Many visitors to Slovenia say they’ve never seen a more beautiful lake than Bled…that is, until they’ve seen the blue-green waters of Lake Bohinj. This is 26km to the southwest of Bled and although it doesn’t have Bled’s glamour it’s less crowded and in many ways more authentic.

It’s a great place to chill out, swim in the lake or go cycling or walking.

When we stayed in at the Hotel Jezero in August 2009, the same year that Slovenia joined the Euro.

This was the view from our hotel balcony, it was so peaceful and tranquil.

Restaurant with a view to die for.

The local church is dedicated to John the Baptist and stands close to the edge of the lake. The original church was built in roman times but was renovated in a gothic style in 15th century.

The next water is so clear that you can see how it gently shelves.

As you walk around the lake there are little bays which you can have to yourself.

Some rocks ready for the creation of a DIY barbecue.

On the right hand site there are many waterfalls going in to the lake, this one taken from the opposite shore.

One side of the lake has a road which sees very few cars and is great for cycling and walking.

Heading around the lake in to the forest there are small streams that feed in to the lake.

This was the start of a trek up into the Julian Alps.

This was a lookout on the climb up in to the Julian Alps. A great spot to have a drink and a snack before continuing upwards.

A bit further up the views start develop even more.

When you least expect it there is a wooden church but bizarrely it’s a Russian church, Ruska Kapela.

To get to the front door you have to climb even more steps.

On the way down as the land start’s to level out we passed through a small village, in the UK this would be a hamlet.

We think that this was the second house that the village was comprised of.

A second church, dedicated to the Holy Spirit, stands by the road on the way to the far side of the lake. It was built in the mid-18th century. As there are so few houses where does the congregation come from?

We decided to go up a high mountain which is called Vogel at 1535 metres, just over 5025 feet.

It’s a bit too far to walk from the valley so to get to the top of the mountain there are two choices. This is choice 1

This is choice 2. You can guess which we went for.

There are some amazing views from the of the mountain looking over the lake with the houses dotted around.,

Looking across the valley towards the peaks, it’s difficult to decide whether there is snow or it’s simply the colour of the rock.

Time for an ice cold beer?

This is the life playing around in a boat on the lake without a care in the world.

It doesn’t get any better that this as 4 ladies enjoy the sun and ponder the meaning of life, or their gossiping about the antics of a neighbour who knows.

A statue of a mountain goat, we didn’t see the real thing whilst we were there.

Slovenia is such a pretty and clean country with flowers everywhere, even the bus stop has a hanging basket.