https://www.facebook.com/100488029762285/

Louise’s Grand Tour, Bled (2026)

02/04/2025

Last Weekend Katie and I went on our first trip away together to Delft in The Netherlands!

We have both independently become obsessed with The Netherlands in the last few years thanks to each having made a Dutch friend.

Last year Katie was talking to me about her favourite book ‘The Goldfinch’ and casually said she would love to visit the painting that inspired it in The Hague and I, having wanting to go away with Katie and, always up for a trip to The Netherlands said we should go for it!

Our main activities during the trip were:

1. The Marithuis
A beautifully curated art museum in The Hague featuring The Goldfinch, The Girl With the Peal Earring and The Anatomy Lesson.

2. The Royal Delft Blue Factory
The only thing I’m more obsessed with that art is crafts! So when in Delft we obviously had to visit the Royal Delft Blue Pottery Museum and even did a pottery painting workshop. I’ll admit it’s not a brand I knew a great deal about before the trip but one I now have a new found appreciation for.

3. The New Church in Delft
The Church boasts two main attractions. Firstly the very tall church tower with incredible views of the city. This church was built in the 1600s and I can’t imagine having seen the city from that height then. Secondly, it is the resting place of the Dutch monarchs. William of Orange has a very ornate monument at the front of the church but I was also fascinated to learn that the subsequent monarchs rest in the crypt under the church.

Aswell as these mains sites we also did lots of mooching around shops, chatting and catching up and obviously eating lots and lots of good food!!! Katie’s friend Lisa also joined us one afternoon and it was an absolute delight to meet her having heard lots of wonderful things about her. 😊

p.s. we travelled by Eurostar to Rotterdam and then took a taxi to Delft. This was my third time using the Eurostar rather than flying and I cannot recommend it enough, it’s so much better for the environment, it’s far comfier and less stressful and you arrive into the city centre and just walk off the train. The only downside is the price of the tickets but we got very reasonably priced tickets in the January sales.

p.p.s. I obviously read the tome that is The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt in preparation for the trip. It’s a mammoth book with little plot, it’s wasn’t my personal favourite but I really enjoyed getting wrapped up in such a long book and spending some much time with the characters and I really appreciated how the book wrapped up.

14/10/2024

Myself and Gemma Longman recently went on holiday to Bulgaria using a service called Journee and it was so incredible that I have to tell you all about it!

Journee is a mystery holiday service. You fill in a form with your preferences and then they book a holiday for you, without telling you where you are going until travel day!

Day 1: We opened our reveal postcard to find out we were going to Bulgaria! We took a taxi to the airport and then flew to Sofia (the capital city). We took a taxi to our hotel, checked in and then went for a late lunch in a lovely cafe! We went on a city walking tour in the evening and then out for dinner.

Day 2: Journee had booked a coach trip for us to the Rila Monastery. All 10 people on the trip were Journee customers and at lunch we all sat around a large table and chatted which was lovely. Although no one on the trip was particularly religious, the ornate orthodox monastery with the mountains in the backdrop was stunning! In the evening we went for a very fancy dinner which thanks to the exchange rate was still relatively cheap.

Day 3: We chose to get up early and visit ‘The Red Flat’ in the morning, an apartment preserved in the soviet style to learn about what it was like to live in Bulgaria during the soviet rule. And then in the afternoon we took a train to another town called Plovdiv which had less history but was definitely quainter. We went for a walk and dinner where we were coincidentally joined by one of the other travellers from our Day 2 coach trip, Heather.

Day 4: Journee had organised another trip for us to Asen’s Fortress and Bachovo Monstary. It was just myself, Gemma, Heather and our guide on this trip but luckily we all got on great so it was lovely! Asen’s fortress was definitely where we saw the most stunning views of the whole trip. In the afternoon we went for lunch, visited the old Roman Amphitheatre and then met up with Heather again for dinner!

Day 5: By the last day we were quite drained so we found a cafe to relax and read in before heading back to England! The cafe was friends themed and had sofas outdoors in the street which was very fun and comfy!

Overall Bulgaria was stunning and I’m so glad Journee encouraged us to go to a country we wouldn’t think to go to otherwise!

For £650 each we got our flights, hotels (2 nights in each city), 2 coach trips, the train journey between cities and a transfer back to the airport. Aswell as plenty of recommendations for what to do in free time and excellent customer support. I cannot recommend this service enough. Especially if you’re young and don’t mind going with the flow. We are already planning to do another mystery trip next year!

03/08/2023

On the last day of my trip I had run out of things to do in Zagreb so I decided to book a daytrip and the most popular option from Zagreb was to go to the Plitvice Lakes.

It was a 2 hour coach trip away and it wasn't cheap but I'm very glad I did because it was stunning.

*insert chemical process* has caused the formation of many waterfalls in this river creating really dramatic stunning scenes. The area is also full of greenery and the water is impossibly clear so it's just beautiful.

Apparently this is a tiny area of the whole national park but its obviously by far the most popular. It was rather busy but apparently its not so bad outside of July/August. You have to pay entry to the park and where you can walk is limited to certain trails and wooden footbridges across the lakes, very similar to Vintgar Gorge in Bled. The route we took was apparently about 8K in total but it wasn't particularly challenging and there were plenty of immenties along the route i.e. cafes, toilets and souvenir shops although these were all tastefully done in log and brick cabins. And we also got on a road train at one point and a boat to cross one of the lakes. I think it's a really interesting debate as to whether areas of natural beauty like these should be controlled and ticketed but in this case I thought the facilities were excellent and it allows them to protect the park so I had no complaints.

I was worried that I would be the only solo traveller on the trip but I definitely wasn't! And I ended up spending most of the time with a woman from Brighton and a guy from Australia, both in their twenties. Again it was really nice to socialise and share travel stories.

One of my favourite days of the whole trip! lol

03/08/2023

Monday and Tuesday were spent exploring Zagreb although it was very hot and by this point in the trip I was quite tired so they were not exactly the most jam packed days.

I explored the old town but sadly due to a 5.5 earthquake in 2020 a lot of the buildings including the cathedral and main art gallery are indefinitely closed due to damage. It happened very early in the morning and during lockdown so apparently there were hardly any casualites but the infrastructural damage was extensive.

On Monday I went to The Museum of Broken Relationships which is a very gimmicky exhibit of items that people have donated that pertain to broken relationships with plaques telling their stories. It seems to be very popular, I guess just because it is so quirky.

And on Tuesday I did, you guessed it, a walking tour. There were only 8 people and the guide it was a really nice intimate group and our guide was lovely and it was interesting to learn more about the history and culture of the town.

Otherwise my time was spent mooching around shops, relaxing in parks and sitting outside at Cafes. Also I found some incredible vegan food in Zagreb which I hadn't been expecting.

03/08/2023

Sunday in Ljubliana was exactly what I needed.

I started the day with a walking tour to get a better understanding of the city. Our guide was lovely and while on the tour I got chatting to another girl about my age and we ended up hanging out for a couple of hours after the tour ended! We went to macdonalds to grab a bite to eat, went up to a sky bar to sneak some photos and then went to a really cute bubble tea place. I was definitely in need of some socialising and it turned out that she is also a big fan of taylor swift and musicals so we had a lot in common and got on super easily. It was also just really nice to chat to a fellow traveller who I felt on the same page with and remind myself why I was travelling.

Then in the afternoon I went to the National Gallery of Slovenia. Although a fairly small gallery it was perfectly layout and had a really well curated collection so there were some stunning pieces.

Between socialising and beautiful art I was feeling renewed.

Then I went to the station to get the train onto Zagreb. I had some time to kill and wanted to get some dinner but most of the places near the station were closed because it was late on a sunday afternoon so I ended up having my second mcdonalds of the day....

And then I got the train to Zagreb! It was delayed but it wasn't too long a train in the first place so it wasn't too bad. Altough it was a little emotional to get on my last train journey of many.

23/07/2023

Unfortunately, Friday night my dorm room in Bled was filled with very rowdy Irish youths which wasn’t fun. But luckily I had already planned to go onto Ljubljana the next day so it was only one night.

So yesterday I got a coach from Bled to Ljubljana and spent the day exploring the town. I visited the famous castle but the highlight for me was definitely the market and all of the boutique shops. There’s not a huge amount to do there but the old town is a stunning as in many other European cities.

The hostel I stayed in was super nice. It is actually a old prison but you would never know. It was all very natural and calm inside. And had plenty of spaces to hang out so I just spent the evening there.

I went to the Lidl nearby to get something for dinner and I was so excited when I saw they had veggie nuggets, although the hostel kitchen didn’t have an oven so they had to be fried. 😂

And I was in a mixed dorm again since I’d book it so last minute but every one was lovely and chilled so I was able to get a good nights sleep.

23/07/2023

Thursday and Friday in Bled!

On Thursday morning I decided to walk all the way around the lake and go up to the view point. Little did I know the view point was a 300m hike up from the lake. 🥵 But I just took my time and I stopped on my walk around the lake a couple of times to chill so it ended up taking me all morning. And in the afternoon I just relaxed by the lake and on the roof terrace of the hostel.

On Friday morning I went to vintgar gorge. A really famous walk along a stunning gorge nearby. I went fairly early in the morning before it got too busy and before the bad weather. And then spent the afternoon relaxing in cafes and the hostel hiding from the bad weather.

Bled is stunning although there’s more to do than there is to see and without any friends I didn’t really want to do any of the sporting activities. I also found it quite difficult to relax by the lake. On the side of the lake where I was staying you aren’t allowed to walk on the grass and there are limited places to sit. They’ve done this to try to preserve the natural beauty and prevent it from turning into a resort but it did make it hard to just chill which was all I really wanted to do.

19/07/2023

Today has officially been a rollercoaster.

I left Mum in the morning at Salzburg and got the train to Villach. We travelled straight through the alps and it’s was breathtaking.

Then I got a transfer onto Jesenice which was a little rustic (for lack of a better word) but was ultimately fine.

My original plan had then been to get a train onto Lesce and then a bus to Bled. However, at Jesenice their departure list was paper rather than electronic (clue 1 that I’m in the middle of nowhere) and so I asked a man working there and he said I should get a bus. I think the confusion was that I should have asked about Lesce but by the time I figured this out the train had gone so I decided to trust him and get on the bus. (which was actually a coach - again where am I ?)

However I quickly realised the bus was going to the wrong side of Bled so you can imagine how I was feeling as we climbed into the mountains, lost signal and the heavens opened and the biggest storm I’ve seen in ages begun.

However, to my immense relief, as we approached Bled the driver asked if we would prefer to go to the city centre (not that I was complaining but what kind of bus service is this) so I was very relieved and luckily the rain had lightened up a little so I was able to get to my hostel fairly painlessly.

The hostel seems fine although it’s definitely the most hostel-y hostel I’ve staying in so far so I can’t imagine I’ll be spending a huge amount of time there in the next few days.

Once I’d dropped off my stuff I went for a walk around the town. My initial impression is that, despite my journey getting here, it’s actually a reasonably developed place and it’s teeming with holiday makers to the point that it almost feels like being at one big resort. But given I’m alone here I’m not complaining, it’s means there’s plenty of activities to do and places to eat and I feel very safe.

Then, because the sunshine came out and it was still fairly early, I decided to do a boat ride to the little Island in the middle of the lake which was incredible. The views are ridiculous and the water is perfectly blue. The water actually isn’t that cold this time of year so there’s plenty of people swimming and paddle boarding.

And now I’m sat in a restaurant eating delicious gnocchi as I type this. Will have to make a pilgrimage to the supermarket tomorrow as it’s about 1K away and the small shop nearer didn’t seem to have too much. And also bc after today I didn’t fancy trying to cook in the hostel.

19/07/2023

On Tuesday we started our day with a delicious brunch that was served afternoon tea style and had a final stroll around the old town and market stalls.

In the afternoon we had booked to go on an organised coach tour to a salt mine but it turned out that there was only us and one other couple so we were taken by our guide in a minivan and given an amazing trip.

Firstly, we stopped off at a lookout point as you can see in the photos. Then we were taken over the border to Germany to the salt mine where we donned boiler suits, went deep inside the mine on a train, had to go down slides and crossed a lake in the middle of the mine! Photos were allowed so I’ve included some from their website to show you what I mean.

And then we stopped off at a v quaint little mountain tour where we had free time to buy plenty of souvenirs and chocolate.

And in the evening we went to a delicious Italian restaurant near our Hotel before getting a relatively early night!

19/07/2023

On Monday, after a slow morning as we waited out a storm, we decided to climb up to Fortress Hohensalzurg. Mum googled the route and decided we should take a slightly roundabout route that ‘avoided stairs’. Obviously that was a lie. And to make matters worse (funnier) as we reached the top, I said imagine if there’s a funicular we could have taken, and lo and behold a minute later we spotted it.

The Fortress itself wasn’t particularly interesting but the views from the top were spectacular.

Afterwards we got the funicular back down to the old town and visited the birth house of Mozart, which given I knew next to nothing about it, was rather interesting.

And then we had yet another chilled evening of reading, dozing, drinking gin and eating tasty food.

17/07/2023

After

17/07/2023

Day 3 in Munich!

We started the day by going to Westpark so that Mum could indulge her park run obsession. I, the supportive parent, sat under a tree and read.

Then, after a freshen up at the hotel we had a very chilled afternoon as it was very hot 🥵. We popped our heads into Asamkirche, the most ornately decorated church in Munich, and went into my personal choice of worship place, the Haribo store but otherwise we just relaxed on our balcony and went out for a really nice dinner in the evening.

Louise’s Grand Tour

02/04/2025

14/10/2024

03/08/2023

03/08/2023

03/08/2023

23/07/2023

23/07/2023

19/07/2023

19/07/2023

19/07/2023

17/07/2023

17/07/2023

Address

Website

Alerts

Shortcuts

Share

Category