Lake Bled is nestled in the Julian Alps of northwest Slovenia.  Just a short 3-4 hour drive south of Salzburg, it’s surprisingly accessible from either Austria or from the Slovenian capital of Ljubljana.  It’s a smaller town which seems kind of touristy at first but I’ll cut straight to the point…it’s worth it.  You must go see Lake Bled.

Yes yes I’m biased, but I’ll bet you didn’t click on this post to hear a lot from me, so lets get to the pictures!

1. Bled Island

a building on an island with a mountain in the background

Bled Island is home to the Pilgrimage Church of the Assumption of Maria and its architecture lends itself to dramatic vistas of the surrounding landscape.  The island is only reachable by boats, which leave from the shore every 15-20 minutes or so.

2. Swan

a white bird standing on a dock near water

I always thought this swan looked like it was in one of those shampoo commercials, you know the ones where the girl (or long-haired guy I guess) shakes little droplets of water out of their hair instead of, you know, using a towel?  Yep, exactly that, but I still love this picture, my Sony 70-200mm lens compressed the background nicely against the swan and captured the itty bitty water droplets cast aside.

3. Sidewalk

a path next to a lake

The great thing about Lake Bled is how walkable it truly is.  It’s not a short walk by any stretch but there is a paved trail that circles the entire lake.  I have absolutely walked the entire lake and loved finding things to take pictures of whilst doing just that.  The fall colors set against the green grass above really caught my attention here.

4. Bled Island again

a building on an island surrounded by water

Looking through a space in the trees I caught Bled Island early in the morning, before the sun cast its golden glow over the mountain village.  The tree branches frames the island very nicely, I thought, and filled what would’ve otherwise been negative space.

5. Osojnica

a lake with a small island in it

Yes, technically this is another picture of Bled Island, but from a slightly different perspective.  I did an early morning hike (without a flashlight, which is dumb) up to a hill called Osojnica.  The trail was not terribly difficult and before I knew it I saw the view and it took my breath away (ok ok it might have been the hike which took my breath away).  You can see the town of Bled across the lake to the right and Bled Castle is right behind the island from this picture’s perspective.  One of my all-time favorite vistas!

 

Want to see more?  Check out other entries in my 5 Favorite Pictures Series!

Which image from Lake Bled is your favorite?  Tell me in the comments below!

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