Serendipity

Mariella and I took bus ride from Ljubljana to Bled. Bled is located in Slovenia’s Julian Alps. “With its emerald-green lake, picture-postcard church on an islet, castle clinging to a rocky cliff and some of the country’s highest peaks as backdrops, Bled seems too good to be true.” -(Lonely Planet). I decided that I would go outside of my “stick to the budget box” and surprise Mariella with a three-day romantic getaway in Bled, Slovenia. I found a great off-season discount at a small posh looking hotel near the lake shore. I called and made the reservation. The hotel was out of the cheapest rooms, so the person promised me a suite at the same price. Nice! While waiting at the bus station in Ljubljana I told Mariella that I was taking her to a nice hotel near the lake great breakfast and dinners included. Of course she did not believe me. When we arrived in Bled we walked to Vila Preseren (mini-hotel). The receptionist told us that their hotel was booked up and we had reservations at a sister hotel on the other side of the lake. We were a little confused, but were flexible knowing that unplanned situations arise frequently. So we walked around the lake and saw a sign to Vila Victoria Bled, the hotel we thought we were directed to. It looked run down and was closed for the winter. At this point I was not happy and my plans were not shaping up as I expected. Mariella and I walked up the street to another hotel to see if they could help us out. We explained our situation to the receptionist at a different hotel and she translated to her boss. Eventually the four of us realized we walked to the wrong hotel, both have a similar name, Vila Victoria Bled (wrong hotel) and Vila Bled (correct hotel). We needed to walk further around the lake. We eventually found Vila Bled and were surprised by the huge rock walls surrounding the grounds and the four stars under the sign. WOW! We walked down the gravel road and up the red carpet wearing the clothes we wear nearly every day and carrying our backpacks, feeling a little uncomfortable with the high class atmosphere. I repeated our situation to the receptionist and she confirmed that we had a reservation at their hotel, the former residence of a Slovene president! I told the receptionist that we were promised a suite at the price found on the internet. She told me I should not worry as the room we would stay in is quite nice (regularly 320 euro a night =about $480 U.S.). We were astonished to find that we received a huge room with a fantastic view, wrap-around terrace, robes, slippers, L’OCCITANE beauty products, fresh fruit, breakfast each morning and three-course dinners. We are not sure how this came to fruition, but are grateful for God’s providence. After exploring the living space, we had a little lunch in the living room and then went on a nearby hike to Osojnica overlook. We watched the sun set on the mountains before heading back for dinner. What a day!
: )