This post is a continuation of a series documenting our travels to Slovenia in the European Spring of 2026. We had spent a couple of days in the capital city of Ljubljana where we had walked around the beautiful but compact City Centre ( A Morning Walk Through Ljubljana City Centre – Serene Slovenia, Part 1 ) and visited the Castle above the City Centre and spent a great evening walking around the peaceful Tivoli Gardens ( A Visit to Ljubljana Castle & the Tivoli City Park – Serene Slovenia, Part 2 ).
We had run out of luck with the weather though after lucking out in Ljubljana. We woke up to an overcast and drizzly morning in Ljubljana. Luckily since we were returning to Ljubljana after our 3 nights in Bled we could keep most of our luggage in the City Hotel Ljubljana, just taking my Camera Bag and a small duffel of clothes to Bled. That made the walk to the Ljubljana Bus Station in the rain much easier.
We took shelter in the small bus station till our bus to Bled came to the allotted bus platform. We had no big luggage to stow away under the bus so we got our tickets scanned and got settled in our seats, keeping our meagre luggage in the overhead storage.
On the bus to Lake Bled from Ljubljana
We reached Lake Bled after a comfortable one and a half hour bus ride and got off at the Bled Union stop as our Aparthotel Gaja was closer to this stop. We used Google Maps as usual to navigate our way to the Aparthotel in the light drizzle. It was way before the check in time and I knew we wouldn’t get our apartment. We went to the reception building where the helpful staff confirmed that we would get our apartment later. We stowed our luggage and the staff helpfully lent us an umbrella which we gladly took.
There was time to kill till we got our room and we were not going to let some rain get in the way of enjoying a walk around the picture postcard lake Bled. We had brought one umbrella with us from back home as we have a habit of being prepared for all weather when travelling. With the umbrella borrowed from the Aparthotel & wearing our rain jacket and raincoat respectively we were all set to go all around the lake which was supposedly a 6 km walk. I didn’t take the chance of taking my camera on this walk so all the photos will be those taken with the better half’s trusty iPhone and have our mugs grinning in most of them ( Apologies for the same!).
We walked down from our Aparthotel Gaja to the Lake shore which was a short 5 minute walk to see an almost deserted Lake Bled. Very few people seemed to have liked the idea of walking around in the rain, even in that beautiful setting. We were certainly not complaining about the lack of people as we knew that as soon as the weather improved the lake would be filled with day trippers from Ljubljana and beyond. This was a chance for us to enjoy Lake Bled at its peaceful best.
We reached the dock where the usually busy Pletna boats which take the tourist hordes to the centre island in Lake Bled had no takers. We were almost tempted to take the boat ride but I had read that the boats only leave when all the seats were filled and there was almost no chance of that happening that day.
At the Pletna boat dock at the near end of the lake Bled on a rainy morning
The grey skies were certainly not ideal for photography but it was an absolutely dreamy scene in front of us. Low hanging clouds over the emerald green waters, a castle almost hanging off the cliffs on the lake side playing hide and seek amidst the clouds and the centre island with its iconic church bell tower looking right out of a fairy tale. We took photos when the rain got a bit lighter knowing well enough that the photos would be all washed out and dull, we tried anyway!
The Bled Castle plays hide and seek amidst the clouds
Low hanging clouds and the iconic island on Lake Bled
We started walking clockwise around the lake which started with a paved path along the lake where all the dull looking communist styled luxury hotels along Lake Bled are located. The rain was not heavy enough to be a worry but just enough to necessitate keeping our rain gear on at all times.
The paved path along the lake where the luxury hotels in Bled are located
We choose to keep the dull looking hotels out of the frame in most of the photos!
Not totally deserted, we had a handful of fellow enthusiastic tourists walking around Bled
The turn where the path veers away from the lake and is along a motorised road for some distance
We continued along that path till we reached a short stretch which was along the road but with a dedicated walking path a bit farther away from the lake. We walked through that patch quickly till we reached the western most end of the lake where there is another Pletna boat dock and a sandy stretch where other boats were docked at multiple small piers. We stopped here to take a few photos at the bench (Which was wet, but that didn’t stop us!)
A few photos at the western end of Lake Bled
We then continued on though a past that leads through a thicket of trees and then an amazing lakeside boardwalk ( more photos of that in a later post when we had good weather). This walk was amazing on it’s own but it also gave us an idea of the most beautiful parts around the lake which would help us manage our time on later walks around the lake ( We must have walked around lake Bled at least 4 times in our 3 days there!).
A spot which gave a perfect photo op with the stairs on the island leading up to the Church
On the lakeside boardwalk on a rainy morning in Bled
The final stretch along the Northern shore was the most uninteresting part of the walk where the views are few and far in between and we would power walk our way past this stretch on most of our later walks around the lake.
As we finished our walk around the lake we received a message from the Aparthotel staff that our apartment was ready for us. We finished our walk where the Bled Old town and path up to the Castle is ( More on that in a later post ) and decided to stop at a Burger place called Mega Burger which we had scouted out for our lunch that day in Bled before we returned to take the keys for our apartment.
European Union, Slovenian and Bled flags on the Northern shore of Lake Bled
A statue of a Pletna boatsman on the shores of the Lake Bled
We initially thought the burger place was closed but the better half noticed a door on the other side which was open and we took our seats. Bled doesn’t have many restaurants that seemed to have vegetarian options for the better half but this Burger spot had a Veggie burger on the menu that had good reviews so we decided to take a chance.
We ordered our Burgers and Fries and a local beer can for myself and the usual Iced tea for the better half. The reviews were accurate and the burgers were huge and delicious. I devoured my spicy smash burger but more importantly the better half enjoyed her veggie burger. It was a perfect meal after our leisurely 6km walk around the lake.
Delicious and huge burgers at Mega Burger in Lake Bled
I enjoy my Lasko beer after the mornings exertions !
We ate our burgers enjoying every bite and walked out happy that we had taken a chance at this small burger spot under a hostel. I was sure we would be back here before our time in Bled was done.
Happy us after a great lunch at Mega Burger in Bled
We walked back to our Aparthotel stopping to take a few more photos at the more popular Eastern end of the lake. We reached our Aparthotel Gaja where the staff handed over the keys to our ground floor apartment which turned out to be amazing in all ways.
Mallards enjoy a brief respite from the rain at Lake Bled
The manicured Bled sign at the Eastern end of Lake Bled
Dreamy Lake Bled with the island and the Castle above from the eastern end
We entered our ground floor patio apartment and were happy at our choice. It was a huge apartment with a well equipped kitchen that I intended to use to make dinner at least 1 night during our stay there & a patio which we would hopefully enjoy when the weather improved.
Our apartment at Lake Bled – Aparthotel Gaja
The well equipped kitchen and small dining area of our apartment
We settled in and the huge burgers put us in the mood for an afternoon siesta. The rainy weather made it all the more enticing and we slept off for a quiet afternoon siesta as the rain continued outside.
We woke up in the evening to see that it was still heavily overcast but it had stopped pouring. We were still full from the burgers so we decided to do something we almost never do – Go and have desserts as dinner!
I mustered up the courage to take my SLR out and take it on our evening dessert quest. I wanted to take at least few photos of the grey skies over Lake Bled as the weather was supposed to improve dramatically ( at least according to the weather forecast ) the next day. I knew I would never get the lake shores so bereft of crowds as that day and intended to at least make some use of it.
We now knew the geography around the lake and walked to the eastern end of the lake and I clicked a few photos with the ultra wide lens to capture the rainy day scenes at Lake Bled.
The Pletna boats docked on a rainy day in Lake Bled
The better half shows the beauty of lake Bled to her parents via the convenience of video calling
The Better half poses for the camera as the rains thankfully stay away
The plain looking luxury hotels on the Southern side of Lake Bled
Had to take this with the ultra wide too!
The Ultrawide helps to capture the island, castle and the Church in 1 frame!
Lake Bled at it’s peaceful best on a rainy day
A selfie using the trusty mini tripod
We then walked to a cake shop called the Slaščičarna Zima in the Old town which was supposed to be the place where the locals went for their desserts. We certainly wanted to try the iconic Bled Cream Cake or the Kremna Rezina which was a 4 layered dessert consisting of crisp puff pastry , vanilla custard and fluffy whipped cream topped with powdered sugar. As I was ordering I was also tempted by the Grmada, which was chocolate & vanilla sponge with rum sugar syrup and had generous amounts of walnuts, raisins and melted chocolate on top. I also ordered a hot chocolate with cream as I knew the better half liked it a lot.
Our dessert dinner at the Slaščičarna Zima in Lake Bled
The famous Bled Cream Cake or Kremna Rezina
The better half with our dessert dinner !
The desserts were all amazing and we relished each bite of the cream cake and every spoonful of the amazing Grmada. We must surely have consumed more calories in that meal than we do in a day back home in Mumbai!
Happy us at the Slaščičarna Zima
We then started our walk back to our apartment stopping at the photo point where a huge metal heart has been perfectly placed to frame the island. We took our turns and clicked photos before returning back to our apartment.
Taking turns to get our photos clicked at the photo point
We had not allowed the supposedly bad weather spoil our first day at Lake Bled. Instead we had fully enjoyed the day by being prepared for the eventuality of rain. The weather was supposed to take a dramatic turn the next day with sunny weather being forecast for our remaining 2 days in Bled.
After an enjoyable but rainy day in Bled
We had bought tickets to visit the Vintgar Gorge which was one of the highlights around lake Bled and I was hoping that for once the Weather forecasts would be accurate. We slept soundly that night with the delicious desserts putting us right off to sleep the moment we hit the bed.
I won’t leave you in suspense for a change as the weather made a as predicted dramatic U turn and we woke up to beautiful blue skies. Whether Vintgar Gorge would live up to it’s must do billing is topic for another post, some other time, some other day.
I leave you with a photo just to show how much difference sun and blue skies make. Till next time,
Čau!
