Bled, Slovenia: an unplanned and magical stop

It was a travel day, and like most travel days, our goal was a simple one of getting from point A to point B. On this particular day (May 21, 2017), our starting point was Pula, Croatia. Unlike our previous travel days on this trip, we did not have a specific destination planned and had not made any lodging reservations. We were free-styling, although not wandering aimlessly, and we had a rough goal of making it to the Austrian Alps. If you are familiar with that part of the world, then you know our course would take us through Slovenia. We eventually decided on our ultimate destination for the day, and ended up staying near the town of Lienz, Austria.

It was sad saying goodbye to Croatia, but it was time for us to press onward. The Austrian border was nearly 200 miles away, so our plan was to stick to the main roads. Slovenia is a beautiful country, even from the inside of an automobile on the E61 highway. We passed through the capital city of Ljubljana, and no, we do not know how to pronounce it. We didn’t stop, but from our vantage point inside the car, it appeared to be wonderful, clean, beautiful, and not too large of a city — the kind of place we would like to visit if we had more time.

I don’t recall where we stopped for lunch, or if we even did, but by early afternoon we were ready for a scenic break – it was time to get off the highway. A quick review of the map revealed a small town with a lake was just ahead, and it was only two or three miles off the highway – a perfect scenic stop for a travel day. The place was called Bled, which sealed the deal, because it was one of the first pronounceable places we encountered that day.

Much to our surprise, the traffic in this small village was greater than we expected. Before long, we were in the flow, and it seemed to all be moving in the same direction. We were directed into a small dirt parking lot where we paid a few euro to park, and then asked directions to the lake. The attendant pointed down a pathway through the woods, but we probably could have figured it out ourselves by following others.

Sometimes unplanned stops are truly magical.

Before we arrived at the lake, we encountered a small group of musicians, all playing accordions. We thought this was rather odd, but instead of thinking too hard about it, we just snapped a photo and continued on our way. We’re huge fans of scenic reveals, which to us must include both a grand and unexpected visual experience. We emerged from the narrow trail to a spectacular site, accompanied by a shocking surprise. High upon a cliff, overlooking the lake, was Bled Castle — it was both grand and unexpected, satisfying our definition of a great scenic reveal. However, we also found ourselves completely surrounded. Surrounded by accordion players, probably more than 200 of them in groups of six to eight players. It was as though we had stumbled into an “Accordion Battle of the Bands” episode of the Twilight Zone.

It turns out, we just happened to stop at Lake Bled on one of its biggest days of the year — the day of the Bled Accordion Festival. We bought sausages from one of the cart vendors, and spent some time walking the path around the lake. It was truly a magical and wonderful day, one we will never forget. If you ever find yourself spending time in Slovenia, or just passing through, you must include a visit to Lake Bled.

Bled Photo Gallery

Bled Accordion Festival

We somehow failed to take pictures of the mass quantity of accordions and accordion players in our midst. We attribute this failure to the fact we were in total shock about what we were witnessing. Each year, the festival concludes with the accordion players lining the pathway around the lake playing Avsenik’s song “Otoček sredi jezera” (aka Lake Bled’s theme tune). Fortunately, Lake Bled News created a YouTube video of the 2015 performance for your enjoyment.