Visiting Lake Bled, Slovenia

Wow where did September go?! There I was being all organised before I went away on holiday creating content for my blog then my life went and upturned and became so crazy busy that I only managed to edit my holiday photos this weekend over a month after I returned from my trip.

So way back (at the end of August), I went to visit Slovenia, a country who's location on a world map I could only guess at being in Europe and a place where the population is so small you can fit them all into London.


The trip was a quick get away from the real world and our setting could not have been any better!

Getting to Slovenia was probably the hardest part of our trip as we had to fly from Luton Airport (sadly Manchester fails at getting you there) and so requires a very early start and an airline that I had never heard of before called Wizzair.

On arrival to Slovenia you get to fly over the alps and descend into one of the greenest countries I have ever seen, which is saying something as I used to visit Ireland most years.

The drive from the airport to Lake Bled only takes 40 minutes if you don't get lost that it, but sometimes getting lost is the best thing as it means you get to really see the hidden beauty of a country which we certainly found on our adventure.

So many of the houses have incredible flower displays and hanging baskets along with huge piles of fire wood ready for the winter which are so picture perfect.

In Lake Bled we stayed in the Grand Hotel Toplice, part of the Small Luxury Hotel chain and by gosh is it stunning.

The white washed building is perched right on the lakes edge and our room was not just a bed, we also had a separate lounge and dressing room and the most incredible balcony I have ever had the privileged of standing on, not only because of the spectacular view over the lake and the castle, but also because it made me feel like complete royalty.

The first day we spent lounging around the lake, our hotel was the only one in the town with its own private 'beach'. A huge decking area from where you can jump or slowly lower yourself into the lake for a swim if you wish.

After a little down time I rented a paddle board to get out onto the water which was so lovely and meant I could stop still in the middle of the water and just breath (and attempt some yoga as well).

This also meant I got to test out my new swimsuit from Lavish Alice, and although it looks really fancy, the support it offered was amazing! Certainly far better than I ever thought and meant no chance of me falling out.

On our second day we decided to head out for an explore around the local area and headed up to a beautiful spot called Vintgar Gorge which is made up of a walkway along the river to a waterfall at the end.

The walk was so picturesque and there is something about heading out into nature being completely surrounded by trees and flowing water to give a complete sense of grounding and how so many things going on in life are really not important.

Our third day was our day for heading by row boat to the island in the middle of the lake. Who knew rowing was so much fun (after I got into the swing of it).

It was certainly my work out for the day as well. Once we reached the little island and docked we headed up the steps and explored the church and the clock tower, rewarding ourselves with a tasty ice cream the size of my head.

That afternoon we went for a wander around the lake, finding a lovely little restaurant right on the water front where bled cake had originated from and I had a huge salad before we wanted back to relax on our balcony.

 In the late afternoon we headed down to the spa, I opted for the chocolate experience, which involved a  body scrub, massage, moisturize and body mask.

I certainly smelt of coco butter after and did feel exceptionally relaxed even if my brain did take a LONG time to finally switch off. The pool was also really impressive, the water was brought up from the spring each day before being drained in the evening and had no heating so was a refreshing 23 degrees.

Our final evening led us to a stunning restaurant on the water front once again. I opted for fish which was absolutely incredible and as we got to watch the sun set and the sky transform onto the lake it was such a lovely peaceful evening which definitely kept the relaxing theme of the afternoon going.

In the morning before heading off to the busy city I went for a quick paddle board.

We went to explore the castle which over looks the entire Lake Bled area.

The view was impressive and if I went back I would make sure to book a meal at the restaurant in the castle.

After a lovely morning it was time to head back towards the big city lights for some more exploring and adventuring.

Have you visited Slovenia? Where would you like to go visit?

Love