Sevnica

On this trip, visit Sevnica – the home town of Melania Trump…

Bled

Bled is an Alpine town alongside glacial Lake Bled in northwestern Slovenia. It is the seat of the Municipality of Bled. It is most notable as a popular tourist destination in the Upper Carniola region and in Slovenia as whole, attracting visitors from abroad, as well.

Bled is known for the glacial Lake Bled, which makes it a major tourist attraction. Perched on a rock overlooking the lake is the iconic Bled Castle. The town is also known in Slovenia for its vanilla and cream pastry (Slovene: kremšnita, kremna rezina).

Naturopath Arnold Rikli (1823–1906) from Switzerland contributed significantly to the development of Bled as a health resort in the second half of the 19th century. Due to its mild climate, Bled has been visited by aristocratic guests from all across the world. Today it is an important convention centre and tourist resort, offering a wide range of sports activities (golf, fishing, and horseback-riding). It is a starting point for mountain treks and hikes, especially within nearby Triglav National Park.

A small island in the middle of the lake is home to Assumption of Mary Pilgrimage Church; visitors frequently ring its bell for good luck. Human traces from prehistory have been found on the island. Before the church was built, there was a temple consecrated to Živa, the Slavic goddess of love and fertility. One can get to the island on a traditional flat-bottomed wooden boat (Slovene: pletna). The island on Lake Bled has 99 steps. A local tradition at weddings is for the husband to carry his new bride up these steps, during which the bride must remain silent.

Bohinj

Bohinj or the Bohinj Basin (Slovene: Bohinjska kotlina) is a 20 km long and 5 km wide basin within the Julian Alps, in the Upper Carniola region of northwestern Slovenia. It is traversed by the Sava Bohinjka river. Its main feature is the periglacial Lake Bohinj (Slovene: Bohinjsko jezero). Bohinj is part of the Municipality of Bohinj, the seat of which is Bohinjska Bistrica.

Bohinj began opening up for tourists years ago, with natural attractions being the biggest draw.

Bohinj has become a starting point for tourists for day trips, for walks on the trails that run throughout the valley, and for mountaineering and climbing tours. It is also associated with the nearby Bohinj Railway, which includes the Bohinj Tunnel.

In winter the valley becomes a winter sports centre for skiers, snowboarders, ice climbers, as well as ice skaters on Lake Bohinj. During the summer, Lake Bohinj is frequented by swimmers, and with the Sava Bohinjka River, kayakers and fishermen as well. Biking, trekking and climbing are also typical tourist activities in the area.

There are many legends and myths relating to Bohinj. Most are short and humorous.

• It is said that the Turks (the mighty conquerors) turned around when they had tried to invade Bohinj, because they thought it was the end of the world.
• A magic creature, Zlatorog (the Goldhorn), lives in the mountains.
• Devil’s Bridge (Slovene: Hudičev most) was according to the legend created by the Devil. He made a deal with the people that were unable to build the bridge by themselves because it always collapsed. The deal was that, if he built the bridge for them, the first soul to cross it would be his. The people agreed, but couldn’t decide whom to send when it was finished. But one farmer sent a dog across. The Devil went mad when he realised that they had tricked him.

Source: Wikipedia – Bled under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License
Source: Wikipedia – Bohinj under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License