It was a short hop from one lake to another as we left Bled and drove to Bohinj (another silent j!). Despite being only 25km apart, the atmosphere is completely different … Bled is a bit smarter and more sophisticated, while Bohinj has a relaxed rustic charm of its own.
We are staying with Tanja and her family at Rooms Pekovek in the village of Stara Fužina, near to the lake.
She welcomed us with peach schnapps made by her mother and told us how we could make the most of our visit. Being within the Triglav National Park, there is a real push to be as green as possible here, so we bought the tourist card that enables parking in designated spots and free use of public transport, including a daily return trip on the electric panoramic boat which runs up and down the lake almost silently. It seemed like the perfect way to get our bearings so we headed for the lake.
While we waited for the next boat we looked around. The iconic views of Lake Borhinj either include the church and the bridge or Zlatorog, the golden horned chamois of Slovenian folklore. Even the summary of the tale is complicated, suffice to say it includes a handsome hunter, a beautiful girl, a couple of rivals, the chamois, magic flowers and an unfortunate ending!
Once aboard, a brief commentary explained it is a glacially formed lake basin holding almost 100 million cubic metres of water and that the flow through the lake is so great that the water replaces itself three times a year.
It’s about 1km wide and just over 4km long and took 30 minutes to reach the far end at Ukanc, which legend says comes from ‘u konc’, which is said to mean the end of the world.
There is a campsite and water sport centre and a 10 minute stop before the boat returned, although we could have stayed longer.
It was very warm when we got back so we parked close to the lake and I took a swim while Chris took photos. It was like the best infinity pool, with barely a ripple and what a view!
The sky had been darkening for a while but by the time I’d got out and changed, the first drops of rain fell.
We joined others sheltering under a tree and to begin with, we just saw it as a photo op.
After a while through, the rain got heavier and the tree no longer provided any shelter …
… so we decided to make for the car park as quickly as we were able, trying to keep our bag of stuff as dry as possible. Some hope! The rain was torrential, but I got to shelter under a roof overhang while Chris went for the car. As we drove back there were hailstones the size of golf balls so I’m glad we weren’t cycling, Back at the guesthouse, wet and chilly, we proceeded to wring the water from our clothes as we took them off. We struggled to remember an occasion when we had been so wet! The storm eventually passed, and we walked to the local (inn/restaurant) for dinner. Apart from a couple of swanky hotels, it was the only place to eat in the village, so everyone was there … couples young and old, families and groups of friends. We shared our table with a couple of Belgian girls as it was so busy. I had venison goulash and Chris chose pizza although both portions were so large, we could have shared a dinner!
Fortunately the rain held off all evening so we got back safely without another drenching.
Off Travelling Together 