We hadn’t planned to go to the castle on our cruise excursion to Lake Bled, but seeing the fortress overlooking the lake, my family unanimously voted to skip Ljubljana and go there instead. I was surprised because my teens tend to burn out on castles, but they love a good view and this was one of the best.

I can’t say enough about the beautiful view. We went on a Sunday toward the end of June, but it wasn’t crowded and we were able to take as many pictures as we wanted without jostling for space.

This was the pricier option for the day at 17 euro for adults and 11 for students, but we try to think of the cost for this sort of thing as going directly to the upkeep of the land and historical buildings and we feel better.

Before you even get to the view, though, is perhaps the most fun part of the estate, the Print Works. It was definitely my daughter’s favorite stop. They have a working Guttenberg press, busily printing out customized souvenirs. Guests pick the paper, the artwork, the writing. The printer sets the type and then the guest get to push the enormous crank and press in their chosen wax seal. Everyone should stop and watch, but if you have kids (even big ones) I recommend taking the time to let them make their own creation.

The inside of the castle isn’t furnished like most of the castles and palaces you might visit, but apparently Slovenian castles have been ransacked so none of the historical furniture survived. Instead the castle is a museum, both to the history of the castle, Bled in general, and the natural science of the area. There are even some delightfully awful wax statues dressed as the people from their past.

After our tour, we stopped at the coffeehouse for a must when traveling to Bled, Bled Cake, a delicious custard and puff pastry confection. We also had their lemonade, though fellow Americans should be prepared to add sugar.

Overall we are glad we made the trip.