Radovljica's Apiary Museum

As if the location, ambiance, architecture, history, shoppes, scenery and views were not enough, Radovljica also has the world's only known (to me) apicultural museum. Much as I personally dislike bees and their stinging ways, I readily concede their nearly paramount importance in helping propagate much of life as we know it on this planet. Beekeeping is the principal cottage industry in Croatia, Boznia-Hertzegovina, and Slovenia, as we've seen in previous posts, and it has a long history. So we have been building up to this. Plus the beehive front boards--a whole room of them--are a hoot. And I like honey and especially the honey brandy I bought in Ljubljana. Thus, for all these and many more reasons, we had to see the Apiary Museum in Radovljica. Also, personal hero Sir Ed from New Zealand was also a bee keeper.

The adjoining city museum also had an exhibit on local boy and Englightenment
figure Anton Linhart

There were many rooms depicting the history of bee keeping, the evolution of
various implements, etc.

Bee hive "guards" (against what? I ask)

The painted front boards are the main draw for most people; from the later 18th
onward, bee keepers did these painted boards on the assumption they would
help the bees more easily find their way home; who knows? Producing replicas
for the souvenir shoppes of Ljubljana is certainly a secondary industry

Many are on religious themes

Some maybe multicultural themes

Flood?

Some satirical if repugnant

A winter scene...BORING! Let's get back to the funny stuff

One of the more elaborate bee hives

"Stop, thief!"

Little Big Horn?

Benefits of not drinking?

De-heading battle scene

Funeral procession for a hunter

Apparently the bees really like violent scenes

Another religious scene

Other implements

Actual working beehive in the museum

Bee tunnel to the hive

Useful information you probably already know but which is here to show the
museum's excellent interpretive signage, and in English too

Further rooms, further  interesting displays, although not as interesting at the
front boards

Ceiling of one of the rooms

Radovljica

Just a few miles away from Lake Bled is the beau village of Radovljica, whose main street features a variety of old, interesting buildings, including (next post) the old palace and its very famous apiary museum. As beaux villages go, I would rate this one fairly highly, certainly better than most of the beaux villages I have seen in, e.g., France).

Sculpure at the begining of main street; a patisserie or candy store perhaps nearby

Many if not most of the old buildings--dating from late Renaissance--sported
paintings like this, above their entrances

Or maybe the whole building was thus adorned

Dining room in the House of Lectar, a restaurant/museum

From the museum of gingerbread cookies

The old palace, mansion, whatever; sooooo Austrian

With its own funny faces

Radovljica sits on a promontory overlooking two valleys, with the Julian Alps
in the background; the big mountain, which stayed behind the clouds that day,
is on the left, Triglav

We'd get some great views of Triglav the next day

More house paintings

As we approached the end of main street, the happy and loud
screams of many children became audible, including, very
surprisingly, war hoops

It was part of a summer camp, maybe a hundred kids, dressed appropriately--
feathers, war paint, etc.--running around; this was their tipi

I generally avoid pix of kids, but one of the camp counselors consented to be
pictured: she was as amused to see Americans here, especially from Montana, as
we were to see Indians...

Inside the church

The painting on the ceiling and walls was impressive

Elsewhere in the town, a long panel of posters depicting the
history of Radovlica, from late Medieval...

To the 19th century; have to love self-regarding institutions

To be added: a couple pix concerning Anton Linhart, the Enlightenment thinker who first produced the first Slovenian literature and who wrote the first history of the Slovenian people; a Radovljica native

Circumnavigation Of Lake Bled

On July 12th, as the rains ended, we departed from Ljubljana and drove back into the west of Slovenia, to the resort area of Lake Bled in the highlands approaching the Julian Alps. Lake Bled is very scenically situated, with a small island and a castle on an overlooking cliff. The lake is 3.5 miles in circumference, and the main activity in Lake Bled is to walk around the lake. 

Entrance to the huge campground on Lake Bled

Chainsaw sculpture at the campground resto; I always
wanted something like this for our home in Montana;
instead, we had a Green Man...

View of Lake Bled from the campground beach; note hanging castle at left

Probably because of my philosophical education, I always have difficulty
interpreting signage like this; for example, does the second picture from the
bottom right stipulate that only fresh or frozen or freeze-dried foods may be
consumed?

Lake Bled's island; note hanging castle

Closer up

The lake shore is mostly forested

Near Villa Bled, Tito's lakeside villa, now one of the nicer
hotels/restaurants; Plecnik designed the lamp-post columns
(you might have guessed) 

Extreme closer-up of island; you take the boat there, climb
the steps, go into the church, and ring the bell, which ensures
you will someday return to Lake Bled; we were going to do
this; but didn't

All around the lake were fisher-persons with elaborate wheeled fishing kits
like this

Thus; absentee-fishing

Small fry; lake color just like Plitvice and elsewhere in this part of the world

Helpful map of the lake and environs

Steps leading up to the Vila Bled

One of the boats that takes you to the island to ring the bell; no motorized
craft are permitted on the lake

Closer up of the castle

One of the few lake-side hotels; most of the recent development is up the hill,
away from the lake, certainly not spoiling its views

Looking back to the campground and where we started

And a different view of the castle; we thought about
visiting the castle; but didn't

One of the famous fiaker coaches of Bled; we thought about hiring one...

The Bled summer luge; we didn't even think about doing it

The very famous Bled cream cake, mostly Vicki's; the other bakery specialty of
the region is Poteca cake; available, alas, only at Christmas-time

Now about 3/4s of the way around, looking back toward Vila Bled

And the island

And the campground beach; nice, easy walk, with much to see