A Pretty Place

Yesterday we were in the capital of Slovenia Ljubljana. We had never been to this part of Europe unless you count Italy on the western border. Actually, this part of the coumtry is a lot like Italy. At one point in history it was a part of Italy. But Italy was on the losing side during WWII and lost it. Slovenia was a part of Yugoslovia before gaining its indendence.

Today we are in the town of Bled. Yeah, like the past tense of bleed. It is a beautiful tourist town on Lake Bled, a glacier made lake. There is an icredible vista. A castle is perched on a rocky promontory one hundred thirty meters above the lake. A thousand years ago it housed a Catholic bishop, but today a souvenior shop, museum, eatery and blacksmith's shop. We traveled by tour bus to the base of the castle and then took a path of stone for the final thirty meters. Two old people were the last to cross the drawbridge into the castle. Some say they were from the USPS Zip Code 29445.

Once inside the castle walls there is an outdoor cafe. There is a beautiful view of the lake from there as well as the snow capped Alps. Picturebook stuff. In the lake there is a small island with no name which has a church. The church is often used for weddings. There are one hundred steps from the shoreline to the church's alter. It is said that when a potential husband carries his wife-to-be to the alter without her speaking a word, the union will be blessed. Of course there are stone stairways everywhere at the castle. And three different levels to view below. We checked out the souvenoir shop and Claudette bought a wooden dragon.    I had a nice talk with tthe blacksmith apprendence. He was into making ornamental iron. His method for making nails for carpentry was different from what I had seen in our country.  The museum was small but very nice. It contained archectural artifacts as well some religeous items. There was a suit of armor which appeared to me to be a reproduction.

Soon it was time to go back back down the mountain to our hotel. Down below we had a nice lunch while looking at the lake from ground level. Gotta get ready for a farewell dinmer with thw tour group and an early flight tomorrow.