Lake Bled, Slovenia Day 2

Lake Bled, Slovenia Day 2

Today was our biggest hiking day so far. We were presented with the option to pay a guide to take us to the 5 peaks around the lake. I had a map and a enough idea of where to go. We chose to save the 30 Euros a person and head out by ourselves. Good choice. We saved the money and saw the peaks on our own. It was beautiful, to say the least, and we went at our own pace. There was even a stop half way to get food and some drinks. The first trailhead was nestled in-between two houses and we surely looked like we should not be there. But, by pressing on we got where we needed. These trails are in good shape in most places, even with the large amount of rain Bled receives. These peaks we were trying to see overlook the lake and are pretty close together. It was nice to leave the tourist crew and have some peace and quiet in the forest. In places the canopy is so thick the floor is bare and covered in only leaves. Moss is everywhere and I am always looking for mushrooms and berries. This area is supposed to have some very poisonous mushrooms and I just wanted to get a picture. I must say, I was let down and only saw one mushroom which was boring and white. Last summer in the Santa Fe mountains I was able to see a ton of mushrooms. We even ran into a chef and crew harvesting baskets of them. Upon returning to Vegas, I searched the mushrooms and read a little more on others. These mountains in Slovenia and other neighboring countries have some really weird ones. Best bet, just stay away and take pictures. The ones in the states will not kill you by touch or even by eating a little bit of them. You would have to consume quite a bit to kill, but you will surely get sick.

On top of one peak we saw some dark things in a field. I stared for a while and then heard a whistle. These were soldiers training below us and they were doing some crawling drills. This was something we did not expect. There must be a Slovenian army training field back behind the town. We watched for a while, and on the descent from the peak, heard them firing shots. They echoed through the mountains, but probably were not heard in the lake area. It was neat to see from overhead, but we did not need to the be caught as tourists photographing the military drills. That would be a good way to never go home.

The hike took longer than expected and we wanted to get home for dinner. Tomorrow we will walk to the gorge that's close and on the way back hopefully have some steam to paddle out to the island. That is a must.

I failed to mention that it was just Katherine's birthday on the 23rd of July. We have for some time, and others copy our idea, celebrate the birthday week. Today was birthday day 4 and she wanted to get ice cream. Andrew and I were cool with the idea knowing what would happen if we refused. Katherine said she remembered a place we passed on the way back to the apartment the past two evenings. She said there was a sign with a bear eating ice cream. Ok. We would head out to inspect. It was just a short walk back towards the bus stop and that's where we saw the sign. Boom! She was right, a bear eating an ice cream. Amazing the things she sees and I just overlook. I was probably looking at some ancient motorcycle or tree, and she notices ice cream. There you go. We headed inside and saw a huge counter of ice cream and a display of ornate cakes. There were ones that my mother told me of in Germany and Austria. Some were in rolls, others in layers, and one was even the shape of a hedgehog. No, I'm not kidding. We just got ice cream cones and took a seat. While eating we stared at the counter. People poured in from finishing their dinners and knew exactly what they wanted. This was no tourist hang out. Yes, they come here, but the locals know what's good. We stumbled onto a goldmine of desserts. Katherine and Andrew have already planned what we will eat tomorrow and the next day. There was this huge espresso machine that looked impressive. I checked the menu and the price was right. We will surely hit the place up in the morning before our hiking. When we left, I took a look at the sign and the shop has been there since 1966. Good for them! In the States a Baskin Robbins would have put this place out of business. Not here. Still going strong.

Gotta get some sleep. Tomorrow will be a lot of hiking, but mostly flat stuff. The legs need a rest for sure after the ground we covered today.