Lake Bled at sunrise, Slovenia

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Awake to the lake. Lake Bled, Slovenia

Nestled amidst the Julian Alps, Slovenia's Lake Bled invites you to step into a storybook setting. The star of the show? The tiny Bled Island, which beckons with the promise of legends and 'rowmance.' Make your way there on a traditional, flat-bottomed pletna boat, piloted by oarsmen whose skills have been handed down through generations since 1740. The island is home to the 17th-century Assumption of Mary Church, with its special bell that, legend says, will make wishes come true. If you look to the shore directly above the island in our image, you can spot Bled Castle overlooking the lake's expanse. The castle—one of the oldest in Slovenia—is positioned on a precipice above the town of Bled on the northwestern shore of the lake.