After our first two days in Zagreb, we picked up a rental van and drove about two hours northwest to Bled, Slovenia. Our first stop was Bled Castle. See it in between the houses up on the cliff?

Sadly, the castle was less than impressive. Part of it had been converted into a museum. The museum didn’t have much worth seeing, and I was disappointed how heavily renovated everything was. The interior didn’t feel authentic at all.

But the view? So worth it.

If we had extra time, we would have checked out this alpine slide:

The castle overlooked Lake Bled and Bled Island:

After a while at the castle, we drove down to the lake. We rented a rowboat and took it out to the island. (If you visit, give yourself at least 2 hours to row out, explore the island, and row back.)

Lake Bled is a natural lake formed from glaciers. There were a couple of buildings on the island with the main attraction being the church.

Though the sanctuary was small, the inside of the church was ornate. There was a rope near the front you could pull to ring the church bell.

We really liked the gift shop here. And it was so peaceful to sit outside and enjoy the scenery.

After a row back to shore, we headed into the capital of Slovenia Ljubljana for the night!

» Read about day 1 and 2 in Zagreb here.

Here’s a recap of the trip:
» Day 1 & 2: Zagreb, Croatia
» Day 3: Bled, Slovenia
» Day 4: Ljubjlana, Slovenia
» Day 4: Škocjan Caves Park, Slovenia
» Day 5: Krk, Croatia
» Day 6: Plitvice Lakes National Park, Croatia
» Day 7: Split, Croatia