Season Of Quiet Madness – Visiting Lake Bled: A Storm Waiting To Explode

A torrential downpour had descended upon Ljubljana. The rain pounded the roof at my hostel, Vila Veselova. I stood just inside the entrance staring out the window. The weather forecast had called for thunderstorms and steady showers all day. The rain showed no sign of letting up. I had been lucky to avoid the worst of it as I raced back from the Old Town to the hostel. Now I stared out the window only half-expecting the arrival of Aljaz, my Slovenian friend’s partner. He had been talked into driving me an hour north of the city to visit Lake Bled. In this downpour I could not believe anyone would go out unless they absolutely had to. While watching the raindrops bouncing off the pavement I was shocked to see him pull up. Aljaz was a total stranger to me. I only knew of him by word of mouth. His knowledge of me was the same. This was a Slovenian style blind date for travelers. I was up for a little adventure, especially when compared to the dreary option of staying indoors and watching it rain. As soon as I got in the car introductions were exchanged. Within five minutes I was completely at ease. Aljaz was preternaturally calm and very well spoken. His English was excellent. Not long after we left the city, the rain stopped falling. I was going to be able to see Lake Bled despite the weather.

Magnetic Attraction – An Emerald In The Sunlight

I must confess that my main reason for going to Lake Bled was the same as for everyone else, because it is listed as a must-see. When visiting a country as small in size as Slovenia, one would be remiss not to visit its most famous attraction. In this regard I was being a typical tourist and following in the footsteps of many others. Lake Bled has acted as a magnet for travelers since the 19th century, attracting the rich and famous, the politically powerful and millions of tourists. Prior to World War II, Yugoslavia’s royalty vacationed on its shores. During his decades long rule, Yugoslavia’s dictator Josip Tito hosted such communist luminaries as Walter Ullbricht and Nicolae Ceaucescu. His old villa at the lake is now the luxury Hotel Vila Bled. The lake is also the only place in Slovenia that the current American president Donald Trump has visited in his wife Melania’s homeland. They all came here for the same reason, Lake Bled’s stunning beauty.

The lake’s setting is second to none. On a clear day, the snowcapped Julian Alps provide a perfect backdrop. The highest peak in Slovenia, Mt. Triglav, can sometimes be spied from the shoreline. Closer to the lake, thick forests fringe the hillsides and atop one stands the cliff top Bled Castle. Over a thousand years old, this sentinel of stone acts as a constant reminder of the lake’s importance to the history of this region. Beneath the castle stretches Lake Bled, shimmering emerald in the sunlight. At the center of the lake there is a singular island crowned with a chapel. It is as if nature and man conspired to create the most picturesque setting possible. Alas, on the day we arrived upon the shores of Lake Bled, the skies were still heavy, threatening another cloudburst at any moment. The lake’s waters dark and mysterious. At times its surface would be transformed into a liquid silver by shafts of light shooting through the clouds. To stand upon that shoreline wondering if the storm clouds would finally explode was worth the effort it took to come here.

Pletnas - Awaiting summer at lake Bled

Lonely Contentment – Time Ticking Backwards In Bled

As for the town of Bled, it had that look of drab desolation that stalks resorts in the off season. A place that has no idea what to do with itself without crowds. At this moment, it was impossible to imagine the hundreds of thousands of tourists who descend upon the town each year. There was a feeling of vacancy and death. Here was a place meant for the summer. Love felt impossible at this moment. Bled was suffering through its season of quiet madness. I could only imagine what it must be like for those left in exile here from October through March. Cleaning empty rooms, preparing table settings for meals that would never happen and listlessly smiling at the few forlorn strangers who came to call during this, the lonely season. It felt like the kind of place where time starts ticking backwards.

I was lucky though. Aljaz was the best kind of guide, one who stayed by my side offering up a few words of reverence for the stunning view set out before us. I could tell by the way he looked out on the lake that he was intimately familiar with such scenery. Lake Bled stood as a proxy for all of Slovenia’s mountain wonders hidden deep within those hills and mountains looming in the distance. Attached to the shoreline was a dock attended only by absence. Chained to it were a couple of the handmade, flat-bottomed boats known as “pletna”. They floated in the water, waiting on tourists who would never arrive. These boats were a little bit of Venice set adrift on a Slovenian sea. The ferrymen – known as “pletners” - were all that was missing. They had abandoned their homemade watercraft to the elements on this day. I found these pletnas without their pletners or passengers a scene of lonely contentment.

The off-season - Looking towards Bled Castle

Wonder Of The World – Cast In Stone

We were just about the only ones standing on the lake shore. With rain clouds beginning to swirl overhead, Bled Castle beckoned us. It only seemed natural. Castles always prove attractive, they are the supermodels that stand up for history. Bled Castle was positively seductive. We could not help but notice it. The castle demanded our attention. It stood on a rocky promontory above Lake Bled. It could not have been better sited for both defensive and photogenic purposes. Formidable and beautiful, the castle hovered on the precipice, defying gravity. Walking up to it felt both dangerous and daring. I could hardly control myself. This was more than a castle, it was a wonder of the world cast in stone.