Epic Europe Road Trip Day Seven: Lake Bled, Slovenia

And just like that, our road trip was coming to an end.

Here’s a quick refresher on our route:

And here are all the other road trip posts:

• Epic Europe Road Trip Day One: Austria, Germany, Liechtenstein, & Switzerland
• Epic Europe Road Trip Day Two (Zurich): Lindt Chocolate Factory + Walking Tour
• Epic Europe Road Trip Day Three: Switzerland, Italy, France, & Monaco
• Epic Europe Road Trip Day Four: Monaco
• Epic Europe Road Trip Days Five & Six: Venice, Italy

On the way back to Munich, it didn’t add much drive time to swing through Slovenia, and we couldn’t resist adding yet another country our list. When we left Venice, we initially set our sights on Ljubljana, the capital. But somewhere along the drive (and after some hurried Googling from me in the passenger seat), the idea of navigating another city—and figuring out parking!!—felt like too much effort.

So I searched “Most famous thing to see in Slovenia” and Lake Bled popped up.

Navigating to this area added two minutes to our route, so it was an easy decision.

We’re all so thankful we pivoted. I had never even heard of Lake Bled until an hour before we arrived, but it ended up being one of the most beautiful stops of the entire trip. This area is often ranked among the most beautiful lakes in Europe. As soon as we saw it, that claim made a lot of sense!!

It’s a glacial lake with a tiny island complete with a church in the middle (you can only get there by traditional wooden rowboats). For good measure, there’s a medieval castle perched dramatically on a cliff off in the distance. Basically, the scene looks like something straight out of a Disney movie.

We were short on time, so we set our sights on the classic “postcard view,” which meant hiking up to Ojstrica. It’s a short trail, but steep and rocky in parts.

And now’s the time to confess to a rather large parenting fail.

Before we left Venice, Belle had asked what shoes to wear. Since I thought we’d just be hopping out briefly in Ljubljana, I suggested her Birkenstocks for comfort and we packed her sneakers deep inside a suitcase and headed off.

When we arrived at Lake Bled and realized we’d be hiking, we debated digging out more practical shoes. I hadn’t done much research and while I knew the trail could be steep, it also sounded relatively easy. Learn from my mistake: sandals are not suitable for this climb. We took it slow and made it work, but I’d say sneakers at minimum, hiking shoes if you have them.

The pictures are gorgeous and even still they do not come anywhere close to doing this scene proper justice.

If we’d had more time, I would have loved to explore more of the area (there are trails that snake around the perimeter of the whole lake), take a boat out to the island, and go to Bled Castle. Despite it being early April, there were already people swimming, and the lake was crystal clear. You can swim out to the island but wandering around in a bathing suit/barefoot is prohibited, so apparently people swim out with a dry bag!

Another must-try in the area is Bled cake. A pastry chef at a local hotel developed it in the 1950’s and it’s become iconic. To me, it was somewhere between custard and a cream pie. It’s traditionally cut into perfect 7x7x7 cm squares. It wasn’t cheap, but definitely one of those “you have to try it here” experiences. We grabbed a couple slices to share.

Before heading out, we stopped at a market right beside the lake and picked up fruit, drinks, and sandwiches so we could have an easy car picnic on the way back to Munich.

More long tunnels (the one in the picture was just under 8 km!)! More snowy Alps!

And, alas, more money spent to access public bathrooms.

But the drive was uneventful.

And just like that, the photo trail ends.

We made it to our airport hotel, returned the rental car (such a relief!), and officially wrapped up our road trip.

Epic.

Your turn:

• What local food delicacy has been your favourite to try as part of your travels?
• Most beautiful lake you’ve ever seen?