World's Best Cream Cakes Thursday, March 11, 2004
Bled, Slovenia 
Bled's Park Hotel makes the best cakes…and has the best views.
Photo by Bobo, courtesy of Slovenian Tourist Board.
Dear Reader, The Slovenian town of Bled--just 15 miles over the Austrian border--claims to have the best cream cakes in the world. Outside almost every café, you'll see a sign depicting the traditional "kremna rezina" (two layers of butter pastry sandwiching an oversized helping of vanilla-custard and cream). This yellow and white cube has become the symbol of the town. The pastry chefs at The Park Hotel on Lake Bled, who originally created this delicacy in 1953, are particularly renowned for their produce. From every floor in the hotel, at any time of day, the tantalizing smell of pastry wafts through the corridors. Over the last 50 years, more than 8 million of these cream slices have been polished off by the hotel's guests. Many--Slovenians included--come here simply to eat cake. Outside of Bled, you'll find kremna rezinas sold in any Slovenian café. Prices range from about $1.50 to $2 depending on where you go. For a great selection of cakes, cookies, and coffees, try the Crem Caffé coffee shop in the Slovenian capital of Ljubljana, a one-hour drive from Bled. Here a cappuccino costs $1.10, a kremna rezina is $2 and almost any other cake, $1.50. The verdict? To be honest, the kremna rezina was just a little too heavy for my liking…but the croissants the hotel's chefs whipped up for breakfast every morning were to die for. Lynn Chestnutt
For International Living P.S. If you're looking for a place to stay in Bled, I recommend the four-star Park Hotel. Pastries aside, the indoor swimming pool on the hotel's top floor offers magnificent views of the lake (frozen over at present), snow-capped mountains, and the cliff-top fairytale-like Bled Castle. Rates start at $120 for a double room (buffet breakfast included). Discounts are available for children. See http://www.gp-hoteli-bled.si/ for details. | 
