I'm just back from one of the most amazing and lesser known countries in the world- Slovenia.
The Julian Alps in Slovenia
When the plane flew into Ljubljana, I saw all the mountains, and the low lying clouds, with the slightly foggy weather, it looked like we were flying into a scene of Lord of the Rings! I sat beside this British girl in the plane and seriously she was a godsend angel. We started chatting and realised we were going to the same place, ie Lake Bled. She was so nice to wait for us, and share her airport transfer van with us so we could save like 2h travelling! Also unknowingly, we arrived on the day where the annual festival was taking place on Lake Bled- thousands of candles floating on the lake, and fireworks too! whee! Hallelujah!
There are tons of photos of this beautiful country so I will have a separate post for each place we went to. One post just can't contain everything.
Our breakfast al-fresco. Jos booked this B&B in the middle of the woods, no joke. Everyday we need to walk thru the forest for 10min before reaching civilisation. It's fun for a change, because we wake up to super fresh air, and breakfast is cooked using fire and wood from the forest.
See more photos from Bled via link below (I had such a difficult time choosing which ones to upload!):
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2068136&id=1094966172&l=7273b51d3d
The Julian Alps in Slovenia It all started early last month when Chris suggested us visiting Slovenia together and Jos and I readily agreed. Little did we know that Chris changed her mind after Jos and I booked our air tickets so we felt *ahem* a little cheated. Looking back now, after 5 days of travelling in this country, we now think we can't thank Chris enough!!
What is different in this trip is that we had no idea what to expect. We didn't know what we would be doing, or what we would see in this young nation, which was part of former Yugoslavia. Even my colleagues here kept mixing Slovakia with Slovenia. Lovely Askar kept asking me to be extra careful, esp "it's only 3 girls..." and "I think I watched too many horror movies..." Err thanks Askar. Of coz I didn't tell this to my family. They haven't heard of this country before even, let alone telling them "I'm flying into Ljubljana, the capital city." (Secretly, I had to practice pronouncing it and learning the correct spelling before I left; it'd be quite embarrassing I think!) So with all the shrouded mystery, we embarked into the unknown. haha I know I'm exaggerating but it's true! (btw the beautiful capital city is pronounced as "lu-blee-ya-na")
The sights of the many mountains, clear blue skies and emerald waters just caught us by surprise. Slovenia's landscape been likened to that of Switzerland, just less expensive (& less touristy which is a super plus point for me). Actually we drew many curious stares; we were pretty much the only 3 Chinese looking girls walking around.
The sights of the many mountains, clear blue skies and emerald waters just caught us by surprise. Slovenia's landscape been likened to that of Switzerland, just less expensive (& less touristy which is a super plus point for me). Actually we drew many curious stares; we were pretty much the only 3 Chinese looking girls walking around.
The fireworks on Lake Bled
Our breakfast al-fresco. Jos booked this B&B in the middle of the woods, no joke. Everyday we need to walk thru the forest for 10min before reaching civilisation. It's fun for a change, because we wake up to super fresh air, and breakfast is cooked using fire and wood from the forest.
Our first glimpse of the beautiful Lake Bled. I know the name's a little queer coz it doesn't quite do justice to the beauty of the lake. That's the Bled Castle on a cliff behind us, which we later climbed up huffing and panting (and embarrassingly old aunties and uncles overtook us.)
Happy ducks in the very clear waters. In some other shots, you could see the fishes too.
The lake again. Love the reflection. It's just so amazing. Slovenes sit around the lake, have a picnic and chill in the sun. I would do the same too.
Finally we made it to the top! That's an awesome view of Bled Island, the only true island in Slovenia. The cathedral on this island is a very sacred one, where people make pilgrimage trips to even till this day.
Books describe this whole Bled area as fairy tale-like with the emerald waters surrounding the cathedral, and a castle across the water high up on a cliff. I think so too!
The tourist boat we took to Bled Island. The uncle rowed a good 20-25minute.
Love this arty pic I took on Bled Island.. wallpaper worthy eh? :)
Happy ducks in the very clear waters. In some other shots, you could see the fishes too.
The lake again. Love the reflection. It's just so amazing. Slovenes sit around the lake, have a picnic and chill in the sun. I would do the same too.
Finally we made it to the top! That's an awesome view of Bled Island, the only true island in Slovenia. The cathedral on this island is a very sacred one, where people make pilgrimage trips to even till this day.Books describe this whole Bled area as fairy tale-like with the emerald waters surrounding the cathedral, and a castle across the water high up on a cliff. I think so too!
The tourist boat we took to Bled Island. The uncle rowed a good 20-25minute.
Love this arty pic I took on Bled Island.. wallpaper worthy eh? :)See more photos from Bled via link below (I had such a difficult time choosing which ones to upload!):
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2068136&id=1094966172&l=7273b51d3d
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