After another filling buffet breakfast this morning we rugged up against the single digit temperatures in Ljubljana as we prepared for a day trip out to Lake Bled. With the bus station and the train station being in the same place it meant we only had a 10min walk from our room. The bus from Ljubljana to Bled costs €6.50 and only takes 80mins which makes it a perfect day trip, of course if you wanted to stay you'd have no trouble finding accommodation. While waiting for the bus we took advantage of McDonalds free WiFi, which we have utilised a number of times, and found a place to stay in Budapest tomorrow night.

The bus ride was uneventful so we were able to sit back and become absorbed in our books until we arrived a little after 11am. Lake Bled is simply beautiful, there really is no other way to describe it, the water by the banks is crystal clear with a slight tinge of turquoise and is lined with ducks and swans eagerly waiting for whatever treats they can get from the tourists.
First up though was lunch and we found a great restaurant by the water where we enjoyed a filling meal and an even more filling dessert called K... which we can only describe as a vanilla slice on steroids. A traditional dessert of Bled. As we paid, the waiter offered us a complimentary sweet sherry to warm us up and then pulled a rose out of a nearby vase. "For the lady" he said and we left full, warm and rose in hand.

Despite the lakes size it is easy to walk to around as it has a sealed walking path that runs the whole way and can be done in 1-2hrs depending on how leisurely you choose to stroll. You can hire row boats for around €12/hour if you want to get out onto the water or you can take a larger boat that ferries people out to the island in the middle. The skies were grey and threatening so we chose to stick with walking, you could just imagine the lake filled with row boats on a summers day, the last thing we wanted was to be in the middle of the lake when the heavens opened.
We pushed on around the far side of Lake Bled and past the Rowing Centre which has acknowledgments to the Olympic Champions who trained here. There are dogs everywhere on the lake, clearly a popular place for locals to get them out for a run, not helping with how much we miss Charlie.
We set the rose adrift in the Lake, a little sign from us that we'd been there.
Coming full circle we decided to get the 3:30 bus back to Ljubljana, the town was very quiet so we figured we'd get back in time for dinner. It was Saturday today and even the Tourist activity centre was closed so we can only assume that when the season changes the activities move off the lake and into the nearby mountains with the coming of the snow.

Back in town we settled in for the night and got our things organised for tomorrow. The train to Budapest is an older one and would take 9hrs, as it's not a reservation train it should be fairly empty which will make the trek a little more comfortable.