There's a local saying, whereby one hasn't really visited Bled without taking a ride in one of its traditional Pletna boats. Thought to have perhaps derived from the German 'plateboot', meaning flat bottomed boat, the Pletna has a history stretching back to the end of the 16th century. Since then the respected profession of oarsman has been handed down through generations, with a special technique of standing rowing mastered by only a few. So board the wooden vessel at its widened stern, its pointed bow aimed at the other side of the turquoise waters, or squarely at the island, and be carried across, protected from the sun or rain by its colourful awning. The Pletna piers are located under Spa Park, the Park Hotel Bled café in Mlino and in Velika Zaka.