The Julian Alps

We were given the responsibility of planning the next all-mission Senior Missionary Conference last February when we first arrived in the mission.  At that time, there was one already planned and organized for April, and we were assigned to prepare for the one in October.  Of course, the one in April did not happen because by April there were travel restrictions, and even, in one country, prohibitions against senior citizens showing their faces outside of their own domicile.  

  With hope glowing at the edge of possibility, we have taken the April plan and prepared to implement it in October or whenever we can.  That plan was for all the senior missionaries to gather in the Julian Alps.

This is Sister Ashurst on the shore of Lake Bled, the most famous lake in Slovenia, at the gateway to the Julian Alps.  Sadly the clouds prevent them from showing up in this photo.  Above her right shoulder is the Bled Castle on the hilltop across the lake.

   The other famous site at Lake Bled is the island with its church.

There are 90 steps leading to the church, and this hilltop has been a favored location for weddings going back to long before Christianity.  If the groom can carry his bride up all 90 steps to the church, it is said that they will have a long and happy marriage.

    The other tradition has to do with the bell in the church.  We could hear it ringing all the way over there.  The rope hangs down near the front of the church where anybody with the urge can yank on it.  The tradition is that if you can make the bell ring three times with a single pull on the rope, you will have a wish come true - just like blowing out the candles on a birthday cake.

   I wasn't about to carry my bride of fifty years up that stairway, but there is now a ramp suitable for old cripples, and up I went.

This is the church from next to the gift shop.

And here is the chapel with the bell rope hanging down in front of the man.  In spite of all the gilding, most of the plaques and signs in the church are about the altars and to whom they are dedicated.  The altars are covered by white, lacey cloths at either side of the bell rope and there were two more further back in the chapel.

This altar is dedicated to Mary and had the most elaborate setting of them all, but then this is The  Church of Mary, Mother of God.

    The gift shop is reputed to be the best place for getting authentic copies of beehive art.

If I take up beekeeping again, I will use Slovenian beehives and I may even copy some of these designs onto the doors of the hives.  An interesting one is the giant putting out a fire (bottom right).  St. George slew the dragon, and thus ended all the wild fires caused by the dragon.  Thus, St. George is the patron saint of firefighters.

  We got to the island via Pletna, a flat bottomed rowboat.  Ours was named Mirjam (Miriam), the one with blue-tipped oars.  

This is us nearing the island.

It was rowed by a broad-shouldered, narrow-wasted, young, handsome fellow who stood at the back of the boat and used the two oars to propel us across the lake.  He was patient, kind, and friendly, in spite of having rowed tourists across the lake for the past nine years.  On the way over, I sat with a young boy of appx. 9 years.  He was afraid the boat would be bumpy, but I assured him the lake was like a mirror and there would be no bumps.  He wanted me to tell him there were still dinosaurs in the lake, but I told him to watch for fish.  And we saw a school of large fish with unforked tails pass right under the boat.  I don't know what to call them, but they look like catfish and school like herrings.  They looked to be around 5-6 lbs. each.  The photo below is from the internet, but that is the kind of tail they had.

  We rode a little train around the lake, which was nice, and we had some of the traditional Cremma cake, which has a pastry bottom and top, with a vanilla custard in the middle.

     I found a curious sight.  A pine tree with bright red fruit/cones.  Very Curious.

That evening we drove beyond Bled, into the Alps and into a little valley where there is another lake, Lake Ravinh.  We had reservations at a very expensive, luxury hotel there.  The hotel experience was interesting.  The room was tiny, without a comfortable chair.  I wanted to read while Liz had a conference call, so I went out to a very comfortable common room with a decent reading library and bar service.

  The hotel has access to a large pool/spa shared by three large hotels.  There is a large, heated, outdoor pool, an even larger indoor pool, major-big slides, tube-slides, and other features.  There are saunas, and massage areas.  There are also gardens, a fish pond, bridges, etc.  Very pleasant.  We didn't use the pools or bar services, but we did have an amazing breakfast the next morning.  It is the main thing I would rate as exceptional.

 

  On my next post, I will tell about Lake Ravinh.