年輕的斯洛文尼亞（于1991年宣布脫離原南斯拉夫，成為獨(dú)立主權(quán)國(guó)家，并于1992年5月加入聯(lián)合國(guó)）位于中歐南部，毗鄰阿爾卑斯山，約有一半的面積為森林所覆蓋，綠化率在歐洲各國(guó)僅次于芬蘭和瑞典，被譽(yù)為“中歐的綠寶石”。也許在許多人的印象中，斯洛文尼亞是一個(gè)經(jīng)濟(jì)水平不高的中歐小國(guó)——但事實(shí)上，斯洛文尼亞擁有良好的工業(yè)和科技基礎(chǔ)。2005年在全球國(guó)家競(jìng)爭(zhēng)力排行榜上名列第32位，屬于發(fā)達(dá)國(guó)家行列。

本期“異域風(fēng)情”帶大家游覽的布萊德湖是斯洛文尼亞最有名的旅游勝地。阿爾卑斯山山頂?shù)姆e雪融水和山間清泉不斷注入湖中，讓布萊德湖獲得“冰湖”的美稱。這里夏季水溫在22℃左右，是劃船、游泳和釣魚(yú)的理想場(chǎng)所；冬季多雪，湖面結(jié)冰達(dá)40厘米，又是冰上運(yùn)動(dòng)的絕紗去處。因此，這里曾多次舉辦歐洲和世界性的水上與冰上運(yùn)動(dòng)比賽。湖中央的布萊德島是斯洛文尼亞境內(nèi)唯一一座小島。位于翠綠色湖面中央的小島在藍(lán)天白云的襯托之下，真讓人彷如置身童話故事之中。

“Bled？ That sounds a bit gruesome，” said Jodie when I first suggested the idea of visiting the small town in Slovenia. We were sat by the pool in Pore， Croatia， and Id just found out that a coach could pick us up outside the hotel and take us on a guided day trip to the town of Bled.

“I know， but the place looks stunning. And its really close to Croatia，” I answered. “Theres a lake and a castle near it. They look really nice.”

But nice wasnt an adequate adjective for how breathtakingly stunning Lake Bled turned out to be. No words could. Even photographs could only come half way. But all of that came later. First， we had to get up at the crack of dawn to board our coach for the three hour journey to Slovenia.

Slovenia， lying between the Alps and the Mediterranean， is a small country dominated by mountains and rivers.

Getting to Slovenia would involve our first overland border crossing. For this I was quite excited. All I could imagine were Cold War films with spies attempting to get past the border police.

It turned out that getting past the Slovenian border was no hassle at all. The coach stopped， a uniformed woman got on， and she looked at everyones passport. No one was thrown off the coach.

As we sped into Slovenia， the view outside soon began to change. Mediterranean scrub made way for conifers and hills. Before too long， we were in a scene straight from The Sound of Music.

“Welcome to Slovenia，” said our guide for the day， a 25-year-old Croatian woman named Ivanah， “and let me tell you some things about this country.”

We all listened as Ivanah told us about why Slovenia was the richest of all the former Yugoslav countries. It was to do with the war， apparently， or rather the lack of it. “The war only lasted ten days in Slovenia， so most of the infrastructure stayed intact. No buildings were destroyed. People could carry on with their lives. And this is good. The country you are visiting is especially beautiful.” From what we could see outside， she was indeed correct.

About two hours into our journey， we passed through Ljubljana， the capital of Slovenia. Always somewhere Id wanted to visit， I was quite sad to see it passing by so quickly， but less than an hour later， we arrived at our destination， the town of Bled.

Bled lies in the Julian Alps， just 30 kilometres south of the Austrian border. It is one of Slovenias prime tourist destinations， primarily because of its large lake formed by a glacier thousands of years ago. The natural beauty of the town and its surrounds has meant the rich and famous have often stayed in Bled. In the 19th century， it was the Austrian empires finest health resort. When Yugoslavia was ruled by Josip Tito， he made Lake Bled his personal place of retreat. Even Prince Charles has stayed at one of Bleds world class hotels.

“First I take you to the castle，” announced the guide. The castle seemed to be perched high upon a rocky outcrop， flanked with lush conifers. “We will drive most of the way up， but then we will walk about a hundred metres. It will not be too difficult. And the view from the top will take your breath away.”

Ten minutes later， my breath was being amply taken away by the walk up towards Bled Castle. Others were finding it much harder. But we all made it to the top without incident. Ivanah was right， the view across the lake， with a panorama of the Alps just behind， was simply breathtaking.

The water was a beautiful turquoise hue， and it was easy to spot Slovenias one solitary island at the centre of the lake. Later we would be visiting the island， but for now， Jodie and I wandered around the castle， taking in the views below.

Although Bled Castle has enjoyed its thousand-year birthday， much of it was actually built in the middle ages. It was also extensively renovated between 1951 and 1961. Today， the castle is home to a museum and exhibition centre.

“We got married here 14 years ago，” said a man to my left. We were standing at the castles edge， a fine vantage point. His wife was by his side， and a small boy stood between them. “Its just as beautiful as it was then. And did you know that

Slovenia is the only country in the world with ‘love in its name？ From here， its not hard to see why.”

Half an hour later， we were back in the town of Bled to wander around by ourselves. After a spot of lunch， Jodie and I rejoined the tour group for the trip to the small island in the middle of Lake Bled.

Getting to it involved a very pleasant trip in a gondola-type boat called a pletna. As we set off from the shore， the boatman climbed around and begun rowing us softly towards our destination. It was all very peaceful.

“The island has 99 steps leading up to the church，” Ivanah said， “and it is a custom here in Bled that during a wedding， the husband must carry his bride up the steps， while she remains silent.”

After reaching the island， we began the climb up the steps. They were not as bad as first feared， though I wasnt carrying anyone up them. At the top we could see the Assumption of Mary Pilgrimage Church； visitors frequently ring its bell for good luck. It dates back to the 10th century， and Jodie and I strolled about its exterior before going inside. It was small but beautiful. We gazed at the altar， with its golden statue of Mary above a bed of roses. Sat in pews were a few people deep in prayer. They didnt seem to mind that a bunch of tourists had just invaded their peaceful sanctuary.

Once back across at the mainland， we took a short coach trip to the centre of town. Ivanah then led us to a large outdoor café. It was time for the cream cakes. Bled is famous for its vanilla-and-cream cakes， and we all had one each. Mine was delicious.

“Dont worry，” said Ivanah， noting the looks on some of the womens faces， “these are not like your cakes back home. They are lighter. Try it. They taste amazing！”

Mine was already gone. Jodie at last tried hers， lingering over it for far longer than I had. “Mmmm， these are nice！”

Our trip to Slovenia was over. It was time to go back to Croatia. But from what we had seen， it was a place wed try our best to return back to one day. Lake Bled in winter must look truly magical. And only an hour away from Ljubljana， it could be done.

“布萊德？聽(tīng)起來(lái)真有點(diǎn)嚇人?！蔽业谝淮蜗騿痰偬崞鹣肴ニ孤逦哪醽喌倪@座小鎮(zhèn)時(shí)，她這樣說(shuō)道。當(dāng)時(shí)我們正坐在克羅地亞波雷奇的水池邊，我剛剛發(fā)現(xiàn)有一趟從酒店出發(fā)的觀光車(chē)，可以帶我們參加布萊德鎮(zhèn)一日游。

“我知道那個(gè)名字是有點(diǎn)嚇人，但是那個(gè)地方漂亮極了，而且真的離克羅地亞很近，”我答道?！澳歉浇幸粋€(gè)湖和一座城堡，看起來(lái)很不錯(cuò)呢。”

但是“不錯(cuò)”這個(gè)詞遠(yuǎn)不足以描繪布萊德湖驚艷的程度。沒(méi)有一個(gè)詞能夠做到這一點(diǎn)，甚至連照片也只能展現(xiàn)它一半的美。不過(guò)那都是后話了。首先我們得在黎明時(shí)分就上車(chē)，坐三小時(shí)車(chē)到斯洛文尼亞。

斯洛文尼亞坐落在阿爾卑斯山和地中海之間，是一個(gè)遍布山川河流的小國(guó)。

到斯洛文尼亞是我們第一次從陸路跨越邊境，因此我相當(dāng)激動(dòng)。我腦海中滿是冷戰(zhàn)電影里那些間諜試圖避開(kāi)邊防警察的場(chǎng)景。

但事實(shí)證明，穿越斯洛文尼亞的邊境其實(shí)一點(diǎn)兒也不麻煩。觀光車(chē)停下來(lái)，一名穿制服的女士上了車(chē)，檢查每個(gè)人的護(hù)照。反正沒(méi)有人被趕下車(chē)。

進(jìn)入斯洛文尼亞后汽車(chē)加速前進(jìn)，外面的景色也隨之發(fā)生改變——地中海的矮樹(shù)叢逐漸變成針葉林和一座座小山。沒(méi)多久，我們猶如置身《音樂(lè)之聲》的實(shí)景之中。

“歡迎來(lái)到斯洛文尼亞，”我們當(dāng)天的導(dǎo)游說(shuō)道。她名叫伊萬(wàn)娜，是一個(gè)25歲的克羅地亞女人?！白屛蚁蚰銈兘榻B一下這個(gè)國(guó)家的基本情況吧?！?/p>

我們聽(tīng)著伊萬(wàn)娜向我們介紹為什么斯洛文尼亞是所有前南斯拉夫國(guó)家中最富裕的一個(gè)。顯然，這與戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)有關(guān)——或者應(yīng)該說(shuō)，與遠(yuǎn)離戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)有關(guān)?！皯?zhàn)爭(zhēng)在斯洛文尼亞只持續(xù)了十天，因此大部分基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施仍然完好無(wú)損，沒(méi)有建筑物受到毀壞，人們也能夠安然無(wú)恙地繼續(xù)生活，這實(shí)在很幸運(yùn)。你們正在游覽的這個(gè)國(guó)家特別美麗?！本臀覀儚耐饷婵吹降木吧珌?lái)說(shuō)，她所言極是。

旅程開(kāi)始兩個(gè)小時(shí)之后，我們經(jīng)過(guò)斯洛文尼亞的首都——盧布爾雅那。這里是我一直想游覽的地方，看到它如此迅速地與我擦肩而過(guò)，我不禁有點(diǎn)傷心。但不到一小時(shí)，我們便抵達(dá)了目的地——布萊德鎮(zhèn)。

布萊德鎮(zhèn)位于奧地利邊境30公里以南的朱利安阿爾卑斯山脈，是斯洛文尼亞的主要旅游景點(diǎn)之一，主要是因?yàn)檫@里有一個(gè)幾千年前由冰川形成的大湖。布萊德及其周?chē)淖匀幻谰白阋宰屆鞲缓莱３５酱说亓鬟B。在19世紀(jì)，它曾是奧地利帝國(guó)最好的療養(yǎng)勝地。在約瑟普·鐵托統(tǒng)治前南斯拉夫期間，布萊德更被指定為其個(gè)人療養(yǎng)地。連（英國(guó)的）查爾斯王子也曾在布萊德其中一間世界級(jí)酒店里留宿。

“首先，我會(huì)帶你們參觀城堡，”導(dǎo)游高聲說(shuō)道。城堡像鳥(niǎo)兒一樣高高地棲息在一塊凸起的石頭上，掩映在繁茂的針葉林中?！拔覀儠?huì)開(kāi)車(chē)經(jīng)過(guò)大部分上坡路，但之后要再步行大約100米。路不會(huì)太難走，上面的景色美得讓人窒息。”

十分鐘之后，走上布萊德城堡的那段路確實(shí)讓我上氣不接下氣。其他人比我更難受。但我們最終還是全部順利抵達(dá)。伊萬(wàn)娜說(shuō)得沒(méi)錯(cuò)，遠(yuǎn)眺湖面的風(fēng)光，加上湖后的阿爾卑斯山全景，真的美不勝收。

湖水呈現(xiàn)出一片美麗的藍(lán)綠色，很容易便可以認(rèn)出湖中心的小島——斯洛文尼亞唯一的島嶼。稍后我們會(huì)去游覽那座小島，但現(xiàn)在，喬蒂和我就在城堡隨處逛逛，飽覽一番山下的美景。

雖然布萊德城堡度過(guò)了一千歲生日，但其中大部分修建于中世紀(jì)，并在1951到1961年間經(jīng)歷過(guò)大規(guī)模翻新?，F(xiàn)在，這座城堡里面有一座博物館和一個(gè)展覽中心。

“14年前，我們?cè)谶@里結(jié)婚，”在我左邊的一個(gè)男人說(shuō)道。我們站在城堡的邊上，那是一個(gè)有利的觀景位置。他太太站在他身邊，兩人中間站著一個(gè)小男孩?！八蝗绠?dāng)年那么美麗。

你知道嗎？斯洛文尼亞是世界上唯一一個(gè)名稱里包含‘愛(ài)（love）這個(gè)字的國(guó)家。從這兒看，你就不難明白個(gè)中緣由了?！?/p>

半個(gè)小時(shí)后，我們回到布萊德鎮(zhèn)自由活動(dòng)。吃過(guò)一點(diǎn)午餐后，我和喬蒂回到旅游團(tuán)，準(zhǔn)備到布萊德湖中央的那座小島觀光。

上島需要乘坐一種名叫“pletna”的小船，樣子類似于（意大利的）貢多拉。旅途很是愉快。我們離開(kāi)岸邊之際，船夫爬上船，開(kāi)始慢慢地向目的地劃去。一切都顯得那么安詳。

“島上有99級(jí)臺(tái)階通往教堂，”伊萬(wàn)娜說(shuō)?！霸诓既R德有這樣一個(gè)傳統(tǒng)——在婚禮上，丈夫必須抱著妻子走完這些臺(tái)階，其間妻子必須保持沉默?！?/p>

上了島，我們開(kāi)始爬這些臺(tái)階。它們沒(méi)有我們一開(kāi)始擔(dān)心的那么難爬，雖然我沒(méi)有抱著誰(shuí)走。來(lái)到臺(tái)階頂端，我們可以看到圣母升天朝圣教堂；游客們爭(zhēng)相敲響教堂里的大鐘，以求好運(yùn)。我和喬蒂先在這座建于10世紀(jì)的教堂外面散步，再入內(nèi)參觀。教堂很小，卻很漂亮。我們凝視圣壇，玫瑰花簇上方有一尊圣母瑪利亞的金像。長(zhǎng)凳上坐著一些聚精會(huì)神的禱告者，似乎并不介意這群游客入侵他們寧?kù)o的圣地。

離開(kāi)小島后，我們坐了一小段短途車(chē)來(lái)到鎮(zhèn)中心。伊萬(wàn)娜隨后帶我們到一家很大的露天咖啡館，吃奶油蛋糕的時(shí)間到啦。布萊德以其香草奶油蛋糕聞名，每人有一塊。我的那一塊好吃極了。

“別擔(dān)心，”留意到一些女士臉上的神情，伊萬(wàn)娜說(shuō)，“這些蛋糕和你們家的不一樣，熱量比較低。嘗一嘗吧，可好吃了！”

我的那份蛋糕早已被我消滅了。喬蒂最后也品嘗了她的那一份，結(jié)果她比我回味的時(shí)間還長(zhǎng)?！班拧@些蛋糕實(shí)在太美味了！”

我們的斯洛文尼亞之旅到此便告一段落，該回克羅地亞了。但從我們的所見(jiàn)所聞來(lái)看，我們一定會(huì)爭(zhēng)取某一天重游故地。冬天的布萊德湖一定會(huì)像被施了魔法一樣美麗。而且，它距離盧布爾雅那僅一個(gè)小時(shí)車(chē)程，完全沒(méi)有問(wèn)題。