Pension Zaka Bled

... I headed ahead to the hostel wo that I could get organised &amp; not miss my trip. After some speed biking, &amp; chucking my stuff in a bag, I waited round &amp; they ended up being 15 mins late. Of course. But hey, some time to catch my breath.<br><br>When they arrived with the van, I discovered who my rafting buddies would be- 6 (crazier than usual) Irish girls &amp; one very entertained American guy. Excellent fun was promised. When we got to the more blue than white river (kind of ...

We caught a bus to Bled which and spent the day biking and hiking before we hit our final destination of Lake Bohinj. We rented mountain bikes and headed out of town in search of Vintgar Gorge. Kay tried to get here a couple of days ago before I arrived but got caught in a rainstorm. <br><br>The snowcapped mountains and lush countryside are truly beautiful. It amazes me that no-one I know has every been here. heck most of the people I told about where I was ...

... the island for a while. It was nice b/c we were the only people there. One of the signs explained that the island was the only natural island in all of Slovenia. I don't care if it was natural or not ... it's probably one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen! We got back in our little boat and enjoyed the scenery until we were too cold and had to head ...

... to carry cash to see a waterfall we will never know what it was like!! Dawn broke on Sunday to the noise of Tractors and loud music. We wandered along to the events gorund to find a buzzing bunch of slovenians and a few dazzled tourists. Everyone in the region seemed to be out and about at what we can only describe as an A & P show with lots of beer! There were all manner of machines that cut timber - some 8 different ways! Ed was very impressed ...

... right. Lake bled is in one of the most picturesque areas, surrounded by mountains a glassy lake reflects the surrounds, while a castle over looks the valley from its cliff top and a church sits seductively on its own little island in the middle of it all. We spent the day riding around the lake and having a picnic on the banks. The beer also deserves to be mentioned, Union, it is great! If you get the chance take a trip here, you won't regret it ...

... the Triple Bridge and Presernov trg, the non-functional yet recently restored Robba Fountain, the bright yellow Cathedral of St Nicholas with it's statues, murals and interesting doors. The hostel manager recommended to me a market which is held on Sundays which runs along the Ljubljanica river. It's very lively with lots of people selling bric-a-brac, books, paintings and antiques. Also there were a few street performers; one guy with guitar singing U2 &amp; an old guy playing a ...

... this is the chapel dedicated to him in the castle. We will never look at our little George the same again!! Stephne's out cruising the stores right now and we will meet in a bit for a pre-dinner beer and then an authentic Slovenian meal at Gostilna Sokol. Nesvidenja for now!

... served in a bowl, and the cake was perfect. I still was finding it hard to muster up enthusiasm though, as I worked out how much I still had left to see, and just thought- this is crazy! I decided to leave Ljubliana and get the 4pm bus to Bled, which was a shame as it is a beautiful city, but perhaps I'll be back one day. So for the second time that day, I speedwalk back to the station, manage to retrieve my bags, buy a ticket a board the bus just before it pulls out of the station.

... of the missing dog running the other direction. After running through traffic, and across a park, Tracy finally gets ahold of this dog, and we hand deliver it back to the man. He says a simple thanks, and we head on our way. How the dog and the leash got detached, and how the hell the guy got the leash tangled up under a car is beyond me, but I'm up for suggestions. That was yesterday. Today, we got up super early to go check out some ...

... It was really cold that night and he was wearing just a dress shirt. Oloush, an incredible man, actually, helped me carry Phil for about ten minutes until we were too exhausted to go any further with him. Phil kept fighting his way away from us and yelling "I do this for a living!!!" and "Do you know who I am!?!" If I knew anything he was dead drunk. He fell down about a dozen times and at a certain point, he would not let us get him up anymore. I was really frustrated by now but ...