The bus trip from Vienna to Lake Bled was scenic as it went over a mountain pass in the Alps. The road had plenty of very sharp hairpin curves. After a short stop at our hotel we took a tour of the area which included a boat ride to Bled Island pilgrimage church dedicated to the Assumption of Mary, built in its current form near the end of the 17th century. There is a Baroque stairway dating from 1655 with 99 stone steps leading
up to the building. The church is frequently visited and weddings are
held there regularly. Traditionally it is considered good luck for the
groom to carry his bride up the steps on the day of their wedding before
ringing the bell and making a wish inside the church.
Our second stop was Bled Castle. The castle was first mentioned in a 22 May 1011 deed of donation issued by Emperor Henry II in favor of the Bishops of Brixen. It passed to the Austrian House of Habsburg in 1278. It was a steep climb up to the castle. We saw the end of one wedding and the arrival of the bride for a second wedding.
One interesting thing about this area is the TV stations I can get at our hotel. Since we are at the corner of several countries there are stations in German from Austria, Italian from Italy, Croatian from Croatia, Hungarian from Hungry, and of course Slovene form Slovenia. Not to be left out there are channels with Russian from Russia, French from France, the BBC from the UK in English and for Americans there is CNN. I am watching the world cup in Slovene. Our Slovenian guide was pleased that Germany is out. - Nancy
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| Bled Castle on the left |
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| Bled Lake |
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| Bled Castle |
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| View form Bled Castle |
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| View from Bled Castle |
3 comments:
Sounds like a beautiful trip over the mountains. And, a gorgeous lake! - rw
What a stunning lake - great colors and beautiful views. Hope that it isn't quite as hot as Sicily!
wow.. yeah.. that lake... the colors are amazing. do people swim in it?
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