape. [Music] It truly gets better and better around every corner. In some sections of the gorge, the walls are really tall, while in other areas, it's super narrow. And then you have sections with calm, slowmoving water, while other areas have these massive, raging waterfalls. I think we're taking about double the time of the average visitor because we cannot stop stopping and admiring it and taking photos and videos. just insanely picturesque. And I can't stop staring at the fish. I found the honey hole. There's like at least 20, probably tons more just in this one spot right here. [Music] This helmet was not my best look. [Music] I had really high expectations for Slovenia and every single thing we have done has totally exceeded them, including this gorge. That was incredible. We definitely recommend booking one of the earliest time slots if you can. This area has easily been the busiest part of Slovenia that we've been to so far, which is understandable because it is the most popular. When we arrived to the gorge around 7:30, it was pretty empty, but it was getting busier and busier. And also, when you come early, especially, there's no sun in the gorge, so bring a jacket because it gets pretty chilly in there. To get back to the shuttle, you have two different trail options. We decided to take the trees one just because it's the shortest. [Music] Next up, we are going toboggoning overlooking Lake Bled. And to get to the top of the tobogen hill, we get to take a chairlift. [Music] Oh my god. Don't get thrown out. Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god. This is so fast. [Applause] Oh, that was exhausting. That was scarier than any roller coaster I've ever been on. And also way more fun. Did you have it full throttle the whole time? Yeah, you did. Did you? I break a few times cuz it like you get like really jerked around. It felt like a doll. I thought I was going to lose my hat. And now to end our time at Lake Bled, we are going to finally go swimming in the lake. It is pretty warm and sunny out and it has just been calling our name ever since we got here. [Music] Lake Bled may be the most popular destination in Slovenia, but for us, it was well worth fighting some crowds to experience this area's storybook views. But for the final part of our Slovenia road trip, we're heading further into the Julian Alps for lots of mountain views, even more stunning blue waters, and this I don't think I've ever felt so alive. [Music]