Croatia Day 20

Day 20: Ljubljana City Tour and Lake Bled 

Last day.  We met our guide, Tine, at the hotel this morning at 9.  We had a long day ahead of us.  First a tour of Ljubljana, then a trip to Lake Bled and Bled Castle.

Franciscan Church

Ljubljana University

"Jewish Street"

Jewish Street

Old Town

Graffitti everywhere

Clock Tower

Funicular to Ljubljana Castle

Ljubljana Castle

Ljubljana Castle Tower

View from Ljubljana Castle Tower

View of Ljubljana Castle Courtyard

Ljubljana Castle Tower

Ljubljana Castle Cells

Ljubljana Castle Cells

Death Mural

Funicular

We then departed Ljubljana for the nearby (1 1/2 hour drive) resort area of Bled.  Lake Bled is situated amidst the Julian Alps about 40 miles north of Ljubljana. It was a favorite summer hangout for the communist elite of Yugoslavia, and Marshal Tito had a beautiful home (with a private restaurant) here.

The traditional transportation to Bled Island is a wooden boat known as a pletna. The word pletna is a borrowing from Bavarian German Plätten "flat-bottomed" boat

'. Most historians date the first boats to AD 1590.

Similar in shape to Italian gondolas, a pletna seats 20 passengers. Modern boats are still made by hand and are recognizable by their colorful awnings. 

Pletna oarsman employ the stehruder (standing rowing) technique to propel and navigate boats across the lake using two oars. The role of the oarsman dates back to 1740, when Maria Theresa of Austria granted 22 local families exclusive rights to ferry religious pilgrims across Lake Bled to worship on Bled Island. The profession is still restricted. Many modern oarsmen descend directly from the original 22 families.

Bled Island