Tag: lake

Posted on

Omegna, Italy – Lazy Italian Refuge

Hidden quietly in the north of Italy is the small lake of Orta and the lazy town of Omegna. After two trains and a bus ride, we finally arrived at our new short trip destination. We checked into our three star hotel, the Croce Bianci, perhaps the best centrally located one in the town.

Orta Lake – Panorama from Omegna Shoreline

Because of its small size and lack of glamour, Lake Orta is often overlooked by most overseas travelers, who are more interested in the high impact tourist destinations to check off their bucket lists. It is visited mostly by Italians from Milan, some of whom own weekend homes here, the French, Germans and the occasional Brit. Since there is really not much to see and do on this side of the lake, a short slideshow is perhaps more in order.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

We made plans to visit Omegna just to relax and actually do nothing more than just check the lake out. This is definitely a good place to accomplish nothing. However, there are plenty of activities available, from camping, boating, cycling, swimming, hiking and the odd trek to a neighboring town, if one is so inclined. The area is definitely family friendly, even the town has a large and very well equipped playground for them.

The remainder of our trip will visit other parts of the lake and be continued in another entry, so stay tuned. Ciao for now…

Restaurants

Salera  16

A more hip and trendy place is the Salera 16, which caters to the younger crowd with burgers, fries and other handheld items. A good place to stop for something quick.

Al Centrale Bistrot

This little bistrot has excellent food at great prices, though the menu is limited and changes daily. If you are not fussy and adaptable you definitely find a tasty treat here. Their wines by the glass are very good.

Ristorante Il Cavalieri

The first restaurant we visited when we arrived, it offers traditional Italian fare and pizza. It behaves more like a trattoria and gets a lot of local traffic. So an excellent place for reasonably priced authentic Italian food. I found the Vino Sfuso, or bulk house wine, a bit of a disappointment, but it is still drinkable and reasonably priced.

Ristorante Punti D’Vista

A ten minute walk along the Lungolago Gramsci of Omegna on the west bank will bring you to this hotel and restaurant.  Set slightly uphill from the road it has a commanding view of the lake and plenty of outside seating. Reservations are recommended though, as the patio seating fills up quite fast.

Posted on

Bled, Slovenia – A Blue Karawanken Gem

At the base of the Southern Limestone Alps[1]They are additionally known as the Julian Alps., or Karawanken Mountains, sits the small town and lake of Bled . It is almost a must see place to go on a day trip from Ljubljana, especially if you have enough time. Since we have the time, we usually overbook our stays at places that are totally unknown to us. For Ljubljana specifically, and Slovenia in general, we were happy that we did, since it afforded us a day trip  such as the one to Bled. Slovenia really is a great place to visit!

Bled – entrance from parking lot – panorama

Lake Bled – Getting There

To get to the lake you must travel northwest from Ljubljana, there is the E61 that can be taken by car or bus. The trip normally takes forty-five minutes by car, and up to an hour and a quarter by bus, but can take longer if there is an accident or construction on the highway. Upon the suggestion of the information booth by the Triple Bridge we took the bus, even though we now think the train may be faster. The bus is packed, so if you are worried about Covid-19, and you should, you should be prepared to wear you FFp2 mask.

It should be noted, the bus takes two different routes going to and coming from the lake, each taking about the same time. There is of course the train, which may actually take less time gong to and fromm Bled, but then you have about a twenty or so minute walk from the town of Bled Train Station to the lake. The bus on the other hand goes all the way to the lake, even though we chose to get off at the Blen Union station.

Lake Bled – The Trail

Bled – Assumption of Mary Church on Slovenia’s only island

There is an excellent trail that totally circumnavigates the lake, going through several tourist beach and cafe points, any one of which you can take a pause  in your walk to get refreshed.

Here is a slideshow of our great afternoon walking the lake shore trail, enjoying the beautiful weather and scenery.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Restaurants

Hotel Starkl Restaurant

Around  12:30 or so we stopped about  three quarters of the way, going anti-clockwise around the lake, at the restaurant Hotel Starkl. It is best to get to any European tourist restaurant thirty to forty-five minutes in advance, because at one o’clock they fill up quickly. Here we purchased simple salads and enough wine and water to enjoy the fabulous weather.

References

References
↑1 They are additionally known as the Julian Alps.