If you haven’t read my posts about Salzburg or Plitvice Lakes, just know that this is our third stop on my EuRail trip with my Mother and Aunt during some off-time between cities of my show’s European Tour.

Here are the quickies:

• Time of Year: April 20-22, 2017
• City: Ljubljana, Slovenia
• Train Station: Ljubljana Railway Station
• Accomodation: Austria Trend

After finishing our day of exploring Plitvice Lakes in Croatia, we drove back to Zagreb that evening to catch the 6:37pm train to Ljubljana, Slovenia. We arrived that night exhausted after a long day hiking the Croatian Waterfalls, but there was no time to waste!

The following morning, we took a bus from the heart of Ljubljana which was heading towards Lake Bled – a gorgeous lake situated in the Julian Alps! Being a girl who grew up in Vancouver, BC, there is only so much time that can pass without being in the mountains until I go crazy! An escape to the Alps was exactly what I needed next.

The bus up to Lake Bled leaves from the Ljubljana Bus Station every hour, starting at 6am, so there isn’t too much of a hustle to catch a particular time. Today was all about having a more relaxed day by a beautiful lake and breathing in some fresh mountain air. However, do plan that the bus ride is about an hour and twenty minutes in duration. It only costs €7 one-way; however, there are many ways to get to this hidden gem. I read about several travel options on this website: Get By Bus, which thoroughly talked about all of the details on how to find the lake. Definitely check it out.

Many locals were used to tourists asking how to get to Lake Bled, so don’t be afraid to stop and ask! Be mindful though that signage was pretty poor, so don’t expect a huge billboard locating the exact bus stops. It was more of a “Go stand on that corner in front of this shop and eventually the bus will show up” sort of a deal… which, the bus showed up right on time.

Once you arrive at Lake Bled, there are wonderful trails to walk, visit the Bled Castle, row a boat around the lake, and you could even take a Pletna boat (similar to a Venetian Gondola) to travel to the Slovenia’s one and only island.

Because we had quite a leisurely morning, we didn’t get up to Lake Bled until early afternoon and decided to just walk a bit of the trails and visit the castle before enjoying some Slovenian Pastries at the restaurant overlooking the lake and eventually taking the Pletna Boat to the island. It was finally a warmer day than the rest of our trip had been, so basking in the sun and feeding the birds was a perfect afternoon spent in the Alpine Lake.

Just before evening, we took the bus back to Ljubljana so we could have dinner somewhere. To our surprise, there was some kind of street food festival right in the heart of Old Town with tons of food carts…. WE LOVE FOOD CARTS so enjoyed several dishes and a toast here! We never really did find out what it was in lieu of (something regarding 100 years???), but it was sure delicious!

Once our bellies were full, we took a night stroll around the gorgeous canals and ancient buildings to admire the reflecting lights of the bridges. It was a perfect evening to end such a relaxing day. I just wish we had maybe one more day to actually explore Ljubljana, as it is a seriously charming town!

We returned to our Austrian Trend hotel for one more sleep before popping onto a train again to our next destination… VENICE!

Check out my travels on Instagram #EarthDragonTravels.