Bled is only an hour and a quarter from Ljubljana by bus, but it is a whole different setting. The town is defined by its lake, its island in the lake (the only natural island in Slovenia), its castle set on a cliff top towering over the lake, and I would also add by its kremsnita - a delicious vanilla cream cake that can only be described as heaven on a plate.

Bled’s beauty is indisputable, and pulling out the usual adjectives just aren’t enough to do it justice. It is romantic, peaceful, pretty, majestic, but you really have to visit to truly appreciate it. We enjoyed it from many aspects - from lake level and on high, in misty cold morning light, under cloudy skies and brilliant blue, the smooth lake reflections broken only by swans swimming and row boats skimming.

Bled has long been popular with tourists, but luckily for us it is low season and very quiet. Many of the hikes I took were on paths with no one else. The only tourists were from Korea (on bus tours) and the odd Brits over for a few days thanks to cheap flights with EasyJet and Ryan Air.

The area is a hiker’s paradise with hundreds of hiking trails. I understand why the locals are so trim, even with their cream cakes. They run, hike and bike all over the place.

The number 1 hike, I guess, is around the lake that was formed after the recession of the Bohinj glacier at the end of the Ice Age. It is an easy path of about 6 kilometres, and many people are found strolling around it during the day. I walked around it early one misty morning, passed only by a few joggers. It had a quiet ethereal beauty at that hour, and later in the day, when the sky cleared and the sun shone, a whole different beauty showed itself.

The thing about this lake is that the light and the weather and the angle from which it is viewed constantly change it, and all you want to do is keep photographing it to try and capture its essence. I don’t know how I am going to scale down the hundreds of shots I took.

Other hikes I did were a little more strenuous - one up to the castle, another up a peak called Straza, and another to Vintgar Gorge. All were spectacular, the first two offering more amazing views of the lake from on high and the latter about 4 kilometres out of Bled into a gorgeous gorge, which unfortunately was closed off part of the way due to the danger of rock falls.

No visit to Bled is complete without a trip to the island in the centre of the lake, with its baroque church and bell tower dating back to 1698. It was quite peaceful crossing the quiet lake and exploring the island without the many tourists who must swarm here in summer.

And so, our time here is nearing an end as we pack ready to head back to Zagreb. My legs know they have worked these past few days, enough I hope to have walked off the cream cakes.