Lake Bled

<p>Lake Bled is the image Slovenia is sold on, and it survives the exposure. A glacial lake of clear green water holds the country's only island, on which stands the Church of the Assumption; the way to reach it is by <em>pletna</em>, a flat-bottomed boat with a canopy, rowed standing up by oarsmen from a handful of local families whose right to the trade is hereditary and whose boat design goes back to the 1590s.</p><p>From the jetty, 99 stone steps of a baroque staircase built in 1655 climb to the church door — tradition says a groom should carry his bride up them. Inside hangs the wishing bell, cast by Francesco Patavino in Padua in 1534, which visitors ring for a wish. A footpath of about six kilometres rings the lake, the water is warm enough to swim by midsummer, and the classic view down onto island and castle is from Ojstrica or Mala Osojnica on the western shore.</p>