Exploring Lake Bled: A Scenic Walking Route

On our only full day in Lesce we want to go for a walk around the famous lake of Bled. We could go on foot from our apartment but the 5,5km doesn’t look very scenic which is why we prefer to take the car and park about a km away from the lake. Unfortunately there is the predicted traffic jam in the direction of the lake which starts already a km away from our apartment. We ask Google for an alternative route which leads us onto an unpaved road into the woods. When we reach a bridge we have to cross we find it closed for cars. Luckily there is room to park and we find a walk on Komoot from the bridge all the way to the lake and back following a loop, totalling approximately 15km which sounds like the perfect distance. After crossing the bridge we have to get past a stone barricade that is probably placed there to make sure no cars follow the road that is under construction. The walk is mostly on asphalt but mostly on deserted roads. Only when we get near to the lake we have a section of 2km that we have to follow with quite some traffic. At the lake we enjoy the view a bit and then decide to walk all the way around it. It is hot and already past noon so we look for a place to eat. Most places at the lakeside are serving ice cream and drinks or snacks only so we decide to go for lunch at Zaka which is a camping restaurant. We don’t expect much of it but are pleasantly surprised. The food is actually good and staff is again very friendly. So against expectations we have a nice lunch after all. After lunch we continue our tour around the lake. We skip the mandatory boat trip to the island to visit the castle and church. The place is packed with tourists and we don’t feel like queuing to get on the island and climb the 99 stairs. The goal of the day was to go on a hike in a nice landscape and we don’t need the trip to the island for that. The walk around the lake has enough photo opportunities and even though there are a lot of people it doesn’t feel too crowded just walking around the lake. The rest of the walk is also nice, mostly along empty roads and through villages consisting of only a few streets. We are near the mountains and our path undulates between roughly 400m and 500m altitude. As it is quite hot we appreciate the frequent sections that provide some shade. After we get back to our apartment we freshen up and pick a place for dinner. We go to pizzeria Maticek in Lesce. The place doesn’t look like much but the food is good. After so many pizza’s most of us go for a salad. Definitely a better dining experience than the one we had at Kunstelj the evening before.