A Wedding on Lake Bled

August 2008

There’s a Church with a Wishing Bell

In the middle of Lake Bled, in Slovenia, is an island with a church on top. Inside the church there’s a rope, and if you pull it and make a wish, then tradition has it that the wish will come true. We were unable to pull the rope as there was a wedding party who arrived shortly after we did, and they were booked to monopolise the church.

The wedding party arrived in three gondolas and made their way up the slope to the church. Getting married were a slim and attractive blond young woman in a red dress, and a sweaty fat slobbish-looking fellow in a suit that was too big for him. In the arms of someone who seemed to be an auntie, was a very tiny baby.

The bride- and groom-to-be first danced in the square to an accordion, while the guests looked on appreciatively, then they were given a briefing by the priest or whatever he’s called, outside the church while the guests took their places in the church.

From where we were standing we could not hear what the priest was saying, and even if we had been able to we would not have understood it, but we can imagine that what he was saying was that when you pull that bell and make a wish, wish for something in the future – the spirits cannot grant a wish that says I wish I’d never got myself in this mess in the first place, now promise me you’ll remember that. That’s what we imagine he must have been saying.