Bled, Radovljica & Kropa, Slovenia

I’ve found that some people are what I call “bucket list” tourists. They rush from one major attraction or Instagram opportunity to another without really absorbing what’s around them.

I know that most people don’t have much vacation time so they cram in as much as possible, especially when traveling internationally.

I expected Lake Bled to be full of these type of travelers. It’s Slovenia’s most iconic sight. Usually, I try and avoid tourist magnets. I thought about skipping Bled altogether but decided it would be a shame to come this far and miss it.

I strategically got up early this morning, hit the road and arrived at the lake by 8 a.m. The tour buses were just beginning to chug into town but my head start provided me relative peace and quiet as I hiked the lake.

Bled is a crystal-clear glacial lake framed by the Alps and topped by a castle. The small island with the church spire reflected in the glassy surface is its signature feature. I was glad I had the opportunity to see it in person.

But truthfully, I was just as happy wandering around several small, off-the-beaten-path Slovenian villages this afternoon too. Here was the view from my outdoor cafe table in Radovljica. All that hiking earned me a pivo.

Radovljica was tiny and ancient but full of interesting details. It was not full of other tourists. I was probably the only non-Slovenian in town.

The next village down the road was even smaller. The thing Kropa evidently was big on? Iron forging. It was home to a smelting furnace from the 14th century. That’s why there were so many iron features throughout town, including the welcome sign. It was topped, appropriately, by a dragon.

The Kroparica stream gushing through the center of town powered the ironworking for hundreds of years as the workers forged nails and decorative iron elements by hand.

This evening, I tried an excellent Slovenian restaurant just down the street from my Airbnb in Trzin. I couldn’t read the menu but the waitress brought me the house plate which featured a selection of grilled meats, spicy marinades plus a tangy side vegetable salad. Slovenian cuisine seems to be a mesh of neighboring Italian and Austrian influences.

Naturally, I also had to try the local Trzin beer.

Tomorrow is my last full day in Slovenia. I’m headed north into the mountains again, this time the famed Logar Valley. By that point I will have visited just about every corner of this small, unique country.

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Thanks for coming along on the trip. If you have questions or suggestions, tweet @JasonRMatheson. Missed an entry? Click here.