Bled looks like a stage set for an alpine fairy tale, and it has the grace to be real. A small glacial lake, deep green and still, is ringed by forested hills, with the pale wall of the Julian Alps rising behind it. On a rocky islet in the middle stands a white church with a baroque steeple, the Church of the Assumption, reached by traditional wooden boats called pletna, which are rowed by hand, and on a cliff on the north shore a castle looks down on the water. The castle is first mentioned in 1004, when the emperor gave the lands to the bishop of Brixen, and it claims to be the oldest in the country. The view from the terrace, with the island and the mountains, is the one on every postcard.
Bled grew as a spa in the nineteenth century, when a Swiss naturopath came to the lake and began prescribing cold water cures, and later Yugoslavia's President Tito had a villa on the shore. The local speciality is the kremšnita, a thick square of custard and whipped cream between layers of flaky pastry, and it is the thing to order with coffee on the lakeside terrace. Going round the lake on foot takes about an hour and a half, and the swimming in summer is clean and cool.
For a rider, Bled is the gateway to the best high roads in Slovenia. A few kilometres away the Vintgar gorge, with its wooden walkway above a rushing river, is a pleasant stop. From the Sava valley the road climbs to the Vršič Pass, at about 1,611 metres, with fifty hairpins, some of them cobbled, that were built by Russian prisoners of war during the First World War, and a little chapel in their memory stands beside the road. The cobbled corners are slippery when wet and need care, and the road may be closed in winter. The Triglav National Park, with the mountain that appears on the national flag, is the backdrop.
Bled is a town of about five thousand and has fuel, shops and plenty of rooms, though the summer weekends can be crowded. Motorways in Slovenia require an e-vignette, which motorcyclists can buy online or at a station, so arrange it before entering. Mornings in September are crisp and clear, with mist on the water.