Another gorgeous place in this area of northern Slovenia.  The gorge is a series of paths and wooden bridges that take you on a beautiful walk above the Radovna River.
Reminded me of my days of river walks in Alaska!  Even the fresh smells took me back to my past!

Having a fear of heights made it a bit nerve-wracking.  It took me some time to feel at ease, Brennan too, but we finally felt a bit comfortable and eased cautiously along.

The kids got in to throwing rocks which sent me into a bit of a tizzy.  

I could just see them loosing their footing and hurling down the bank and into the rushing water. 

 I tried not to freak out too much.  A kid needs to be a kid and I LOVED throwing rocks when I was their age!!  

Occasionally I reminded them to be VERY careful, while my heart jumped into my throat a few times!!

Once we got to the end we let the kids have some ice cream.

We slept fairly well that first night, although Eli woke up EARLY, about 5:30!  So Kristi & Eli had an early start to the day.  They were both a bit sleepy, but we headed in to downtown Bled by mid-morning.  Our goal that day was to take a gondola out to the island and go up to the castle for a fantastic view of the lake!

We headed straight for the gondolas.  These gondolas hold up to about 18 people, we had 13 on our boat, which included a couple from Australia, a couple from England and a Swedish/Norwegian couple and our party of 7.  We had a good time chatting with all of them and they laughed at the antics and silly things our kids did and said!

Arriving at the island the gondola rower gives you 30 minutes to explore (not quite enough time, but oh well).  We took a moment to take some family photos.


There are only a few buildings on the island housing the Assumption of Mary Pilgrimage Church, a souvenir shop and a cafe.  It is the most hilly island I have ever seen.  You have to climb about 100 steps to get up to the church/cafe/shop.  Maybe not that many, but it was a lot.


The view from the island does not disappoint.  I don't think much about Bled could be disappointing in the panorama department.  It is just that gorgeous!

The kremina rezinka, a dessert specific to the Park Hotel, had been recommended to us by some colleagues.  Yum!!

We decided to buy our souvenirs at the castle shop and had a nice little chat with the shop keeper.  A young, local guy who grew up in Bled.  He was a ski fanatic and his eyes lit up when he heard I was from Alaska.  Ha!!

We decided to pick up some eats at the store for a simple dinner at the house.  The kids still got to bed late, but they slept in a bit too.

It was a long day, but we all had a great time!

Next up, Vintgar Gorge!