Stara Fužina and Bled with kids

We're full time travelers and when we travel, we often find little gems. I won't add many links (because links must be updates and this is not a tourism blog 😉), but you can search for the names on google maps: they are all tested by me, Alex, Oliver and Emily (who were 4.5 and 6 years old here).

Here's a small testimony of our white Christmas in Stara Fužina because it was magical.

We stayed in this cottage that was absolutely perfect for us. From here you can take a beautiful walk in the Triglav National Park a few hundred meters away from the front door. It's a spectacle of nature!

The children loved the hobbit house (built by owner Maruša’s father) and the huge snow-covered slopes in front of the house.

1 minute walk away there is a free cross-country ski trail, which extends for tens of kilometers: it's priceless to wake up in the morning and walk here. We rented skis from "ALPE, Ski rent and school" in Bohinj Bistrica (where we also rented sleds).

Things we loved in this area:

The morning walk: from the front door, turn left and continue to the bridge (at some point the path divides, go up to the right). From the bridge look down (!) and then turn left to return to the village. Regenerating.

Lake Bohinj is a few minutes drive or a long walk away and it is worth a visit to see the ducks, maybe dip your toes in the water, and take pictures of the landscape.

Horse riding in the snow with Ranc Mrcina: 60€ for the whole family, each on an Icelandic horse (😍) and a guide went on foot with the children.

Restaurant Triglav Bohinj: we came here to eat at least 4 times in two weeks, including on Christmas Day and the 1st of January. The owner is passionate about food and loves to tell where their products come from (all local, try the trout!). We tried cheese dumplings, a typical Slovenian dish. From the restaurant you can get to the shore of Lake Bohinj on foot.

Santa Land: we also took the kids to see Santa Claus. We liked this "village": Santa Claus tells a story (in Slovenian) around the fire, then there are zip lines and activities for children. There is also the option to bring a gift that then Santa Claus will deliver to the child: my children know that Santa Claus doesn't exist, so we didn’t. They had a great time!

On the last day we found a beautiful ski-lift slope near the house, perfect for families and beginners. If we had found it before, we would certainly have tried it!

To do if you have time:

25 minutes from Stara Fužina is Bled: it is extremely touristy and everyone goes mostly to take a picture with the lake and the little island in the middle. It’s nice, but you don’t miss anything if you don’t have time to go (we we like better less traveled paths).

The castle is nice, especially some parts of the exhibition inside the castle are interesting, but for us the main attraction here was the printing shop: the owner is a real passionate and connoisseur, and will show you how they used to print books and how to make paper (he himself makes the paper you can buy in the shop).

And if you come to Bled don’t miss the Kremšnite, the famous Bled cake.

Useful words to know

• Good morning (when you enter a store / bar): Dober dan
• Thanks: Hvala
• I'm sorry: Oprosti
• Excuse me: Oprostite
• Please: Molim
• How are you?: Kako si?
• Goodbye: Nasvidenje 
• Yes: Da
• No: Ne

By the way, if you learn these words and go to Croatia you could use them there too (many words are similar).