I’m taking a short break from sewing to write about my recent trip abroad with friends.  I can’t believe it’s already mid June.  That means happy days will soon be here again.  Yay for two months of paid holiday!

So it took me and my three friends ages to decide where to go on our fifth trip abroad together.  The list included Seville in Spain, Valetta in Malta, Dubrovnik in Croatia and a few other cities more.  Each of us has travelled quite a lot especially around Europe that it’s getting  difficult to find a place in this continent none of us has been to before.  When we were planning this trip, one requirement also popped up.  No big cities as we had enough of the consumerism and commercialism plastered on every inch of an urban jungle.  My friends and I decided that our fifth trip had to be somewhere quiet, someplace we can just be one with the earth, the wind and the sky.  After the longest thread ever made on Facebook chat, we agreed to visit Slovenia.  Our first stop: Lake Bohinj.

Though Lake Bohinj isn’t the prettiest I have ever seen, it certainly has its charm.  It isn’t overwhelmingly big like the other lakes I’ve been to.  The water’s so crystal clear it reminds me of isolated coves in the Philippines.  The bridge and the church at the end  add a nice touch to an already picturesque setting.  It’s one of those places  I found myself to be able to deeply commune with nature, to feel the crisp air devoid of pollution, yet the world is at reach with just one tap of my phone, thanks to the free wifi from the restaurant nearby.  Not that the latter matters.  Just that only a few years ago nature and technology hardly belonged in the same sentence.

To get there from the town of Bled, you can take the bus from the station for about €3.50 per person.  The ride takes you through beautiful Slovenian landscapes and a few small villages.  It struck me how the scenery reminded me so much of Austria when of course it should since Austria is just a few hours away up north.

It was a Thursday when we went there so it was quiet, just a few tourists on the bus with us.  The whole lake was also quiet with only a few people kayaking or canoeing, and some passing by around on bikes.  I wonder how it is in summer, if there’s an exodus of swimmers and watersport enthusiasts, but for us it was the perfect time to visit.  You know, when you’re our age, “quiet” is already the place to be.

We were told a few times by the locals how blessed we were with the weather.  We all expected it to be cold and rainy because we read that’s the usual weather in May.  Surprise, surprise, the universe decided a few days before our trip to lend us Mr. Sun the whole duration of our stay in Slovenia .  Out went the bulky jackets from our already exploding luggage, thank you very much.

Lunch in Bohinj was a delight as the Slovenian cuisine offers a variety of meat, freshwater fish and yay, seafoods!  I know I tend to use an exclamation  mark after seafoods because in a land-locked country where I live, fresh seafoods are hard to find and are quite pricey.  In Bohinj, a huge plate of grilled squid with potato and vegetable side dish is only for €9 so yeah, you can’t blame me for being excited.

We do have a funky story about this meal or what happened after.  Lillian felt sick on the ride back to Bled that the moment we got off the bus she ran and threw up behind the trees by the main road.  These days, just the mention  of asparagus or trout  would send us into laughing fits and hyterics.  Lillian dear, I’m sorry I just couldn’t help to blab.  Please don’t unfriend or unfollow me. 🙂

Location: Lake Bohinj, Slovenia.  Date visited: May 28, 2015

xoxo