The Grand Finale of the Grand Finale: Segways around Bled

Segwaying to Tito's villa

The last scheduled event of our last scheduled day on this trip was the segway tour around Bled.

Jakub, our guide, demonstrating proper segway technique to the one segway amateur in our group (who would be me)

This was an "off road" segway tour, in stark contrast to the wussified "urban" segway tours with which you may be more familiar. The "off road" segway is a little wider and, of course, has tires with more substantial tread.

Sister (L) and B-I-L (R) on their "off road" segways, right before they forced into wearing helmets due to EU regulations

Even Sister and B-I-L, relative segway professionals as they have done multiple segway tours in multiple places (including twice in Split), had never done an "off road" segway tour.

We started off going around the northern half of the Lake. We then went off road, out of the town of Bled, through some small villages outside of Bled, heading down to the Sava River, which ends up being a fairly substantial river by the time it hits Zagreb and, eventually, the Danube River in Croatia's eastern frontier.

The Sava flowing through the Slovenian countryside outside Bled

On the banks of the Sava

Fly fisherman on the Sava

The Segway tourists posing on a bridge over the Sava

The glimmering sun
(Yes! We had a sunny day in Slovenia! Who'd a thunk it?)

We tottled along the river for awhile. Going through mud puddles. Past a snake. (It looked like the size of a python, maybe an anaconda, to the snake-o-phobic. It was huge. Maybe over a foot long. It was tough to tell for sure, since it was slithering.) We then headed up the hill (much easier on full power than when it was in "turtle" mode around the Lake) back in the Bled.

We then did more of the loop around the Lake.

The signature photo of Lake Bled

Soon it was time to turn in our segways. Our two-hour "off road" segway tour lasted a nice two hours and 15 minutes.

We then had supper at my favorite restaurant in Bled (which I remembered from my last visit in 2010), the Ostarija Peglez'n.

One last Octopus Salad appetizer 

Chicken topped with salty ham and a cream sauce. It had a name. I just can't recall what it was

Finally, in honor of the B-I-L's ethnic heritage we ended the night with a visit to an Irish pub, a real authentic Slovenian Irish pub. It was the saddest looking Irish pub I've ever seen.

Look closely. The shamrocks have SIX leaves 

Only one table inside. So when we were there, all tables were full.

Used pizza boxes piled up inside. Restroom doors off hinges. Even the shamrocks on the logo weren't quite right. It was a pathetic Irish pub.

And it was a perfectly acceptable way to end the day in Bled and, with that, the Croatian/Slovenian family vacation adventure of 2014. It was a great trip, but it is time to go home.

And, with that, the Vacation Blog is closed for 2014. It will re-open sometime in 2015. Not sure where. It could be Macedonia. It could be Peru. It could be Copenhagen. It could be Bangkok. But it's probably going to be chosen by re-opening the Cookie Jar o' Potential Vacation Destinations.

Thanks for traveling with me this trip.

The Grand Finale: Lake Bled

Church on an island in the middle of Lake Bled

The grand finale of this trip is a visit to Lake Bled. This is the one place I visited on my first trip that I absolutely was certain that I needed to see again.

I promised the Sister and B-I-L that we would do a segway tour of Lake Bled. The segway tours are organized through an agency named 3glav Adventures (named after the tallest mountain in Slovenia, nearby Triglav). 3glav was supposed to be closed today. But we got there when someone was there. And it was supposed to be an off-day for the segway tour guide Jakob. But he was willing to lead a tour that would just be the three of us. We were to meet Jakob back at the 3glav offices at 3:00 p.m., which gave us some time to walk around the Lake, visit the Castle, and eat a cream cake.

Bled Lake is amazingly beautiful.

At the rowing area of Bled Lake

Another view of the church on the island in the middle of the Lake

The church on the island is the classic wedding spot in Slovenia. Grooms are supposed to carry their brides up the 99 steps from the shore to the church as part of the Lake Bled wedding tradition. This, I would guess, would put a premium on finding and marrying a small, Slovenian bride.

Admiring the church through the woods 

But look out for horse-drawn carriages on the trail

People do swim in Lake Bled, which I would not recommend due to the ice cold water. Boating would seem to be more fun.

Swimmer ready to dive into the icy cold Alpine water 

Boaters on the Lake

Pletna boats bound for the island and a lone rowboater in training

Lake Bled is an alpine lake at the foot of the Julian Alps. The water is crystal clear. Boats are either powered by electricity or rowing. It is guarded by a "castle," which again, is dramatically situated but is actually more of a fort than a castle per se,

Castle from across the Lake

Castle view 

Same rower, only with a church view

Lots of ducks at Lake Bled

And nasty mean swans

For reasons not entirely clear to me, we decided to make the 15-minute walk straight up hill to the castle at the top of a cliff.

The smooth paved part of the pathway to the Castle, before it's all stairs

 We got to the top.

Castle door

I opted not to pay the nine euros to enter. The fee is basically for the viewpoint, since there was never a royal family in residence at this castle. We were told of an alternative viewing point where we could get just as nice of a view. But when I saw that the trail from the castle gate was high up, and learned that is was without a guardrail, and given how hot and tired and sweaty I was from the 15-minute climb, the sitting bench beckoned.

So we walked down to tour lovely Church of Sv. Martin on the lake shore, right near the castle. I am abbreviating the word "Saint" the Croatian and Slovenian way, "Sv.," for the extra added pretentiousness.

Church of Sv. Martin on the shores of Lake Bled

This is NOT the church on the island that you saw in all of the previous photographs. So Bled has one Catholic church inside the Lake and one outside.

Let's have a look inside, shall we?

Door to Sv. Martin 

Chandelier over the sanctuary

Church art

Very interesting Last Supper painting. It's easy to tell which one is Judas.
(Clue: He's the one with devil horns and no halo.)

View of the church organ above the entryway

Let's have one more look at Saint Martin, this time with some Lake effect:

Sv. Martin on the shores of Lake Bled

After all that touring, we had time to snack on the food that Lake Bled is most famous for, all over Slovenia:

Kremsnita

The traditional Slovenian Cream Cake. It's like a Napoleon, but not as sweet. It is a layer of phyllo dough, with whipped cream underneath, then a vanilla custard cream base. Only a teeny tiny little bit of gluten in the ultra-thin layer of phyllo dough. So it's OK.

And I washed it down with a Union Radler:

Union Radler

"Radler" is the German word for bicyclist. It's like a shandy in the States. This particular radler is brewed at a small brewery in Ljubljana and is mixed with grapefruit. And it works. Who'd a thunk it? The beer and grapefruit combination goes together perfectly. It takes just like Squirt. Only kickier.

Whoops. Look at the time. It's almost 3:00 p.m.  Time to meet the Segway tour guy.

Split Day One: Down on the Riva

Yes. This really is Croatia.

Is this heaven? No. It's Croatia.

So we are here in Split, on Croatia's Dalmatian coast. The Adriatic is blue. The palm trees are green. And my skin is getting red because the sun is still hot into September.

After an exhausting few days, where we never really got the chance to recover from jet lag in Munich, today was a "wake up when you wake up" sort of day. I had agreed to meet the Sister and B-I-L for breakfast at 10:30 a.m. I was awakened that morning by loud knocking on my door at 10:40. What a good night's sleep.

Through the narrow streets to the Riva we go

The Azur Palace hotel is only a few blocks inland from the Adriatic.

If you look closely (or enlarge the picture), you can see the Sister snapping a photo of the Statue

After eating breakfast, we decided to walk down to the waterfront to check out our options for the day. Along the Adriatic in the Old Town section of Split is a waterfront promenade called "the Riva."

On the Riva

This is the part of town where the cruise ships and Croatia's massive Jadrolinija ferry-boats land.

Small boats in front, big boats in the back

Small boats in front, big boats in the back (again)

Small anchor in the front, big boats in the back

It's wide open.

West end of the Riva

Not much parking available

This is the part of town where you can sign up for all the fun things us tourists can't get enough of. Excursions to the islands. Sea kayaking. Water taxi. Sister and B-I-L opted for a two-hour Segway tour.

Segway tour stand

They were the only ones of their tour and they had an absolutely great time. I opted to go the museums on the Marjan Peninsula, about a 20 minute walk away.

View of the Riva walking westward toward the Marjan.
The Bell Tower within Diocletian's Palace is the tall building in the center of the photograph.

 Both of us had more fun than a boat tour where we'd be packed onto the boat like sardines. Like this:

Boat cruise

And while we wait for me to write up my museum excursion, I leave you with a picture of the Split lighthouse and a Croatian flag in the foreground.

Lighthouse in Split harbor