Couchsurfing in
Lake Bled
We had met Tom on the shores of Lake Bled after a gruelling 7-hour drive in the hot sun. Starting in the tiny Principality of Liechtenstein, our day had taken us through Austria and finally delivered us to shimmering Lake Bled in the late afternoon.
Lake Bled
An oasis of cerulean blue surrounded by craggy peaks, Lake Bled beckoned us to its cooling waters with the promise of instant refreshment. It felt oh so good to wash away the sweat and grime from the day in the hot car, so by the time Tom had finished work and was ready to meet us on the lakeshore, we were sparkling, sweet-smelling and feeling fresh.
The pristine waters of Lake Bled beneath Bled Castle
We found Tom with his boyfriend and friends as the sun was sinking towards the mountains. Drinks were shared over stories of our travels and their lives in this most picturesque corner of the world. Two strangers, we were welcomed like old friends. Included in the after-work banter. Made to feel at home, connected. Natural and relaxed.
Couchsurfing
Couchsurfing is a privilege, but also an obligation. A privilege to be included in someone’s life, someone you’ve never met before, from a different culture, usually in an exciting city or beautiful spot on the globe. But the privilege comes with obligations too; to be open, easy-going, flexible. So when you’re exhausted in Istanbul but your host wants to stay up drinking with friends, you stay up. Or when you’re in Uzbekistan, and they want to do karaoke, you do karaoke. And when you arrive at your host’s apartment in Baku, and you realise it’s four to a bed, you sleep four to a bed. But staying with Tom wasn’t like that.
Staying with Tom was more casual, and as the evening progressed, thoughts turned to food. Winding up into the mountains surrounding Lake Bled, we stopped at Tom’s alpine village to pick fresh vegetables from his family’s garden. Wooden-clad solid-built homes cascading down the steep slope beneath brooding cliffs, family vegetable plots taking up the flatter land at the base of the village.
The cottage was perfect. A tiny gingerbread house nestled beneath the spruce trees of the Julian Alps. Hidden down a steep track in a shady dell, moss and lichen covering the roof, this was a scene from a fairytale. And we were in it.
Cooking with new friends, outside Tom’s fairytale cottage in the forest surrounding Lake Bled
Suitably supplied, we continued into the forest to the small shady clearing where his family’s forest cottage sits, hidden from the world by a thick blanket of trees. Its own little piece of perfect. Tom’s friends were already there, getting the fire started and setting up the BBQ. The cottage wasn’t sizeable. One room downstairs, and one in the eves upstairs. A separate outdoor toilet completed the facilities. It wasn’t luxury. No, but it struck a beguiling balance between comfort and rustic charm.
The Beauty of Couchsurfing
As the warm summer evening gradually darkened, we cooked under the brightening stars. The sweet smell of wood smoke mixed with the earthy forest as the six of us settled around the candle-lit picnic table. To the background of a crackling fire, we chatted over BBQ and fresh garden greens. Wholly welcomed into the friend group, we already felt right at home as we shared stories and wine late into the night. As if we could just stop our journey here, to carry on in this life we had so quickly slipped into.
That’s the beauty of Couchsurfing at its best. More than just seeing a place, it’s an experience of life there. Living, however briefly, as a local. Becoming a part of their life. Living the place. Often it feels like you could just stay. And sometimes you might, like the Greek motorcyclist that ended up staying on my sofa in Swaziland (now Eswatini) for close to a month.
But we were on a journey. And as quick as our new life aside Lake Bled had started, it was over. Dropping Tom off at work on our way out of town, we bade him farewell and continued on the road. On the road to our next set of new friends, our next little slice of life in a foreign land. To swap stories and experiences, exchange and grow. Travelling and seeing, but also living the places as we go.
Practicalities of Traveling to Lake Bled
Getting to Lake Bled is straightforward by car, bus or train. Couchsurfing is a great way to experience a place from a different perspective, especially in very touristy areas like Lake Bled. For more Couchsurfing details, click here.