Lake Bled - A Slovenian fairytale

We had an opportunity to visit Lake Bled in Slovenia in Mar, 2018.

The place is simply amazing. It is one of the most picturesque locations we have seen, so far. The church on the island in the middle of the lake truly gives it a fairy-tale like feel.

The walk around the lake takes around 1 hour, and is highly recommended. It is so relaxing to walk around the lake, and the experience of an early morning jog around the lake is not to be missed. There are hotels on all sides of the lake most of which have a nice view of the castle, e.g. the pics below show the views from Villa Istra, Grand Hotel Toplice and Vila Bled, respectively. Bled is like a 40 min drive form Ljubljana, so day trips to Lake Bled are also possible, however try to stay at least a day so you can truly appreciate the beauty of the place.

To reach Bled Island, you need take one of the beautifully decorated boats from the shore below. A ride to the island and back takes around 10 Euros per person.  

The way it works is that they take you by boat to the island, where you can stay for 2-3 hours, and then take the boat back to the shore. Below is where the boats are docked at the island.

Finally, walking around the lake, you will reach a point which is the starting point to hike up to to Bled Castle. Half of the hike consists of unpaved paths, so be careful if you are doing it in winter. There is a restaurant at the top, souvenir shops, and you will be rewarded with some nice panoramic views of the castle.

Return to Roots in Scotland

We visited Scotland in May, 2017.

Scotland is the land of castles and lakes. Let's start with the lakes first.

Highlands and Lakes

 

There are many lakes (lochs) in Scotland. The two most famous ones are the Loch Lomond and Loch Ness. If you have heard of the Loch Ness Monster, then the Loch Ness is already on your wish list I guess. Note that the two lakes are quite long, and there are multiple points along the lake where you can stop to enjoy the views. Some of them, e.g. Inverness, have been converted into tourist hot spots with their many restaurants, cafes and hotels.

 

The 2 lakes are actually a bit far from each other - so difficult to cover in a day. If you e.g. look at all the day tours available from Edinburgh, the 2 lakes are covered in different tours. So the recommended way is to cover (Highlands and Loch Ness) in one day, and the (Loch Lomond and Stirling Castle) on a different day. This will of course assuming that you are staying at Edinburgh, and will vary if you are e.g. staying at Inverness. Even with a day tour, be prepared for many hours of driving as in a 9-hour day trip, you will mostly be driving 2/3rds of it.

Enjoy some pics below of the 2 lakes:

Highlands

If you are visiting Scotland, you of course cannot miss the Scottish Highlands. If you are a Bond fan, you will probably remember the amazing landscape from Skyfall where Bond stops with M on their way to his ancestral home. 

The highlands are easily accessible from Edinburgh - approx. 1.30 hours drive. The place to target is Glencoe. The drive to Glencoe is very scenic with glimpses of the impressive landscape all along the way. The roads are usually quite deserted, which coupled with the amazing landscape really gives you the "end of the world" feeling!

 

Castles

 

The city of Edinburgh looks straight out of a Medieval century film set - check out the pic below. No wonder it is the filming location of many such shows, e.g. Braveheart, Outlander, Game of Thrones, and the inspiration behind Harry Potter's Hogwarts.

There are 2 main castles in the vicinity - the Edinburgh Castle and Stirling Castle, which is located slightly outside Edinburgh. Actually 3, if you count Doune castle (again, slightly outside Edinburgh), which you would remember if you are a Monty Python fan.

 
The Stirling castle is quite impressive, to say the least. Standing on a hill, it offers impressive views of the city of Edinburgh. 2-3 hours should be sufficient to explore the castle. It was raining quite heavily the day we visited the castle, like most days it would seem; so don't forget your umbrella on any visit to the UK/Scotland. Enjoy a few rain washed pictures of the castle in the meantime :)

Both the castles (Edinburgh and Stirling) have a rich history and there is quite some debate among locals / tourists regarding which is better? Unfortunately, due to time constraints, we did not get time to explore the Edinburgh castle in detail - so we cannot really weigh in on the debate.  If and when you visit both, please do let us know your opinion :) As a teaser, enjoy a few pics of the Edinburgh castle from the outside.

Night in London

We had a brief stopover in London, on the way to Edinburgh. So enjoy a few pics of 'A Night in London', and a more thorough exploration of  London remains on the wish list for next time.

A night in Prague

We visited Prague in Sep, 2016.

Transportation

Prague is the capital of Czech Republic. It is is reasonably well connected by International and European flights, so you shouldn't have any problems in getting a flight to Prague.

Just so you know, Czech Republic is considered as part of Central Europe, and not Western (or Eastern) Europe. This implies that it is less developed than say Germany and Austria, but more developed than Romania. In practical terms, this means that while hotel and food will be cheaper, you still need to be cautious while taking a taxi so that you are not ripped off. Having said this, Prague is of course a major touristic hub, and you are more than safe if you stick to touristic parts. Like most European cities, it does have a very well connection public transportation system.

Old Town Square

Three days is usually a good duration to cover (and enjoy) Prague. The absolutely essential things that you need to cover are: Old Town Square, Charles Bridge, Prague Castle, and take a cruise on the Vltava river - this one is "if time permits", as you will already see some of views if you visit Charles Bridge.

Let's start with the Old Town Square. As the name suggests, this is main town square. Almost every monument at the square has historic significance. Even if you don't care about history, the monuments are downright impressive. For instance, we were told that some of them served as the inspiration for castles that you find in Disney Movies may be you will recognize some of the ones from the pics below :)

and they looks equally stunning at night. 

This is is the place with a lot of shops and cafes/restaurants. So its easy to spend a whole day here. 

Charles Bridge

If you are wondering what is so special about a bridge, you have to see it to believe it. Below is a spectacular night shot of the bridge:

The area around the bridge is for pedestrians only. So it provides a leisurely means to walk around and explore the many shops and cafes/restaurants around the bridge. There are a couple of towers, one on each side of the bridge, which provide excellent vantage points to take panoramic shots of the city and the bridge. 

The best time to take pictures of the bridge is around dusk. So try to be a bit early and you can take pictures of the bridge and riverscapes as it progressively gets dark.

River Cruise

Since we are talking about the bridge, let's continue with the description of the river cruise. 

The river cruises usually start from a different point than the bridge. River cruises are usually included if you take a day pass with any of the Hop on-Hop off bus tours. It is usually an hour or so long and takes you from the pick-up point to Charles Bridge and return. 

It is a leisurely cruise and you get the see the Charles Bridge, and some other bridges/monuments from a different perspective. So its nice, but our recommendation would be to prioritize it after the other 3. 

  

Prague Castle 

Finally, let's consider the Prague Castle. It is slightly outside the main city, so the best way to reach there is again the Hop On-Hop Off buses; it is of course also possible to reach there by public transportation. 

It is a wide scenic area with many impressive monuments, e.g. museums, castles and cathedrals. So plan for around 2-3 hours to cover the Castle. An alternative is to combine this with exploring the Charles Bridge on the same day.