Lake Bled … and THE cream cake!

The road to Bled took us over a mountain pass, which just happens to be in Austria, so we crossed the border at an unmanned post … bye bye Slovenia …

… hello Austria …

… but we were there for less than an hour, before returning to Slovenia! The views were amazing!

A short drive took us to Lake Bled and we found Penzion Mayer and checked in.

It is family run and surrounded by lovely gardens, set just above the lake in a group of other similar guesthouses and we are here for three days.

Getting our priorities straight, we went in search of the Park Cafe and a piece of Kremna Rezina, the famous Bled cream cake. It was developed by their pastry chef, Ištvan Lukačević in 1953 … the same vintage as Chris! The subsequent marketing campaign made it not only the symbol of the hotel’s cafe, but the symbol of Bled with over 15 million slices having been sold.

Everything is prepared under the guidance of the lucky number seven. The puff pastry is folded seven times and then left to rest overnight before baking and cooling again. The egg custard is cooked for seven minutes. Cooled, coated in a delicately sweetened layer of whipped cream, and dusted with powdered sugar, each cake is then cut into a perfect seven-by-seven centimeter square.

Crispy pastry, wobbly custard, whipped cream topped with icing sugar and a lakeside view … fab!

We took a drive round the lake to get our bearings and later had dinner in Restaurant Arbor, where the service was excellent. We shared a salad, then chose Polenta with Mushroom Sauce and Spinach and Cheese Ravioli which went perfectly with a Slovenian Pinot Grigio …

… and watched the sun set behind Bled Castle.

We had seen banners for the Nočna 10ka and during dinner, realised we had grandstand seats for this annual running race round the lake, which starts at 9.00 once it’s cooler.

I left Chris taking photos of runners, while I went for a walk. I found the lakeside path beset by clouds of midges, so stayed further back and admired from afar …

… but had to take a picture of the Bled heart!

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