Jezero Bohinj: a piece of Heaven on Earth?

On a boat ride across the turquoise and deep blue lake, a tour guide who grew up in Bohinj told us a story about how he believed Bohinj was created. As the story goes, when God created the world he met the needs of all of the people that asked for something. After meeting everyone's demands, there was a patient group of people in Bohinj that had not asked for anything, and because of that God gave them what can only be described as a piece of Heaven on Earth: a large, beautiful turquoise and deep blue lake, surrounded by towering mountains on 3 sides and a 150 foot waterfall that continuously provides cold, clean, and delicious drinking water for the entire town and refills the lake with crisp water to refresh in the heat of summer. In the local dialect, the name of the town, Bohinj, can be loosely translated to land of God. Admittedly, the story is not true, but when you experience Bohinj it really does capture the way that you feel.

The Lake was a glorious respite from the heat of summer, and for some unknown reason, the people of Slovenia and the tourists don't flock to this area the way that they do to the neighboring Lake Bled. When we were out in the middle of the Lake on paddle boards in the mid-morning sun, it honestly felt like we had the place to ourselves. We enjoyed countless adventure in this wonderful town and left wanting even more. We will certainly come back to Bohinj some day and highly recommend it to others. 

Adventures:

Stand-up Paddleboarding is one of Sammar and I's favorite activities, and it was great to also see Zane LOVE the SUP on the Lake: taking fun trips with Sammar and then taking Zaylee for a 1+ mile ride across the Lake! We rented SUPs 3 times and it never got old.

Swimming. I had the pleasure of "chasing" Zane as he went out for solo paddling trips, and then we all swam by the shores to cool off throughout the day. Zane and Zaylee spent much of this time trying to catch the abundant yellow fish that sped along the rocky shores. This was the first alpine lake that we've swam in and boy is it a surprise when you first touch that water!

We continued our hiking adventures, taking a ski-lifts up the Vogel mountain and then climbing to a new summit where Zane and Sammar played his favorite new game (Briscola) on top of the mountain. Later we hiked to Slap Savica, the source of the Bohinj Lake as well, where Zane counted all 579 steps to the base of the falls. 

While not an adventure that we desired, our time in Bohinj was interrupted by two major thunderstorms with very high winds. We narrowly escaped the first, running through 50 mph winds and battering rains to our hotel. The locals told us they hadn't seen a storm like this in their lifetimes. When we returned to the Lake, more than 50 trees, each more than 100 feet tall, had been ripped from the ground covering roads, paths and everything in between. Thankfully it appeared that no buildings were hit and I have to say that the emergency services were shockingly expedient in clearing the area and making it safe for everyone to enjoy.

Delicious Eats:

• Surprisingly delicious burgers, salads, and homemade iced-tea near the Lake, featuring loads of dill in every bite
• Tasty pizza in a town that maybe had 500 feet of road total
• Ice cream, of course, as a reward for hiking (or riding, in Zaylee's case)

The Little Moments: 

• Our host, Sasa, was so kind and patient with the kids and of course gave them countless sweets during our stay. When we left, she cried and gave Sammar a big hug, saying she is always sad when the nice people leave.
• Zane "lost" his third tooth (realistically I pulled it out of his mouth because it was bothering him so much while eating pizza) and the tooth fairy left him a euro and a note in Slovenian (ask him for the story, he loves telling it!)
• Zaylee constantly saying that Zane was "teaching her how to paddle board"