Lake Bled is Straight out of a Fairy Tale
After visiting Italy, I traveled by EurRail train to Bled, Slovenia. I had no idea what to expect for Slovenia, but as my train puttered forward along its creaky tracks, daylight soon overtook darkness and with it an extremely lush and shockingly green landscape began to appear outside my window. There were hills, forests, and fields as far as I could see in every direction, and everything seemed to be dripping in water.
I arrived in Lake Bled exhausted from a seemingly endless night filled with: wacky and inconsiderate fellow passengers; frigid train station benches; and sleep disrupting train transfers. I stepped off the final train, walked for three minutes, and before my eyes there suddenly appeared a jaw-dropping panoramic vista of Lake Bled. My lack of sleep and the pains associated with the previous night’s journey quickly dissipated; I smiled and let out small laugh. I couldn’t help it, I was one lucky man.
I ended up spending four days in Slovenia, and I highly recommend you visit. Slovenia is a beautiful country, and if your are living or staying in Europe, Lake Bled is the perfect place to visit for a long weekend.
The 5 Best Things to Do in Lake Bled, Slovenia
The lake, its island church, and the surrounding forest landscape, is so stunning, that I could literally spend two full days parked on a bench in silence gazing at nature’s splendor. If you wish to do more than just stare at the view, below is a list of my top five recommendations for how to sped your time while in Lake Bled.
- Hike the trails bordering the southwest edge of the lake and capture the best photos of Lake Bled. The trails can be confusing, but let me break them down for you as best I can.
- There are three different viewpoints: Mala Osojnica, Velika Osojnica, and Ojstrica. Google maps is super confusing so don’t pay it much heed. Maps.me is easier to follow, but can still throw you for a loop.
- I recommend visiting these trails on your first day at Lake Bled. Then, if fog and rain ruins your Day 1 view, like it did for me, you will still have another shot at it the following day. You won’t want to miss that view.
- If you have the time, approximately 2 hours, and enjoy hiking, I recommend visiting each of the three viewpoints. If you are hard-pressed for time, I recommend visiting only the Ojstrica viewpoint. Ojstrica is the shortest hike (1 hour round trip) and, although your vantage point is the lowest of the three, I believe it is the best view of the lake.
- If you enjoy a steep climb, which includes a few entertaining obstacles along the way, including a slippery narrow path and a steep ladder, I recommend following signs from the lake directly to the Mala Osojnica viewpoint. Visit this viewpoint first, and then continue the trail to visit the other two viewpoints.
- The trail signs can be quite confusing, but do not fear my friends; although the trails often bifurcate, they almost always meet up again. Also, if you go to one viewpoint, you can continue and see the others in quick succession without doubling back.
- Rent a rowboat or kayak and paddle (or swim) to the small island located in the center of Lake Bled. I recruited a few hostel friends and we rowed to the island. After docking our boat, we climbed up the island clock tower and afterwards entered the 17th century Pilgrimage Church. Once inside the church, we each rang the church “wishing bell” three times and made a wish. On our return trip we dove into Lake Bled’s emerald green waters. The lake’s water is surprisingly warm due to the presence of thermal springs near the eastern shore of the lake. This was hands down one of my favorite afternoons since beginning my journey.
- Additional notes: a rowboat costs approximately 20 euros per hour, but you may be able to negotiate a lower price; the church entrance fee is 6 euros; and if you plan to swim to the island, you must bring a dry-bag with dry clothing to change into in order to gain entrance into the church.
- Jog around Lake Bled. Yes, you can power-walk, cycle, or take a leisurely stroll around the lake. Whatever your heart desires. The paved path is flat and only covers a distance of 6 km (3.7 miles). Of all the scenic runs that I have taken around the world, the Lake Bled run currently sits at the top of my list as my all time favorite run; its spectacular views cannot be beat.
- Visit the Vintgar Gorge. I highly recommend visiting the Vintgar Gorge and hiking along its well-maintained boardwalk that runs along the turbulent and winding Radovna River. I have hiked two gorges this summer, the Vintgar Gorge and the Samaria Gorge in Crete. The Samaria Gorge is a great hike, but the adventure is a full day commitment and water is only visible at the end of the trail. I love that it only takes 2 hours to walk the length of the Vintgar Gorge and back. Although the gorge is short, only 1.6 km (1.0 miles), its path runs either alongside or on top of the river for the entire trail.
- Additional notes: it’s an easy 5 km (3 mile) walk from Lake Bled to the Vintgar Gorge; the price is a bit steep at 10 euros per person, but I still think its worth it; lastly, arrive to the gorge entrance between 8:00 – 9:00 am as the trail gets very busy later on in the day.
- Take advantage of the outdoor activities offered at and near Lake Bled. Slovenia is a hiker and outdoor enthusiast’s paradise. In addition to hiking, there are myriad activities available, including: tobogganing, climbing, rafting, kayaking, and canyoning. I even overheard hostel mates discussing zip-lining and bungee jumping. Check out a video of my “extreme” canyoning adventure, below!
The Sketchiest Pub Crawl Experience in Split, Croatia
Before I Get into the Pub Crawl, let’s Discuss my Train Ride from Hell
After spending four glorious days in Slovenia, I boarded a train bound for the coast of Croatia. Hoping to get a decent night’s sleep, I reserved a bed in the sleeper cabin. I have never reserved a sleeper cabin before, but I have taken dozens of trains in western Europe so I thought I knew what to expect. I couldn’t have been more wrong.
I want to laugh about the whole experience, but honestly, I’m not sure that I have fully recovered from that night. Picture this. Me, lying on the top bunk of a three-stack of bunk beds. The beds are narrow, 2.5 feet wide, and are as stiff as Sheetrock (see above pic). Two feet away, parallel to my stack of beds, is another stack. There is a girl on the top of the other stack and she is on her side and is coughing up a lung in my direction. She is so close to me, that I can literally feel her cough. Oh, and by the way, there is no air conditioning, so I am dripping with sweat. Takeaway, if you are traveling around European countries located to the south or east of Austria, bus or fly. Also, if you decide to take trains in Croatia or Slovenia, there is no need to purchase a EurRail pass; the trains are cheap, so you are better off buying individual tickets.
Worst Pub Crawl Ever!
After my train ride nightmare, I enjoyed a relaxing day in Split, Croatia, swimming in the ocean and wandering the city streets. During the day, I befriended a couple of hostel guys, and they somehow convinced me that a Pub Crawl was just what I needed to remedy a poor night of sleep.
The Tower Pub Crawl in Split, Croatia was unlike any European pub crawl I have ever attended; it was different in many ways, none of which were good.
First off, we had difficulty finding the pub crawl meeting spot. On every other European pub crawl I’ve been on, I have either been picked up at my hostel or met at a designated bar. Never before have I met at a random spot in the center of the city. After walking in circles for what felt like ages, me and my two hostel friends spotted a guy holding a pink umbrella, and after inquiring, we discovered he was our pub crawl guide. No disrespect, but he looked and smelled like a homeless guy. Also, I noticed that he wasn’t wearing anything that indicated that he worked for the pub crawl company. To make matters worse he was surrounded by two bros. Let’s recap, strange meeting place, homeless pub crawl guide, no girls. Off to a strong start.
On every other pub crawl, I have paid at either the hostel or at the first bar, but as I mentioned before, this was no ordinary pub crawl. Instead of paying upfront, we were told to follow our guide. So, just like that, our sketchy pub crawl odyssey began.
We walked for five to ten minutes zig-zagging down Split’s dimly lit cobblestone alleyways, further and further from the city center. Eventually, we arrived at a busy road, where a van was waiting for us. The van was labelled “taxi” and we were told to get in. The other four guys attending the crawl jumped in the van without hesitation, but I stood outside the ajar car door a bit confused by the whole situation. My gut told me that this was a terrible idea. I stood frozen for ten seconds before finally deciding to take the plunge. After all, I didn’t want to be the American loser who held everyone back from having a good time.
After taking my seat, I immediately whipped out my phone and started to track my location on google maps. We inquired what the name of the first bar was called, and our driver and pub crawl guide laughed and mumbled an incoherent name that sounded something like “Circus”. Have you ever seen the movie Hostel? Because, at that moment, I was convinced we were driving to a Circus warehouse where my organs were to be harvested, packed on ice, and sold to the highest bidder. My hostel friends and I joked that maybe we should text our parents and tell them we loved them. We were joking, but not entirely. After heading away from the city center for five minutes, the van eventually looped around and started to head in the direction of our hostel. I looked outside the car window and recognized the streets. I was relieved, confident that if needed I could make a run for it and know exactly which direction to go.
After a tense ten minute ride, we pulled over and were told to exit the van and follow our guide. We were all relieved to get out of the stuffy van and, without hesitation, we obediently followed our guide down the street and into an empty brightly lit one-level strip mall. I noticed our guide was swerving a bit while he lead us to the rear of the mall. Was he high?
The guide announced we had arrived at the door. I peaked in as the door swung open and a feeling of immense relief and slight embarrassment washed over me. This actually was a pub crawl. My friends and I paid the steep 33 USD entrance fee, which is the highest amount I have ever paid for a pub crawl, and entered the room. After a few minutes of taking stock of the situation, we each grabbed a drink at the open bar and regrouped in the back of the room. Huddling in a small circle of three, we looked around at one another and then burst out laughing. We laughed both because we were relieved to have safely made it to the pub crawl and because of the absurdity of the entire situation.
The room we had entered for our “open bar” was surprisingly small and reminded me of the basement of a small wannabe fraternity basement. A rudimentary makeshift bar was located at the back of the room. Behind the bar, the wall was lined with shelves stocked with one-hundred or so bottles of the same cheap vodka. Two Foosball tables, one beer-pong table, and a stage took up the majority of the space in the room. The frat basement was half full with twenty or so 20 year old guys. Interspersed within the groups of guys were three girls, each wore a pub crawl t-shirt and was undoubtedly employed by the pub crawl company. Was this real life or was someone playing a joke on me?
After sipping on a vodka and soda, that was, no exaggeration, 95% water with no carbonation, the three of us quickly voted to desert the pub crawl. We posted up at a nearby local bar, and for the next hour or two, we recapped the sketchiest and strangest pub crawl experience of our lives. Every so often one of us would shake our head and laugh. We hated the fact that the pub crawl had been such a bust but, at the same time, it was a night that we would never forget.
If you have the fervent desire to go on a pub crawl while visiting Split, I recommend steering clear of Tower Pub Crawl. Don’t let the TripAdvisor 4.5 star rating and 330 reviews fool you!
Dubrovnik’s Old Town, AKA King’s Landing
After Split, I took a 3.5 hour bus trip to Dubrovnik, to stay at and explore the Old Town for a few days. I hate to admit it, but like many of the 1.2 million tourists who visit Dubrovnik each year, I never knew this famous walled-in city existed until it I saw it featured prominently on the Game of Thrones (“GOT”) television series. Ever since watching the show, I have wanted to visit the city and walk along its ramparts. As a child, I was mildly obsessed with knights and castles, and although my enthusiasm has since abated, ever since learning of its existence I have undeniably been drawn to this perfectly preserved medieval city located on the Dalmatian coast.
A spent a few days exploring Dubrovnik’s worn marble-paved squares and steep cobbled alleyways. One day I walked on top of its iconic fortress walls. The next, I ferried over to nearby Lokrum Island to take a swim and visit THE actual GOT throne. Continuing the GOT theme, one night I was treated to an incredible drunk reenactment of Queen Cersei’s walk of shame in the exact location where it took place on the show! The rest of my time in Dubrovnik was filled with gorgeous Croatian sunsets and hanging with new friends from all over the world.
Partying in the Bay of Kotor on a Sunday Night
While staying in Split one of my best friends from high school, Sam, contacted me and asked if he could meet me in Europe for a few days. He wanted to see what a day in my new travel life was like, and I was excited to have a travel buddy. We decided to meet up in Budapest, Hungary. After some research and bit of creativity, I decided to: bus from Dubrovnik to Kotor; spend one night in the Bay of Kotor; bus to an airport in Montenegro; and then catch two flights that would eventually get me to Budapest. Just another day in the office!
I arrived in Kotor with almost no knowledge of the country or city that I was visiting. Literally five minutes before departing my hostel in Dubrovnik, I booked the Montenegro Hostel 4U, a self-proclaimed “party hostel”. I shrugged when I read that label. I had been to over 20 hostels at this point and had done plenty of partying, what made them think they were so special?
I arrived at my hostel at 11:00 am and the party hostel credibility was put to rest when my hostel manager handed me a shot of “rakija”. A free shot upon arrival at a hostel, that’s a first. I quickly learned that rakija is Montenegro’s version of “raki”, a strong spirit that I had imbibed in Crete earlier in the summer. It burned my throat the same way as raki, that’s for sure. After showing me to my room, the hostel manager instructed me to meet at the picnic tables in the back of the hostel at 8:00 pm and to bring along two liters of beer. He then said, in a completely serious tone, “This is a party hostel, we have a reputation to uphold, and we are not messing around.”
We drank rakija; we played beer games; we laughed; we cried. We bar hopped; we clubbed; we even swam in the Bay of Kotor with locals at 3:00 am. Just a typical Sunday night in the Bay of Kotor.
Even after a Sunday night out in Kotor, I knew I only had 24 hours in this strange city and I wasn’t going to waste it. I rallied and woke up early so that I could visit the Old City of Kotor and climb the walls that wrapped around the city and the neighboring mountain. The views from the walls of the city were stunning and worth the early alarm: from the top of the city’s walls I could see Kotor’s Old Town, the bay, and the dramatic surrounding mountains that rose precipitously out of the bay.
It’s nearly impossible to see a city in 24 hours, and I won’t pretend that I saw it all or was able to truly immerse myself in the culture, but I can proudly attest that I gave that it my all.
