I want a semi-private cabin on a lake with mountains in eastern Europe. Where do I go?

March 27, 2012 8:05 AM

I want a semi-private cabin on a lake with mountains in eastern Europe. Where do I go?

Which country in eastern Europe has the most beautiful lakes?

I'm going on a vacation soon and the country that I'm living in has cheap flights to many countries in eastern Europe. I'd like to stay for a week in a cabin (or cabin-like place) by myself (I'm female) and read, write, eat pastries, and drink coffee.

Any ideas?

This, for example, is appealing to me: http://www.flickr.com/photos/34362261@N06/6087248820/

posted by Cwell to travel & transportation (6 answers total)

Lakes Bled and Bohinj in Slovenia are supposed to be very picturesque.
posted by misteraitch at 8:19 AM on March 27, 2012 [1 favorite]

Not a lake, but rather overlooking the Soca river valley in Slovenia hard by the Italian border. I highly recommend this place : Nebesa
posted by JPD at 8:25 AM on March 27, 2012

The High Tatra mountains in Slovakia are beautiful, remote, and in a pretty good spot on the inexpensive / convenient scale. There are some nice hotel resorts up there now but I suspect most of the region is still quite undeveloped. No idea how to find a cabin, sorry.
posted by Nelson at 8:58 AM on March 27, 2012

If Romania is one of your airline's destinations, here are some places which fit your description:

The Red Lake which can be reached by way of the very dramatic Bicaz Canyon. It is a lake formed in a previous valley by a landslide in the 19th century, and there are still traces of the previous landscape here and there, such as tree-tops sticking out through the water.

The so-called "Cazanele Dunarii", the Danube gorges at the border between Romania and Serbia, are amazing. You are in the valley which at this point is fairly narrow, but the river opens up to lake dimensions in several places along the way, and the mountains all around are breathtaking. I only know the Romanian side, which has quite several inns/b&bs, and assume that there are many others on the Serbian side.

Lake St Ana is another option - incredibly peaceful. It's not far from Băile Tușnad which are quite beautiful themselves and relatively quiet at this time of the year.

There are plenty of others, but I'll stop here. Something to remember, for Romania at least: this time of the year can be still quite cold and wintery in or near the mountains. Also, it's a bit out of season - whilst there are quite a lot of cabins, inns, hotels or so-called agro-tourism destinations which are more or less private, it is a good idea to research and book in advance. On the up-side, even the bigger places such as hotels have a very intimate feel about them at this time (if you don't chose a very busy week-end such as Easter) - I took a two-week trip this time last year and was pretty much the only person in most places.

Sorry I cannot make more precise recommendations.
posted by miorita at 9:02 AM on March 27, 2012

I think Bohinj, Slovenia is an ideal answer to this question--and I love that I'm not the only one who thinks so!

You can get started looking at cottage rentals in Bohinj here and then move on if that's not exactly what you're looking for.

As for the pastries, I'd go to Planika (50-58 Triglavska cesta, Bohinj, 4264) and stock up.
posted by yellowcandy at 9:03 AM on March 27, 2012

Nthing Bohinj.
posted by roofus at 12:57 PM on March 27, 2012