Slovenia :: Kranj & Lake Bled {Day 2}

We woke up early in the morning, 

ate a hearty breakfast provided by our wonderful B&B, 

then took a short bus ride to Kranj. 

The old town of Kranj dates back to medieval times

and some of the original walls still exist. 

This church sits on one of those walls, 

and you can walk out over a glass floor to look at it. 

We then traveled up to Lake Bled 

and checked into our apartment for the next couple nights 

(this adorable yellow house!)

The apartment had a nice kitchenette so the first thing we did 

was stop by the grocery store to buy food for lunches and dinner. 

After eating lunch, we took a short 10 minute walk to Bled Castle.

We have been in several castles, 

and from our experience they are generally 

more exciting from the outside than the inside. 

So we opted to just explore the grounds. 

One of the beautiful churches in Bled. 

Most Slovenians are devout Catholics, 

and you can see that devotion displayed everywhere.

Relaxing by the lake. 

We stopped at Sava Hotel for some original Bled cream cake. 

(This is where the cake was invented!)

Later in the afternoon we hiked up Hrib Straža for beautiful views of the lake.

At the top, a cool picture frame had been built for awesome photo op's. 

We took about 2 dozen photos ;)

Walking around the backside of Hrib Straža.

That evening we cooked dinner and watched The Amazing Race.

We tried to guess potential detours and pit stops if the show were to come to Bled :)

Slovenia :: Cerklje na Gorenjskem {Day 1}

This past week was holiday for the university. 

Originally, we had planned on staying home and studying a LOT. 

Then we found cheap, last-minute flights to Slovenia and our plans changed.  

We hopped on a plane with only a couple backpacks, 

and an hour later found ourselves in Slovenia.  

Night one we stayed in an adorable B&B/hostel called Mama's House.  

All accommodations were found on Airbnb.

We highly recommend :)

The family picked us up from the airport

and we were transported to their home in 

Cerklje na Gorenjskem. 

We were shown around the house and given a welcome drink and treats. 

The family gave us a nice overview of the town, 

outlining where to find the bakery and the market, 

a good pizzeria, and the church. 

We dropped our bags and set out to explore the small town. 

I had remembered to pack the camera batteries and memory cards, 

but somehow managed to skip putting them in the camera, 

so I don't have any pictures. 

We grabbed some food at the market for lunch the next few days. 

I was giddy because everything was so cheap!

(perhaps we've been in Switzerland too long...)

Cheese, crackers, clementines, dried apples, and a big loaf of fresh baked bread for 7€. 

We dropped off the food, grabbed the camera battery, 

then walked to Pod Jenkovo Lipo for some pizza. 

 These pictures really don't depict how beautiful this town and the restaurant were. 

We were so pleased when we asked how much water would cost, and the waiter said, 

"uh, free?  It comes from the tap."

Finally. 

Someone understands that water should be free!

We ordered the specialty pizza and salad. 

Yes, that is an egg on top.  

Yes, there is also asparagus. 

Yes, there are a zillion-and-a-half ingredients in the salad. 

And it was quite good. 

There was so much food, we couldn't finish it all. 

We were again pleased when the waiter offered to box up our leftovers. 

Can you believe this massive pizza and salad cost 10€?

After dinner we walked back through the town and watched a breathtaking sunset. 

It was at this point that we had to stop and pinch ourselves 

because we could not believe that this was real life.  

Upon returning home, we conversed with some of the other travelers, 

and even translated between German and English for a couple of the guests!

But, we needed to get a good, long night sleep 

because the next few days were going to be jam-packed with adventure. 

Lugano & Como

A few weeks back we took a day trip with some friends. 

On our drive we stopped in Uri to take pictures, 

and happened to be at the Tellskapelle. 

We drove a little further to our desired destination, 

Lugano, Switzerland

After roaming the streets of the old town and walking by lake Lugano, 

we decided to drive over the border to Como, Italy.

Soon our bellies were full of yummy Italian pizza, caprese salad, and gelato. 

We finished the evening with a stroll along the lake. 

We tried to see the Tempio Voltiano, 

but it was closed for the day. 

A quick drive home, 

then we all crashed in bed for some much needed sleep 

after a long and fun day on our feet. 

Our friends made a vlog of the trip too!