After wandering about lovely Bled Castle in Slovenia, we boarded a sturdy rowboat for our journey across Lake Bled to reach a wonderful 15th century church on an island waaaay out in the middle.

It was a beautiful voyage, quiet and gentle as we bobbed past homes tucked back in the trees. We imagined ourselves living in them, waking up each morning and taking our coffee on the terrace as we gazed out over the pristine lake. They were blissful dreams.

Our first sight was of this mother swan nuzzling her fluffy grey babies. 🙂

 After oohing and aahing appreciatively, we trekked up, up, up a steep flight of stone steps to the church, Pilgrimage Church of the Assumption of Mary, craning our necks to see the tower far above us.

Then looked out across the glistening water to the tree-carpeted hillsides.

We stepped into the old church, delighting in the coolness of the air on our sun-warmed skin. We took turns with other visitors loudly ringing the church bell, and had a (sorta) quiet moment on the smooth wooden benches. 🙂

We emerged into the hot sun, admiring the stonework, architecture and statuary, wondering about the stories of those who built this place, lived and worshiped here over the centuries.