So-Love-Ina

Charming Bridges, a Castle That May Be Rapunzel’s, and the Wind Whistling Through the Julian Alps. Karishma Kirpalani’s Childhood Fantasies Come True in Slovenia

Once upon a time, there was a young little girl who loved listening to stories of the fairytale world. She was just a four year old, asking her mother to read her Cinderella, Rapunzel, Sleeping Beauty, Little Red Riding Hood, Beauty and the Beast, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, among others, daily. They were stories about castles, candy, wishing wells, Prince Charming, genies, flying carpets and some spellbinding magic. That little girl was me, and I was completely enchanted by these tales.

I would always wonder whether these pictures I saw were for real. My mother would claim it was all fictional, and such scenes can only be read in books and seen in cartoons. As I grew up and life caught up with me, I forgot about all of this, until one day, around 25 years later, I saw images of Lake Bled on Instagram. It was named after a resort town in Slovenia nestled among the Julian Alps. If only I could see it in person...

And here I was, just a few months later. A local named Masa Butara had suggested I hike up to the ‘Ojstrica’ point for the best view of the town. The walk took me about 60 minutes, with the last few steps posing quite the challenge. At the end, I was standing on top of a hill, overlooking a vista complete with Alpine trees, boats, and a lake with a church in the middle and a majestic castle overlooking it.