Day Three: Bled, Slovenia

30th of July 2017 - first glimpses of Bled in day light

Today was a beautiful day <3 The weather was perfectly warm and not too hot. Even though we made a mistake with buying too much lunch today we didn't dwell on our mistake ;) haha. After being on our own (Mum, Harri and I) for the morning, we then united with Dad after his conference to row out in a boat to Bled Island. 

View from our accommodation. I was suddenly amazed when everything became so much more defined and beautiful after I cleaned my glasses!!!! ;) In this image you can just make out the turquoise-coloured lake shimmering below the tree line in the centre of the photo

View of Bled Castle while walking on the other side of the lake taking Dad to his conference

Bled Castle, where we walked up later on in the day

Having morning tea on the balcony at our accommodation before heading out to walk around the lake :D 

Selfie in front of Bled lake and Bled Island before we started our walk

As per itinerary, we then continued to walk around the lake. It is 6 km so it would take around 2 hours with photography breaks. We would hike up Bled Castle Hill 3 quarters of the way, eat dinner, and then go pick Dad up when he finished his conference.

Bled Island

On one side of the lake there was a cute pebbled beach :D

And we started the ascent up Castle Hill!!

Starting the walk up Castle Hill

It was getting quite hot!!

On top of the hill. This was as far as you could go without paying to go into Bled Castle, which was quite annoying!! We were quite hungry, and we couldn't eat because the restaurant was in the castle area, so couldn't stay long. We did have to stop to catch our breath though ;)

View from Castle hill to Straza Mountain on Bled Lake, where we were going to hike up the next day

Passing by a church while going down the hill

Walking through an Italian-like area to get to a pizzeria

Mum's salad with chicken and grated feta cheese on top

My pizza with mushroom and ham

The lovely setting where we ate lunch, called Pizzeria Rustica. Here we accidentally made the mistake of ordering two pizzas AND a salad!! We over ordered ;) haha. Oh well, no worries ;)

Pretending to be the statue ;)

Picking Dad up from the conference and walking towards a boat dock to rent a boat and row to Bled Island

Rowing to Bled Island

Me on the island


Rowing around the island a couple of times to make the most of the hour that we rented the boat for

Still rowing ;)

The house in the background is where we rented the boat from. Dad wanted a natural photo ;) I actually think this is pretty natural for him :D

Awesome painting in the restaurant where we had dinner :D

Taking pictures of our food before tucking in ;)

After finishing our food we had to continue walking around the lake to get to our accommodation. It took me a while to get a good photo of the view in the dark because I don't have a tripod to keep my camera steady. After some blurry shots I ended up using Dad's shoulder to steady the camera, which was even then quite difficult as dad had to stop breathing for a while for me to get a good shot ;) This photo is one of the blurry ones, but I actually quite like it!

Action shot ;)

Then we walked back to our accommodation when it was already dark, which was actually quite lovely and invigorating ;)

Till next time,

Laura xoxo

Day Two: Hungary to Slovenia

Day Two!! Today is the day we will be renting a car and taking a journey from Budapest (which is where the cheaper flights take us) to Bled, Slovenia (where dad's conference is held). It took us around 5 hours to drive, so we basically spent the whole day travelling to the airport and then travelling in the car. Maybe I should have worn some more suitable clothes rather than tight fitting 3-quarter length trousers ... Would have made it much more enjoyable ;) 

Taking our luggage from our apartment to the metro  

Lovely water display <3

Taking the long escalators to the second metro 

Selfie at the metro station :D 

Taking the train 

Our final train station

Service Station!!

All important bathrooms ;) 

Putting the Slovenia Vinetta sticker thingy that allows us to go in Slovenia onto the window screen

That awesome strip allows us to bypass all the Slovenian tolls!! 

McDonalds in Bled for dinner

When we ordered on the touch screen we got one of these things that will buzz when our food is ready. Very techy!!

It is amazing how much you can get tired from just sitting in the car!! I don't know how that works ... So after we had a Mcmeal we drove to our accommodation, had showers, and plonked ourselves on the bed ;) When I say plonked, I mean we fell down. Well, I plonked down anyway ;) 

Tomorrow we will begin to explore Bled!!! :D

Now you are up  to date,

Laura 

xoxo

Day One: Finland to Hungary

And we are off!! Our trip this Summer Holiday is to Hungary, Budapest and Bled, Slovenia (where my dad is speaking at a Public Relations conference). True to our nature, Harri is planning all the touristy things to do in Budapest, and I am planning heaps of walking and hikes up mountains in Bled ;) haha. 

First-off: Hungary!!

All of us having a Finnish snack before flying from Tampere, Finland to Budapest, Hungary

The plane <3 , or as I have come to term it, a rollercoaster in the sky ;)

My view from the emergency exit seat :o I was getting a bit nervous :o So much responsibility!!

Puffy clouds as a view from the "rollercoaster in the sky" :)

At the Budapest airport!! First thing Harri did was look at the map ;)

Airport cafeteria, where we had a light snack 

To get from the airport to the city, and then back again the next day to get our hire car, we found it best to get a 24 hour transport ticket at just 11 euros for up to five people!! This would then allow us to go on as much transport as we like :)

To get from the airport we needed to take a bus to the metro, and then two metros to the apartment.

An old-fashioned metro with no air-conditioning :o

As we ascended the narrow stairs to the reception of the accommodation, a lovely lady in a blue dress greeted us and warningly showed us to our room. She told us that, most importantly, we could have tea, coffee and hot chocolate any time of day!! Due to the hot weather, we actually preferred to cold drinks to the hotter drinks :o Not to say that I didn't enjoy my tea just as much ;) I mean, it was the hottest day that Budapest had had in a while at 32 degrees!!

Next, we had to find decent food!!

Harri and Dad at an Italian restaurant. I know, we couldn't find a Hungarian restaurant in Hungary!?!

My salmon, asparagus and sun-dried tomato pasta dish <3

After this we had to go shopping, as someone had forgotten an important piece of clothing when packing ;) Not mentioning any names here ;) haha

We then went back to the flat to drop things off, gather up momentum, and set off for our adventure!!

As Harri was our tour guide, he recommended that we take the metro to the palace, look through the palace grounds for free, and then walk down to the Danube River. We agreed, and all packed into the metro for another adventure. Little did we know what was in store for the weather ... 

We got out of the metro at the Heroes' Square, where the heroes of the Magyar are honoured. Amazingly, there is also a large grave stone for the unknown soldier... the soldier who could not be identified.

Arriving above ground from the metro

The Heroes' Square. In this image is 5 of the 7 Chieftains of the Magyars ;)  

Heroes's Square with the National Art Gallery in the background

The Millennial Monument. On top of the column is Archangel Michael holding the patriarchal cross (a cross with two horizontal beams instead on one). The top beam on the cross says "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews".

One of the buildings in the Vajdahunyad Castle complex. These buildings are exact replicas of 21 of the most magnificent and historic buildings in Hungary.

The entrance to the complex

Walking our way down the road (longest road I might add) to the River Danube  

Interesting piano chair I found on the way ;)

We then stopped for dinner after we took the metro the last couple of steps to the river.

By this time it was waaaay past our normal dinner time ;) So we sat down at the outdoor table of a nearby restaurant. Annoyingly, the weather had other plans... Suddenly it started to bucket down with rain, streak the sky with lightning and deafen our ears with thunder. Accordingly, we had to quickly run for cover inside the restaurant, otherwise we would have gotten completely soaked!!

After some time, however, we didn't end up eating till around 9pm at a small cafe close to McDonalds ;) haha

The Danube River at night 

Our lemonades at Cafe Anna: our last resort for food

Dad and I were adventurous, and chose to share a mandarin and goats cheese salad :D

Mum's fruit salad :D

The view of the rain from our cafe :D

Next day we will be going to Slovenia!!

Now you are up to date,

Laura

xoxo