斯洛文尼亞布萊德

年輕的斯洛文尼亞（于1991年宣布脫離原南斯拉夫，成為獨立主權國家，并于1992年5月加入聯合國）位于中歐南部，毗鄰阿爾卑斯山，約有一半的面積為森林所覆蓋，綠化率在歐洲各國僅次于芬蘭和瑞典，被譽為“中歐的綠寶石”。也許在許多人的印象中，斯洛文尼亞是一個經濟水平不高的中歐小國——但事實上，斯洛文尼亞擁有良好的工業和科技基礎。2005年在全球國家競爭力排行榜上名列第32位，屬于發達國家行列。

本期“異域風情”帶大家游覽的布萊德湖是斯洛文尼亞最有名的旅游勝地。阿爾卑斯山山頂的積雪融水和山間清泉不斷注入湖中，讓布萊德湖獲得“冰湖”的美稱。這里夏季水溫在22℃左右，是劃船、游泳和釣魚的理想場所；冬季多雪，湖面結冰達40厘米，又是冰上運動的絕紗去處。因此，這里曾多次舉辦歐洲和世界性的水上與冰上運動比賽。湖中央的布萊德島是斯洛文尼亞境內唯一一座小島。位于翠綠色湖面中央的小島在藍天白云的襯托之下，真讓人彷如置身童話故事之中。

“Bled？ That sounds a bit gruesome，” said Jodie when I first suggested the idea of visiting the small town in Slovenia. We were sat by the pool in Pore， Croatia， and Id just found out that a coach could pick us up outside the hotel and take us on a guided day trip to the town of Bled.

“I know， but the place looks stunning. And its really close to Croatia，” I answered. “Theres a lake and a castle near it. They look really nice.”

But nice wasnt an adequate adjective for how breathtakingly stunning Lake Bled turned out to be. No words could. Even photographs could only come half way. But all of that came later. First， we had to get up at the crack of dawn to board our coach for the three hour journey to Slovenia.

Slovenia， lying between the Alps and the Mediterranean， is a small country dominated by mountains and rivers.

Getting to Slovenia would involve our first overland border crossing. For this I was quite excited. All I could imagine were Cold War films with spies attempting to get past the border police.

It turned out that getting past the Slovenian border was no hassle at all. The coach stopped， a uniformed woman got on， and she looked at everyones passport. No one was thrown off the coach.

As we sped into Slovenia， the view outside soon began to change. Mediterranean scrub made way for conifers and hills. Before too long， we were in a scene straight from The Sound of Music.

“Welcome to Slovenia，” said our guide for the day， a 25-year-old Croatian woman named Ivanah， “and let me tell you some things about this country.”

We all listened as Ivanah told us about why Slovenia was the richest of all the former Yugoslav countries. It was to do with the war， apparently， or rather the lack of it. “The war only lasted ten days in Slovenia， so most of the infrastructure stayed intact. No buildings were destroyed. People could carry on with their lives. And this is good. The country you are visiting is especially beautiful.” From what we could see outside， she was indeed correct.

About two hours into our journey， we passed through Ljubljana， the capital of Slovenia. Always somewhere Id wanted to visit， I was quite sad to see it passing by so quickly， but less than an hour later， we arrived at our destination， the town of Bled.

Bled lies in the Julian Alps， just 30 kilometres south of the Austrian border. It is one of Slovenias prime tourist destinations， primarily because of its large lake formed by a glacier thousands of years ago. The natural beauty of the town and its surrounds has meant the rich and famous have often stayed in Bled. In the 19th century， it was the Austrian empires finest health resort. When Yugoslavia was ruled by Josip Tito， he made Lake Bled his personal place of retreat. Even Prince Charles has stayed at one of Bleds world class hotels.

“First I take you to the castle，” announced the guide. The castle seemed to be perched high upon a rocky outcrop， flanked with lush conifers. “We will drive most of the way up， but then we will walk about a hundred metres. It will not be too difficult. And the view from the top will take your breath away.”

Ten minutes later， my breath was being amply taken away by the walk up towards Bled Castle. Others were finding it much harder. But we all made it to the top without incident. Ivanah was right， the view across the lake， with a panorama of the Alps just behind， was simply breathtaking.

The water was a beautiful turquoise hue， and it was easy to spot Slovenias one solitary island at the centre of the lake. Later we would be visiting the island， but for now， Jodie and I wandered around the castle， taking in the views below.

Although Bled Castle has enjoyed its thousand-year birthday， much of it was actually built in the middle ages. It was also extensively renovated between 1951 and 1961. Today， the castle is home to a museum and exhibition centre.

“We got married here 14 years ago，” said a man to my left. We were standing at the castles edge， a fine vantage point. His wife was by his side， and a small boy stood between them. “Its just as beautiful as it was then. And did you know that

Slovenia is the only country in the world with ‘love in its name？ From here， its not hard to see why.”

Half an hour later， we were back in the town of Bled to wander around by ourselves. After a spot of lunch， Jodie and I rejoined the tour group for the trip to the small island in the middle of Lake Bled.

Getting to it involved a very pleasant trip in a gondola-type boat called a pletna. As we set off from the shore， the boatman climbed around and begun rowing us softly towards our destination. It was all very peaceful.

“The island has 99 steps leading up to the church，” Ivanah said， “and it is a custom here in Bled that during a wedding， the husband must carry his bride up the steps， while she remains silent.”

After reaching the island， we began the climb up the steps. They were not as bad as first feared， though I wasnt carrying anyone up them. At the top we could see the Assumption of Mary Pilgrimage Church； visitors frequently ring its bell for good luck. It dates back to the 10th century， and Jodie and I strolled about its exterior before going inside. It was small but beautiful. We gazed at the altar， with its golden statue of Mary above a bed of roses. Sat in pews were a few people deep in prayer. They didnt seem to mind that a bunch of tourists had just invaded their peaceful sanctuary.

Once back across at the mainland， we took a short coach trip to the centre of town. Ivanah then led us to a large outdoor café. It was time for the cream cakes. Bled is famous for its vanilla-and-cream cakes， and we all had one each. Mine was delicious.

“Dont worry，” said Ivanah， noting the looks on some of the womens faces， “these are not like your cakes back home. They are lighter. Try it. They taste amazing！”

Mine was already gone. Jodie at last tried hers， lingering over it for far longer than I had. “Mmmm， these are nice！”

Our trip to Slovenia was over. It was time to go back to Croatia. But from what we had seen， it was a place wed try our best to return back to one day. Lake Bled in winter must look truly magical. And only an hour away from Ljubljana， it could be done.

“布萊德？聽起來真有點嚇人。”我第一次向喬蒂提起想去斯洛文尼亞的這座小鎮時，她這樣說道。當時我們正坐在克羅地亞波雷奇的水池邊，我剛剛發現有一趟從酒店出發的觀光車，可以帶我們參加布萊德鎮一日游。

“我知道那個名字是有點嚇人，但是那個地方漂亮極了，而且真的離克羅地亞很近，”我答道。“那附近有一個湖和一座城堡，看起來很不錯呢。”

但是“不錯”這個詞遠不足以描繪布萊德湖驚艷的程度。……